A gorgeous, mocha-colored American friend of mine, whose heritage is Cuban and African, recently repeated a question on her Facebook page, about the appropriateness of people who are ecru wearing dreads. I responded.
I said that I'd wear a saree, a fez kofta, and tennis shoes if I wanted. I'd henna my hands and pierce my nose if I want. I'll wear an hijab if I want (takes great care of bad hair days and covers that neck problem) because I am an American mutt. My hair isn't going to dread. It just won't. It's too fine and straight, but if it would cooperate and I wanted dreads, you betcha I'd let it dread.
I don't understand this problem with "appropriating ethnicity." Isn't imitation a form of flattery? And unless I give strangers my DNA for analysis, I don't really know what sort of bits I have.
Je suis une Americane comma dammit!
Traveling always allows me to appreciate our American stew. One thing I realize is that we are so not homogenized. In any American city, one can get any sort of cuisine one might think of and many fusions one would never have suspected. Why not have sushi for a starter, haggis for an entree and creme brûlée for dessert while wearing salwar kameez? Well, okay, so we can probably all think of a reason not to group those three foods, but you get my drift.
We are strong when we allow all the spices to simmer together. Rock and roll has roots in blues and jazz which has roots in African music, and bluegrass has hints of Celtic music, and guess what? Real musicians have always sampled because they get it. If you can use bag pipes with your saxophone and violin, go for it. Just don't leave out the drums (spoons, wood blocks, cymbals, hip bells. . . . . ) and cut loose the dance.
You can shoot me if you want to, but you can't scare me. I'm an American, dammit and I reserve the right to sample all cultures.
I said that I'd wear a saree, a fez kofta, and tennis shoes if I wanted. I'd henna my hands and pierce my nose if I want. I'll wear an hijab if I want (takes great care of bad hair days and covers that neck problem) because I am an American mutt. My hair isn't going to dread. It just won't. It's too fine and straight, but if it would cooperate and I wanted dreads, you betcha I'd let it dread.
I don't understand this problem with "appropriating ethnicity." Isn't imitation a form of flattery? And unless I give strangers my DNA for analysis, I don't really know what sort of bits I have.
Je suis une Americane comma dammit!
Traveling always allows me to appreciate our American stew. One thing I realize is that we are so not homogenized. In any American city, one can get any sort of cuisine one might think of and many fusions one would never have suspected. Why not have sushi for a starter, haggis for an entree and creme brûlée for dessert while wearing salwar kameez? Well, okay, so we can probably all think of a reason not to group those three foods, but you get my drift.
We are strong when we allow all the spices to simmer together. Rock and roll has roots in blues and jazz which has roots in African music, and bluegrass has hints of Celtic music, and guess what? Real musicians have always sampled because they get it. If you can use bag pipes with your saxophone and violin, go for it. Just don't leave out the drums (spoons, wood blocks, cymbals, hip bells. . . . . ) and cut loose the dance.
You can shoot me if you want to, but you can't scare me. I'm an American, dammit and I reserve the right to sample all cultures.
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