Words and art by: Parisa Sarmady

As someone of Persian and Fijian–Indian ethnic descent, hair oiling was a common and normal practice in my household growing up that was performed by my Nani (grandma) on the weekends.

Even though she couldn’t speak much English, and I couldn’t understand Hindi, these little ritualistic acts of affection helped bridge the gap between us in a way that language failed to.

However, upon entering the gates of my predominantly White school, shame tainted these precious traditions. In an effort to blend in, I would scrub my scalp multiple times to erase any trace of the oil that marked me as different. I didn’t want to give them a reason to see me as weird. And thanks to my half–Persian genetics, my hairy arms and legs already set me apart. So yeah, you can imagine what a nightmare that was to navigate.

Now, you can imagine my surprise, then, to see hair oiling appear all over my Instagram reels. Why did this bother me so much? Well, it was being performed by mostly White influencers. How is it possible that something I was so embarrassed about has become a popular and even normalised part of people’s beauty
routines? If you also identify as a Person of Colour (POC), you’re most likely reading this recalling a similar
situation yourself.

The line between cultural appreciation and appropriation can sometimes be blurred. Generally, cultural appropriation is the one we’re most familiar with as it’s usually the one that makes headlines. By definition, according to Oxford Languages, cultural appropriation is “the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society”. Notice how this definition emphasises that cultural appropriation is when a cultural element is adopted but performed in a disrespectful and/or exploitative manner. Contrary to what Urban Dictionary user Made You Think writes, it is not “[trying] to make someone feel guilty about their discovery of another culture different than their own”. I’m all for cultural exchange, it’s a beautiful act that celebrates diversity and encourages an understanding of other cultures. No one is saying it’s bad to learn about other cultures, but it has to be done respectfully. More importantly, credit needs to be given where it’s due. And that’s essentially what cultural appreciation is about. It’s honouring another culture by educating yourself about its traditions and history, and having it come from a place of genuine interest.

Nevertheless, it’s important we recognise the difference between the two terms when consuming beauty and fashion trends. Whilst one promotes harmony, the other strips a culture of its practice’s significance. To better help y’all understand the difference, remember Ariana Grande in her ‘Dangerous Woman’ era? Well, that’s pretty much what it looks like in action. For those who aren’t familiar with what I’m referring to, essentially, during the release of her third studio album, ‘Dangerous Woman’, Grande’s complexion consisted of a dark spray tan (much darker than her actual skin tone mind you) and she adopted Blaccent in her speech. Grande was profiting off her appropriation of African–American culture whilst doing the bare minimum to use her plat form to advocate and voice issues that affect African–American communities.

With this example in mind, Grande has turned African– American culture into a fashionable look, oversimplifying and reducing it into merely an aesthetic without acknowledging the painful history and ongoing adversities faced by African–Americans today. Especially since Grande herself isn’t a POC, by commodifying African-America culture, she is reinforcing power imbalances and indirectly participating in the colonisation of beauty and fashion trends.

Whilst this may not be one’s intention, such actions can contribute to already existing systematic inequalities that detrimentally impact marginalised groups.

So, we must ask ourselves, as ethnic customs are increasingly becoming a part of our mainstream beauty and fashion landscape: does this ‘trendification’ of ethnic customs undermine the cultural value of these practices? We, as consumers, have a responsibility to reflect upon such questions as we hold the power. Where we decide to put our money can help preserve cultural integrity and prevent the commodification of cultural traditions.