Tag: social issues

A non-Native wearing a headdress because it “looks cool” is anything but respectful

Whether it’s a fashion designer feeling “inspired” by Native culture or a celebrity slapping on some war paint and feathers, it seems like the practice of misappropriating Indigenous cultures is growing across a vast majority of industries.

The latest culprit of the ongoing headdress-wearing hipster epidemic is Christina Fallin, the daughter of Oklahoma’s governor.

Last week, Fallin joined the likes of Karlie Kloss, Khloe Kardashian, Lana Del Rey, Gwen Stefani, Russell Brand, Harry Styles, and many other celebrities who donned a feather headdress and posted a picture of it to their social media accounts.

In a statement Fallin released after removing the picture from both Facebook and Instagram, she defended her actions and asked critics to “please forgive us if we innocently adorn ourselves with your beautiful things. We do so with the utmost respect.”

Appropriation, or the act of adopting or representing certain elements of another culture, happens everywhere. Unfortunately, there is a greater amount of ignorance among Canadians and Americans when it comes to problems with misappropriation involving Indigenous cultures.

However, as Native Appropriations blogger, Adrienne Keene, pointed out, what makes Fallin’s actions different from most is that it does not stem from pure ignorance. She blatantly labeled her post “Appropriate Culturation” and is therefore well aware of the concept of cultural appropriation, and knew it would be controversial. There is absolutely nothing respectful about that.

In a nutshell, all that her “apology” demonstrated was white privilege, a colonial sense of entitlement and an example of the oppression that Indigenous people continue to face today. If Indigenous people are expressing how they are offended by these types of actions and stereotyped imagery, then accept that, apologize, and don’t repeat similar actions. Do not tell us that you know better about what is and isn’t offensive to us.

Furthermore, our anger is far more than an oversight in cultural sensitivity. In her statement, Fallin mentions how she is “eternally grateful” for coming into contact with “Native American culture” growing up in Oklahoma. Which element of Native American culture does she mean?

There is no universal “Native American culture.” In Canada alone, we have over 50 distinct nations and over 360 First Nations communities, each with its own unique language, culture and traditions. The stereotypical feathered headdress or war bonnet typically worn by various Plains nations is not a staple in every nation’s regalia. There isn’t a single garment or item that can adequately represent Indigenous identity as a whole.

Fallin referred to a headdress as being a beautiful thing. It is okay to find our things aesthetically pleasing, because they are. However, admiration is not an excusable justification for wearing an item that is normally restricted to a specific culture.

If non-Natives admire a culture and want to show respect, learn about that culture. If non-Natives love Native fashion, spare a social media uproar by showing support for Indigenous designers by purchasing authentic Native swag rather than buying cheap knock-offs from stores like Forever 21.

While something like fashion may seem frivolous to many, wearing a headdress just because it looks cool is not only disrespectful to the nations that do wear headdresses for ceremonial purposes, but it also contributes to a fictionalized “pan-Indian” view of all Indigenous cultures. This undermines the diversity of all Indigenous people in Canada and the U.S.. All our distinct nations become a one-dimensional and fictionalized representation that is rooted in colonial ideology, without our consultation.

Not only is it offensive and hurtful, but has dangerous implications for our identities and an understanding by Canadians of who we are, the social, political and economic issues that we face, how we are treated by the government and society and, most importantly, ourselves.

A man in Philadelphia has been notoriously dubbed “the Swiss Cheese Pervert” after pulling up next to unsuspecting women on the street, masturbating with a slice of Swiss cheese, and trying to solicit sex in exchange for money.

In response, women seem to have run scared, (figuratively) boarded up their windows, and kept their children inside. Men have taken to social media to make light of the situation and laugh it off. Enter jokes about “Philadelphia” brand cream cheese and suddenly violation is absolutely hilarious.

So while men like the Swiss Cheese Pervert are at large, getting off on exposing themselves and harassing women, it begs the question: where has everyone else hidden their balls?

This article is calling for a shift in mentality: the population needs to stop believing that this is a natural or normal social encounter.

The previous example is obviously a sensational one, but women are indirectly violated by comments and unwanted stares every day. Though there is no definite way to stop street harassment from happening, the person on the receiving end should feel confident enough to speak up and make a fuss when being publically objectified.

At the very least, the act of shutting down unwanted advances is self-affirming and cathartic. Keeping silent, walking away, and internalizing the frustration is, in most cases, the wrong thing to do. It perpetuates the belief that women’s bodies are merely a source of entertainment for men, and that they have the right to freely comment on or criticize them.

“[Silence] provides validation for any non-consensual sexual interaction, so I think it’s very important for people to call that stuff out,” said Julie Michaud, administrative coordinator at Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy.

“It’s not OK, it’s not cute, it’s not flirtatious… it’s aggressive and threatening,” she said.

The intent of this piece is by no means to discriminate or victim-blame, but to draw attention to the fact that scores of people disregard these transgressions and pass them off as a “necessary evil” that complements urban living.

It is understandably an emotionally-trying and challenging situation for a woman to be in, and it’s absolutely ridiculous that they are faced with these encounters to begin with. Not everyone can harness the confidence and the cojones to shoot down someone infringing on personal boundaries. Besides, safety is always paramount; no one would expect a woman to call out a gang of guys past midnight on a deserted street.

However, predators will take advantage of the situation if they feel that someone is easily intimidated, so under the right circumstances, just yelling out “stop” or another expletive of choice provides a great feeling of release and satisfaction, and also makes the harasser more obvious to the public eye.

The onus is not only on women to speak up. Men share an equal responsibility.

“The thing that is most powerful is for men to call it out, because those behaviours are often encouraged and read as normal in a male social situations,” Michaud said.

Unfortunately, they can’t always be counted upon to do so. When there is a social norm in place, like that concerning street harassment, people adapt to it and are less likely to take a stand.

Ultimately, women should be able to stand up and tell perverts where to stick it (a fridge, in the case of the Swiss Cheese Pervert) and feel good about doing so. Though an outward, societal change is ideal, we can only work on personally developing an inner strength to help deal with the “macho” nonsense.