cultural appropriation

The Devil Wears Cornrows: Could Appropriation Lead to the End of Fashion?

A true reckoning of fashion’s debt might mean the end of houses, the end of fashion week, the end of “high” and “low,” the end of trend forecasts written by anyone who isn’t a 15-year-old brown girl from Chicago’s West Side.

Thief in the Night: The White Brand Co-Opting the Black History of Sleep Bonnets

When white people appropriate Black haircare, they reshape the conversation to prioritize the very people who called Black hair into question to begin with. Read more »

Break the Spell: Witchcraft Is Capitalism’s New Trick

While many critiques of the Pinrose Witch Kit are valid and well-argued, most fail to address the bigger issue: Witchcraft and New Age spirituality have long been a site of cultural theft. Read more »

Remember Me: The History of Día de Muertos

The cobblestone streets of Pátzcuaro, Mexico, bustle with frenzied preparation in the weeks leading up to Día de Muertos. Read more »

“Coco” Proves Cultural Appreciation is Possible

I set out to the theater on Thanksgiving Day expecting to hate Disney-Pixar’s Coco. I was delightfully surprised. Read more »

Feminist Snack Break: El Día de los Muertos is not Halloween

Day of the Dead products at Target are what happens when capitalism takes cultural traditions that go back centuries and repackages them for profit. Read more »

What Not to Wear On Halloween

Your annual reminder that racist and transphobic costumes are no good.  Read more »

Feminist Snack Break: This Is What Cultural Appropriation Looks Like

Newsflash: Día de los Muertos and Halloween aren’t the same thing. Read more »

The Fragility of Solidarity: Family History and Political Identity

Easier to blame POC “identity politics” than anti-Blackness or wages of whiteness. Easier to fall in line with the new president than to resist. Read more »

Too Many Kooks in the Kitchen: #Burritogate and Co-opting Mexican Culture

This “adventure narrative” is hugely successful in food culture: The chef has a cultural experience, and patrons get to taste a new version of the inspiration. It’s a story that sells. Read more »

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