First up was the Indian Headdress scandal for Swedish super giant H&M. Now we all know the uproar caused by the Native Indian ensemble worn in 'that' Victoria's Secret show last year. To an extent we can understand, the model was very scantily clad. However the demand to remove an innocent accessory seems to far. The item in question is marketed for festival wear. I myself have seen many at festivals in past, along with the whole Navajo theme. In no way do I find this offensive or in the slightest racist.
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The second news story this week broke today. The Nike leggings which have been removed from sale, as they a deemed offensive to the indigenous people of Australasia. To some they look like a pattern on a pair of leggings. At some point I am sure pretty much every pattern has appeared on a pair of leggings, including the above mentioned trend. The leggings design has come from tribal tattoos from Islands such as New Zealand and Samoa. These tattoos and patterns are sacred in their culture. So really this is debate of culture, not racism. Its sad to think that throwing the word racist into a story makes the readership increase.
The same question arises though. The leggings are not demeaning culture, they are showcasing it. People buy the patterns on their clothing because the like it, they find it attractive. Should all tribal designs and tattoos be banned on anyone not from that culture?
Things like this start to raise all kinds of issues which others may actually take serious offence to. One comment on the article posted by Vogue states, "how do white people even think they have the right to decide what's offensive to cultures that aren't their own oh wait i know the answer".
Now this starts to open a whole other Kettle of fish, where people are assuming that the white man is out to get the black man, such an archaic view on racism which the world is trying to stamp out. The hero that is Morgan Freeman was quoted saying "How do we stop racism? Stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man, and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man".
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This is political correctness gone mad. I admit, yes, I am no Native Indian so, no, I do not have a leg to stand on. However, where do you draw the line. When I was 6 I had a whole outfit, headdress included, Pocahontas style.Now is there a problem with that? I was never aware that I was being racist in a game of dress up, and isn't festival wear just an adult form of dressing up. Is because you are now an adult that the tables have turned. If demands to remove stock from shelves should this not apply to the entire trend. Whose to say a jacket, like pictured above isn't racist? Or Jewellery which is inspired from Native Indians or Aztec or South East Asian Hill Tribes, are these all not deemed to be racist.
The second news story this week broke today. The Nike leggings which have been removed from sale, as they a deemed offensive to the indigenous people of Australasia. To some they look like a pattern on a pair of leggings. At some point I am sure pretty much every pattern has appeared on a pair of leggings, including the above mentioned trend. The leggings design has come from tribal tattoos from Islands such as New Zealand and Samoa. These tattoos and patterns are sacred in their culture. So really this is debate of culture, not racism. Its sad to think that throwing the word racist into a story makes the readership increase.
The same question arises though. The leggings are not demeaning culture, they are showcasing it. People buy the patterns on their clothing because the like it, they find it attractive. Should all tribal designs and tattoos be banned on anyone not from that culture?
Things like this start to raise all kinds of issues which others may actually take serious offence to. One comment on the article posted by Vogue states, "how do white people even think they have the right to decide what's offensive to cultures that aren't their own oh wait i know the answer".
Now this starts to open a whole other Kettle of fish, where people are assuming that the white man is out to get the black man, such an archaic view on racism which the world is trying to stamp out. The hero that is Morgan Freeman was quoted saying "How do we stop racism? Stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man, and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man".
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