LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 26: Jack Harlow attends the 2022 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for BET)
Popular rapper Jack Harlow is trendy after wearing a cap when he attended a Louisville City FC soccer match this weekend in Kentucky. After images of Harlow posing with fans wearing a black t-shirt, reflective sunglasses and the matching beanie in question surfaced, they went viral on social media.
Criticism against Harlow quickly followed, and the 25-year-old has since been inundated with condemnation for his decision to wear a beanie as headgear. Many cite the fact that black women wearing bonnets in public are a provocative topic, even within the black community.
Is Harlow guilty of cultural appropriation? Although Harlow has yet to comment on the negative reaction he received received“The mixed feedback has been quick and strong as fans react to this sensitive and controversial topic.”
An user tweeted“If I see a bunch of white kids walking around with beanies on Jack Harlow, they will have to answer for his crimes.”
“They’re angry because if a black woman does this they call her ghetto for it, but Jack, a white man, doesn’t get the same smoke,” another read. Tweeter.
Another user responded sarcastically with“Why don’t you call Jack Harlow ‘ghetto’ and ‘classless’ for wearing that beanie?”
Indeed, bonnets like hair covering “have deep historical and cultural significance, as well as a stigma that continues to this day, particularly regarding their wearing in public.”
Hatred against the hat dates back to slavery. Star Donaldson, host of Byrdie’s Crown shorts, explains that “Historically, the style of a bonnet reflected “wealth, ethnicity, martial status, emotional state, and other facets of identity.” » Everything changed during slavery, when bonnets were “used as weapons” against black people. They were used to visibly single out black women as inferior, even subhuman. said Donaldson.
Just two years ago, comedian Mo’Nique Hicks posted a personal PSA on her Instagram: ask “’Young queens’ (read: Black women and women) need to think twice before deciding to wear sleepwear and loungewear in public. »
In the video, Mo’Nique recalls a recent trip, during which she saw large numbers of black women sporting scarves and hats as they waited in line to deplane at the Atlanta airport. She said it was “too many to exploit”, and commented because he “It was so offensive to her.”
It’s still up for debate whether Harlow was wrong or not, but like Teen Vogue States, “we must not forget that curly hair is not exclusive to one community. As long as he doesn’t use it as a means to achieve the “black aesthetic,” Harlow has as much right to source bonnets from the beauty industry as anyone else. The side eyes are only for the free pass he gets for wearing an item that black women are routinely judged for.
