It’s that time of year again. I usually like to give myself a rest and hit the reset button around New Years (New Year, new me… Ya know?) but by late August, early September I usually become exhausted by the world’s tom foolery again. It is a never ending cycle and this time around, just like last year, Kylie Jenner has been the one to pull the trigger once again.
In previous years, it was the lips, the hips and the Kylie Jenner lip kits (as if she could possibly produce a product that would do the job). This year, Puma has taken it upon themselves to add to the destruction and cultural appropriation.
The historically-Hip Hop company has placed Jenner in ads and managed to help her take her appropriation to the next level when many thought that she had reached her peak. I honestly thought that the had reached her climax when she started wearing lace fronts like she had an extensive rich cultural history of both oppression and triumph and six side hustles. But unfortunately, with a little assistance, she has managed to transform herself from Jenner from sunny Los Angeles to "Jenny from the block."
It surprised me that Puma, being such a good representative of both American and Caribbean Black culture (with people like Usain Bolt and Rihanna representing their brand), would stoop this low for popularity. The un-athletic Jenner is pictured in the sports and streetwear ads and short videos rocking athletic wear, big gold rings and earrings, and other various retro Black styles.
They placed the privileged reality star in the south Bronx for her photo shoot, a place where even natives are sometimes hesitant to go. The birthplace of Hip Hop culture.
To me, it is just disrespectful. I am so sick of this child appropriating Black culture. I have made many references to Jenner and her shenanigans, most notably when I spoke about the lip challenge that damaged the lips of many kids, who were emulating the "new" big lip look that the media was telling us that she made popular as if millions of people were not born with them (see video here).
This is something that has been bothering me for a very long time. I just think that Kylie Jenner (and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan) represents everything I hate about white privilege and cultural appropriation. Aside from the fact that the media is telling us that this is okay, what I hate more is that the Black community as a whole, has yet to disown the wicked step sisters that we, ourselves have adopted into our sacred family tree. As Puma sales flourish, and reviews continue to be released of how horrible her lip kit is (which is to be expected seeing as she has only had lips for the past ten minutes), I just hope that we are able to call a leach a leach and acknowledge the fact that giving other people the rights, privileges and deeds to our homes is, indeed, taking away from Black history and culture.
This is not sharing culture, it's just insulting.
