#5 Hipster Headdress

Since the class has been discussing the concepts of cultural appropriation and colonization in connection to feminism, I immediately knew that I wanted to use this weeks blog post to delve deeper into the appropriation and over-sexualization of Native American culture in the media. Because this is a fairly broad topic I will specifically mention a performance by the singer Keysha in 2010 on American Idol where she wears a headdress and warpaint and sings a song about getting wasted and naked.

As a girl who grew up in New Mexico and was fortunate enough as a child to learn and be surrounded by Native American culture, there has always been a very deep and sacred place in my heart for these people (as I am one of them). I have noticed more and more over the past couple years that Native American style has become increasingly popular and trendy among my group of peers. By Native American style I am referring to headdresses, warbonnets, feathers, painted faces (war-paint), turquoise jewelry, etc.

the above left photo is of Kesha at the American Idol performance in 2010. Kesha along with many other models and singers in popular culture without knowing it or not, are becoming representations of a culture of women. When looking at these photographs I am reminded of the discussion we had in class about colonization from Mohanty's article Under Western Eyes and cultural appropriation from Gopal and Moorti's Bollywood in Drag. This cultural appropriation or borrowing from another culture comes in the form of the Native American feather headdress, which I believe is most widely worn by my peers and seen in popular culture.

Not only is the headdress of cultural and spiritual significance to many Native Americans who still use them for sacred ceremonies, but it is also being worn primarily by white women who are scantily dressed. As you can see in Kesha's photo she is wearing the headdress with fishnets and a small sparkly top while singing "Blah Blah Blah" a song about getting wasted.

This representation of Native American women by predominantly over-sexualized white women is incredibly harmful. I also feel this argument is especially relevant now as Halloween is fast approaching and ladies love going for that " sexy indian" look. How could they not? Native Americans are savage, sexy, and exotic right?

here is a horrifying statistic on violence and sexual assault against Native American women.

 "Over the past decade, federal government studies have consistently shown that American Indian and Alaska Native women experience much higher levels of sexual violence than other women in the USA. xxData gathered by the US Department of Justice indicates that Native American and Alaska Native women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the USA in general. A US Department of Justice study on violence against women concluded that 34.1 per cent of American Indian and Alaska Native women – or more than one in three – will be raped during their lifetime; the comparable figure for the USA as a whole is less than one in five.

 this type of objectification and appropriation is NOT in any way, honoring or respecting this culture and their history and values. A drunk girl dancing around half naked with a headdress on is not a form of being honorable or fashion forward. IN FACT it is almost a very sloppy representation of oppression, colonialism and racism in this country. Shouldn't there be some social responsibility for this kind of ignorance??