A Day in the Life of an Appropriator
Cornrow braids are an ancient African hairstyle, possibly dating back as far as 500 B.C. The hairstyle has a rich history, as it has deep roots in African culture and its context in North American culture. Starting in the 1700's, African American slaves were forced to wear their hair in tight braids, as loose hair would get in the way while they worked.
Matt from Thieves of Fashion wanted to find out what would happen if he wore his hair in cornrows.
Snapchat Experiment
Throughout the day, Matt polled his friends and co-workers using Snapchat.
Thumbs up if it's an appropriate form of cultural appropriation or thumbs down if it's an unacceptable form of cultural appropriation.
Throughout the entire day, we received 14 thumbs up and two thumbs down, which shows that people are more likely to let you know over social media if they approve of cultural appropriation. However, just like in public, people are not likely to tell you if they feel it's acceptable over social media, with only 14 per cent sending a a response.