Kim…my god.
Kim Kardashian is lowkey the queen of cultural appropriation. She grabs elements from other cultures without learning anything about them, wears it once for those Instagram likes, and then moves on.
RELATED STORIES
And she’s done it again.
A history of Kim’s cultural appropriation
Whether Kim knows it or not, she is not black. Or Indian. Or any other culture. She is half-Armenian, half-white.
So cornrows, which many black people are discriminated against for wearing, are not for her.
Black women have a big issue with Kim’s ignorance
When a famous, privileged celebrity decides a style is fashionable, they’re using it for attention for themselves.
It does nothing for the culture they’re appropriating to wear it and take it off like it’s a costume.
Especially since “western” beauty ideals have forced many women to abandon their natural hair styles in order to “fit in” better.
Kim knows better
As a woman who has a massive social media presence, Kim has been told over and over again that she appropriates culture for her own means.
And yet she continues to do it. At this point, you have to wonder why .
Kim claims she wears the braids for North
Since her daughter, North West, is biracial, Kim has encouraged North to explore different hairstyles.
According to her, she wore the braids because North asked her to. Which would be fine…except that she only said that after the fact.
Oh, and she’s been doing this since 2013
While it is possible that Kim’s understanding of appropriation may have evolved, her excuse that she’s doing all of this for North doesn’t explain her past behavior.
I mean. Look at that picture.
She’s a repeat offender
Her hairstylist, Chris Appleton, snatched up the idea of a doobie wrap (sweeping all the hair to one side, then securing it with bobby pins), added a bun, and put it on Kim.
Some commenters asked if this was a new style.
It was on Kim. Not for other generations of women, however.
And now, to our latest example
Imagine the lack of surprise across the internet when she did it again!
This time, Kim picked a different culture to borrow: Indian. She sported a maang tikka, which is a piece traditionally worn by brides.
She paired it with a white dress
I’m mostly just puzzled by this choice. She’s not Indian, and she’s not a bride. What was the thinking behind this?
And why wear it to church? Of all places?
People were not having it
Kim captioned the photo, “Sunday Service Vibe.”
Twitter had a succinct clapback for that one.
Today is a rare day that I’m proud to be a human on the internet. Good job, everyone.
One commenter explained the meaning behind it
They fairly laid out their concerns, as well:
“If she wore the maang tikka to a traditional Indian event I’d KINDA get it like oh she tried… but idk.” Said @anu.sharma4055.
Another took her down quick
“She’s done appropriating black culture, now she’s moved onto south Asian.”
Y’all, I cannot. That’s art in one comment.
Shout out to @greydaysdot for summing Kim’s messy appropriation attempts so succinctly. I stan.
Mm, the tea
“Sis where are you having your Sunday service at? A mandir? You say Indian food is disgusting but appropriate it’s culture by wearing it’s accessories?”
Yeah, Kim did say she thought Indian food was disgusting. Sigh. Some people just don’t have taste.
And another commenter made an impassioned plea
While some people told those offended to calm down, @malee._.hah rose up.
“South Asians literally made the tikka. We invented it. It has been a part of our cultural traditions and history for centuries.
So no, when someone who calls Indian food disgusting, and clearly doesn’t appreciate the culture, decides to wear a tikka without even acknowledging its significance to south Asians, we won’t sit complacently.”
Some people with eyes also noticed another oddity in the picture
This is nowhere near as big an issue. If the elephant in the room is the appropriation, this is that elephant’s baby elephant.
Guys…the photoshopping? Where is she supposed to be? Why is one single leaf under her hand?
They’re right and they should say it
This honestly was a choice.
Kim has so much money, and yet she chose these two images to put up? It looks like someone took this on a Polaroid in 1993 and then took a picture of that polaroid.
Sigh.
