This week, we encourage you to listen to the podcast episode of AntiSocial with Adam Fleming on Cultural Appropriation and Afro Wigs. The podcast takes the ban on wearing afro wigs to the Abba Voyage experience as its starting point to discuss the sensitivities and debates around cultural appropriation and the politics of hair.
In this episode of AntiSocial with Adam Fleming, Diversity & Inclusion expert, Meghan Wellman and curator and academic, Manick Govinda speak from their own perspectives about the ban on wearing afro wigs to the Abba Voyage concert as well as wider discussions around cultural appropriation.
Interspersed between the discussion are snippets that explore the history of the term cultural appropriation and the politics around hair.
James Young, Philosophy Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada says:
“The Oxford English Dictionary definition of the term cultural appropriation is simply defined as “to take as one’s own or as one’s own to use…and cultural appropriation is when you take something across cultural lines so you take as one’s own something that was produced in or by members of another culture…The term has been around for a long time…it goes back at least as far as the 1950’s 1960’s with complaints by African Americans about the appropriation of musical styles by white Americans. Principally the appropriation of Jazz and Rhythm and Blues. One of the pioneering figures here was Leroy Jones who wrote a book called ‘The Great Music Robbery’ in which he argued that certain music styles were the property of African Americans and that white people had no business borrowing them.”
He goes on to say:
"It started out that people were concerned about music and then it snowballed from there…now people are concerned about appropriation of clothing styles, hair styles such as dreadlocks so virtually everything now is a contested element…”
The podcast highlights how there are multiple definitions of the term cultural appropriation which makes the subject so contested referencing a Ted Talk by Kayne Kawasaki that talks about the 3 P’s of cultural appropriation as “cultural property, privilege and profit”.
Wellman and Govinda also talk about celebrities being accused of cultural appropriation including Kim Kardashian, Adele and Beyoncé and discuss the nuances and complexities of the criticisms they have faced.
“I think it is a lack of education, like sometimes it is fine to do these things but you do have to acknowledge who the originator was.” - Meghan Wellman
“We are seeing these kind of cultural clashes and cultural mash ups going on in popular culture and it is enjoyable!" – Manick Govinda
You can listen to the episode here or by searching the usual Podcast channels: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programm...