Unprofessional to fashion trend cont.

By Xochitl Neely

Other than hairstyles, waist beads because they became a trend and people wore it as a fashion accessory without knowing the true history behind them. 

These beads are small glass beads on a string that come from Africa and are a symbol of femininity, fertility, sensuality, and spiritual well-being. These beads have history behind them and when people adopt the trend   without even trying to understand the history behind it, is when it becomes a problem because it could be something that is meant to stay in that culture and can be seen as offensive when worn by someone not in that culture. 

Eyebrows cuts. No one knows the history behind this style. First this style was appropriated by white celebrities/ influencers by then changing the name to eyebrow slits. They originated in the 1980s and 1990s within hip-hop culture. Rapper Big Daddy Kane was one of the first to include this in his look. These cuts were not a trend even though they were a staple. They were under that hip- hop stereotype when anything hip-hop was bad for a while especially in the black community. Once you dress or act a certain way when you’re black someone thinks they can just see your whole future and all they really see is dead or in jail. These cuts showed gang affiliation for a while and ended up getting banned in schools but now it’s on trend magazine. 

AAVE is another example of a trend influenced by black culture. AAVE or african american vernacular english is a controversial topic because yes people that aren’t black use these words but it wasn’t too long ago when Black people were called derogatory terms and judged because of the words they chose to use. AAVE came from words being put together to shorten them and although this language was never kept only in the black community, no one understands that it took white people rapping along to black rappers songs and using the words they used for AAVE to be excepted the way it should have been when black people first started using it.

Black culture has strongly influenced society today. The history behind everything in this culture is important to know just so others are well aware that this can be something they can wear or say with no repercussions. Our culture and the history behind it goes all the way back is important just like anyone else’s history and culture so if it can get respected the way others respect theirs then you can show appreciation.