Oriella St Louis
When you have over 30 million followers, your actions have consequences. Especially in the case of Kylie Jenner and cultural appropriation. The media has always chosen to use the strictest definition of the phrase, especially in the case of celebrities. Particularly Kylie, a young woman who is primarily known for her beautiful, powerful, and often times controversial family.
Kylie has sparked controversy in the last few months for a variety of reasons. These include getting her lips enlarged at the ripe age of 17, and dating a 25 year old man with an ex wife and a kid. As startling as these actions are, that’s not why she’s getting heat. The young woman has recently been accused of being, for lack of better word, racist. Her prominent presence on social media has only backed this theory. Her posts vary from pictures of herself with braids in her hair, grills (an accessory for your teeth that premiered primarily in black culture), and even the shape and size of her backside.
These actions could be seen merely as showing her appreciation for black culture. However, Jenner fails to address the fact that this isn’t her culture. She often remains silent when it comes to black issues, and denies that she has any involvement with the culture at all. And it’s not just the media that’s voiced their concerns but her peers as well.
Amandla Stenberg a young actress who is known for running in the same social circles as Jenner, publicly expressed her disdain for Kylie’s recent photographs. Under a picture of Kylie with braids, Amandla comments, “[W]hen u appropriate black features and culture but fail to use your position of power to help black Americans by directing attention towards our wigs instead of police brutality or racism. #whitegirlsdoitbetter”. The comment sparked controversy on Instagram and Twitter causing Jenner to be bashed by thousands of fans.
While I believe her incessant interest and dabbling in black culture has earned her some backlash, I’m left pondering whether a 17-year-old should be so brutally scrutinized in the media. Despite her adult-like behaviors, she is still just a child.
Surely there is another place the media can focus their attention. Why are we discussing the braids in Kylie Jenner’s hair? There are more important issues to discuss such as the obscure death of Sandra Bland, who is speculated to have died in police custody rather than the reports that she committed suicide in her jail cell.
In times like these where the voices of the oppressed are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, why are people so fixated on one person? She is not yet an adult, and is without a doubt not done learning all there is to know about the world and the ignorance that exists within it.