There's a really unfortunate trend in the media that when people of color embrace a trend, it's "trashy" — but when white people do it, it's "fashion."
Please see: locs, baby hairs, pierced nails, Iggy Azalea.
This cultural appropriation — which is, as our senior editor Evette Dionne says, is "stealing bits from other cultures, then presenting it as edgy or bold… while not acknowledging the origin of the custom" — is hurtful bullshit. The latest appropriated "trend" getting called out: tooth gems.
Tooth gems are back in the news cycle, primarily because model and professional famous person Hailey Baldwin now has two.
"Because why not," she captioned the picture.
Because Hailey, as a white woman, has these gems, they're being written up by dozens of outlets as a "cool new beauty trend."
"'90s tooth gems are making a comeback and we're here for it," says Marie Claire.
"Hailey Baldwin wears diamond tooth gems on Instagram," says Teen Vogue.
"Tooth jewelry is making the ultimate comeback," says Look Magazine.
Except… it's not. Tooth decoration has been part of many Black and Latinx people's looks for years, but that's not story-worthy. It's only worth writing about when white people do it.
People are really sounding off on this tone-deaf coverage on Twitter.
Maybe these headlines are... a SCAM.
And, as it's being pointed out, this is NOT an isolated incident — this is part of a way bigger trend in fashion and beauty.
Again — the media likes to cover things as "trends" when they're embraced by white people, but when people of color embrace them, it's unacceptable. As has been pointed out, when Kylie Jenner wears cornrows, it's GROUNDBREAKING… but Black servicewomen in the Army were banned from wearing them until February 2017.
Things to think about.
In the meantime, let's revel in the excellence of model Adwoah Aboah and the Chanel-shaped gem on her front tooth.
(She's actually the best, by the way.)
Because the historical and cultural context of Black fashion and style can't — and shouldn't — be stripped away from these "trends."
In the meantime, here's an excellent primer on the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation. Let's hope that more people — and publications — take note.
