I think we need to talk about bonnets today and cultural appreciation vs appropriation!
Bonnets have been popping up everywhere! On shelves at Urban Outfitters, in “self-care starter kits” you can get from Amazon, on white girls doing GRWM videos like it’s just another skincare step. And everytime I see it, I feel this weird mix of irritation and exhaustion. Like, not guttural madness but just, like…why?
Most people don’t understand this but bonnets weren’t made for aesthetics. They were never meant to be trendy AT ALL, honestly. Cee Cee’s Closet says, “Black women wore them because they had to. The bonnet became another mechanism to concentrate dominion over enslaved Africans and indigenous people as well as free mulattos. While the Negro act of 1735 not only made gathering and learning to read illegal but also instituted guidelines for what slaves could wear in South Carolina.
Field workers were reserved to the cheapest of fabrics while house slaves were provided with slightly elevated attire to distinguish from their lower counterparts but not match the quality of their owners. The outdoor slave wore a simple bonnet of scrap fabric tied at the chin while indoor workers donned designs and fabric reflective of European styles. Nonetheless, this token of bondage provided a connection to and loose preservation of heritage, as head wraps served as symbols of regality in many parts of Subsaharan Africa. Thus, the bonnet became both a rite of passage and personal piece of identity for enslaved African Americans.”
And I’m only writing about this because just last week, a white girl asked me if it was okay for her to wear one. I won’t name any names. She meant well from the bottom of her heart. She said it helped keep her hair from getting frizzy because she had curly hair. I didn’t bark at her or blow up. I told her the truth: if you’re gonna wear it, learn the history. And don’t buy it from Amazon. Find a Black-owned business and put your money where your “appreciation” is.
That’s the thing, though. Most non-poc don’t actually care about our reasons. They only care about what looks cool. They want a cookie without knowing how to bake it. The style without the struggle. They treat culture like a thrift store. They’ll try on what fits and continue to toss the rest.
Appropriation is when something sacred becomes costume. And it happens to us constantly. Black hair, Black slang, Black dances, Black music have all been picked apart and sold back to us by people who never had to earn it. They don’t live in our skin. They don’t get called “ghetto” for the same things they get praised for.
I’ve been watching this happen since I was a kid. Growing up, I’d get told I “talk white” or I wasn’t “Black enough,” but then hear white kids use AAVE like they invented it. And to me it was weird, being the blueprint, and the afterthought all at the same time.
I’m not saying people can’t be part of the culture. But don’t skip the reading. Don’t jump to the accessories without understanding the history. If you love Black culture, you should love Black people, too, and not just when it’s convenient. Not just when it looks good on you.
So yeah, wear the bonnet 100 percent but know who made it matter. Respect the women who wrapped their hair when nobody saw beauty in it. And if you’re not ready to do all that, maybe just leave it alone.
https://www.ceeceesclosetnyc.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-bonnets?srsltid=AfmBOorNxTeE6bryN_thcOZbgO8gUVTD8AjWrlXsfLEDRaHsRyIFTwkP
Let me know how you feel about this and also give me a follow @DealingWithDiversity on Instagram!
