VERiFiED MAGAZINE

APPRECIATED?
fine line between appreciation
and appropriation that
social media users continually
debate, define, and
defend.
06
Cultural appreciation is
when you earnestly seek
to learn about or explore
a different culture.
You learn. You listen.
You strive to
understand. You
seek to honour its
beliefs and tradition
and, most importantly,
you show
appreciation to the
culture and NOT just
use it for your own
personal gain – money,
social media likes, etc.
For example, recently,
Adele faced accusations
of cultural appropriation
after sharing an Intagram
post to her 39.2 million followers
on the 30th of August.
In the shared post, Adele
was supporting bantu knots
(small, coiled buns typically
associated with people of
African descent) and a bikini
decorated with the Jamaican
flag. The bizarre
post was captioned “Happy
what would be Notting
Hill Carnival my beloved
London.” Notting Hill Carnival,
Europe’s largest street
party, celebrates Caribbean culture
– from the food to the
colours, music and much
more.
So, was Adele an example
of someone caught up in the
whole discussion of ‘CUL-
TURE’ as an appreciator, or
an appropriator?
People were caught in two
minds, with Instagram
users commenting:
“Bantu knots are NOT
to be worn by white
people in any context,
period.”
While others came to her
defence, including Labour
MP David Lammy, who
dismissed the allegations of
cultural appropriation as “poppycock.”
As well as, the model,
Naomi Campbell (whose mother
was born in Jamaica), who
commented on Adele’s picture
with two love heart emojis and
two pictures of the Jamaican
flag.
So, what can you do to avoid cultural
appreciation?
- Listen to the people who are
most affected.
- If you were to get called In or
Out, listen even more and then
admit your mistake.
- Always be open to learning from
those leading.