The Bigger Issue With “Boxer Braids”
Kim Kardashian is usually catching the attention of tabloid magazines for her striking outfits, award winning husband, and the drama surrounding her multi-million dollar family. But this past winter, she was turning the heads of a different crowd: the black community.
When Kardashian-West stepped out in cornrows during February earlier this year, black Americans were apprehensive. Within a few hours, fashion magazines were raving about her fresh hairstyle that her stylist titled “boxer braids”, and everyone wanted to replicate the look. YouTube tutorials were springing up everywhere inspired by Kim’s new do, and MTV UK described them as a great option for “Whether you’re off to the gym or need a casual but polished day to night style.”
The thing is, braids aren’t a new style at all. Cornrows have been worn by many different ethnic groups in Africa for thousands of years, not to mention people of color everywhere today, so to call them “the biggest 2016 hair trend” erases the rich history that goes along with them. And to give them a new name and declare that they were inspired by boxers or Kim Kardashian creates a false sense of culture for the people that didn’t actually create them, and smudges the true culture of black people.
When people of color wear cornrows they get dress coded at universities and denied jobs, but suddenly when white people wear them, they become high fashion. Many magazines and designers fail to realize the culture behind the style and choose only white supermodels to represent it. So it isn’t the fact that white people are deciding to braid their hair that’s offensive, it is the idea that they created the style that is.
Many emblems of black culture have already been appropriated, whether they be our hairstyles or features of our bodies. When a black woman wears bantu knots she’ll be called “ghetto”, but when Marc Jacobs models wear them on a New York Fashion Week runway and call them “mini buns” it’s suddenly acceptable. A woman of color may be bullied for her big lips, but when anyone else has them they’re considered beautiful. This adds to the double standard that the black community already has to face in America.
Although appropriation is a big recurring issue, there is nothing wrong with appreciating someone else’s culture, and to be able to share your way of life with someone else respectfully is a beautiful thing. With that said, there is a fine line between appreciation and appropriation. If you like someone else’s culture, recognize it and appreciate it for what it is instead of taking it for yourself and acting like it’s your own. So feel free to slay those cornrows, bantu knots, braids and afros, but remember to appreciate the creativity of those who made them years before Kim K thought they were cute.
