Tag: Cultural appropriateness

Very often we hear about celebrities, TV shows or, in general, people in the public eye being called out for Cultural Appropriation.  It happens when people that belong to a dominant culture use traditional elements of a different culture in a non-respectful way, by taking it out of context and not researching enough, therefore staying ignorant about said culture. More precisely cultural appropriation is: “Speaking for others or representing them in fictional as well as legal, social, artistic, and political work [as] appropriate or proper, especially when individuals or groups with more social, economic, and political power perform this role

In January, Vogue France faced heavy criticism from Social Media users after posting a picture of model and actress Julia Fox to their Instagram feed. In the picture, the celebrity wears an all-black look, including a black headscarf covering most of her hair. Initially, Vogue France titled the post “yes to the headscarf”. However, the caption attracted such negative attention from Social Media users that it was later edited, without Vogue France acknowledging the change. The post received more than 4,000 comments, unusual for a Vogue France post. In the comments, people decried the double standard of idolizing Western women for