Ramsey even addresses how power differences in society makes actions that look the same be different. The explanation of assimilation versus cultural appropriation is on point up to a point.
Part of me wishes Ramsey had taken the assimilation desires of people of color a little further, had described how that's not entirely harmless to people of color.
Yeah, copying the dominant culture is "normal" and harmless but its not harmless forever. Being marginalized to the point of feeling abnormal because you're not like the dominant culture in addition to a lack of acceptance from the dominant culture has had deep and lasting affects on people of color.
Ramsey says the videos aren't just about white people. But they are to the tune of 95% when you hit on a subject as deep as unconscious assimilation desires then skip over the fact that most of what white people can sometimes see as "black people appropriating white culture" (long, straight blond weave) is a reflection that some people of color have been harmed by being dominated.
What I'm clumsily trying to say is this: Numbers matter. How dominated the dominat-ed have been by the dominat-ors matters.
If 10% of black women had long straight hair and or weaves (blond or not blond ala Beyonce) and only 10% of black men of TV, film, and sports were dating and marrying women with natural straightish hair and/or long weaves then you could just call what we're seeing in black culture a style choice based on wanting to assimilate and fit in, as Ramsey says or even just a straight style choice.
But when you can look back over history
and see that 90% of black women had
straight, relaxed hair and weaves in photos and on film
with 90% of black men of TV, film, and sports
predominantly dating and marrying
women closer to white
who have natural, long, straightish hair
and/or dating and marrying black women
with long weaves
that shows a lack of acceptance of self.
And since the straight hair thing for black women still dominates us so much that characters from Claire Huxtable to Olivia Pope to Annalise Keating to Mary Jane Paul need long straight hair to look "professional" that's a reflection of the harm that has been done by white rejection, assimilationist dreams, and assimilationist pressures mixed together.
If a video heads so deep into cultural appropriation that it kisses assimilation (and internalized racism?) and you decide to skip over the deeper issues, then why not say the video is for white people?
It's okay if it is.
In my opinion white people need these separate and simple lessons more than anybody else in the culture. To say too much might confuse them.
In my experience, most white people's knowledge of things racial stays in the 8 year old black child range if their community is 90% white or better. I mean it. You can have a more meaningful conversation about race and ethnicity with an 8 year old black or latino child than you can with a white person that has the ability to avoid all meaningful dialogues about race on a day to day basis.
This is why the country is the way it is.
The damage to people of color from assimilation and marginalization is not part of Race 101 Class. It's more advanced. It's okay for the MTV videos to stay in Race 101 for white folk for now.
But if these videos are going to be an American lesson, a lesson for all people of all races and ethnicities, then the videos are going to have get a little deeper than hypocrisy, disrespect, and losing jobs over natural hairstyles.
7 Myths about Cultural Appropriation Debunked ft. Franchesca "Chescaleigh" Ramsey!
Posted by MTV on Wednesday, November 11, 2015
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