Acknowledgement [2/06/2016]

In America, tanning booths are very popular. The idea of having sun-kissed skin is beautiful. Fake-tans and airbrush spray-on tans sell out all the time in the makeup aisles and I’ve always wondered why that was. Why do we like the idea of darkening our skin but would never wish to be part of the race or ethnicity where that skin color comes from? I think there was a movie recently created in exaggeration of this idea, but I find it very confusing the idea of taking from another person’s culture and practice it as if it were your own but continue to hate on that race as well. The method of singing is very common practice among every culture. The idea of “singing like black people” or sounding and speaking with a “black” accent is very common as well. I found this very prominent in Korean culture. 

 The idea of being “Americanized” is to dress, talk, and listen to music from black culture; it’s recognized as exotic and cool to them but at the same time wanting to have the same skin color or even being black would never become a wish for them and I feel as if this has yet to be acknowledged. Because it’s common practice, no one gives it a second thought when it happens. They blast rap music in their ears, place snapbacks on their heads, and wear their hair in braids, yet at the same time they wouldn’t even imagine being black; they are proud of identifying with their culture, but they don’t recognize that many aspects of it are. Having dark skin enrages many people, even the slightest tan on their skin “ruins their image”. 

 There may be some justifications that “imitation is flattery” but there are people who genuinely would hate to call themselves black and constantly try to find skin whitening products in order to avoid being “ugly” and “unattractive” yet at the same time promotes the usage of black culture. And disappointingly enough, I find the same aspect in myself at times. I feel that this usage has been ingrained in the culture that there are many instances where even I did not acknowledge it. At the same time, it makes me feel trapped as if caught between two walls. 

 Whether I follow the main culture or follow the traditional culture, I still feel trapped. I get ridiculed for listening to rap music and performing hip-hop dances but at the same time, if I promote my traditional culture, I would get same amount of ridicule for it. I wondered what would be the alternative option, what else would we be able to do? The idea of stealing another person’s culture is completely real in my eyes, yet the light at the end of the tunnel is missing from sight. 

 The first step into change is acknowledgement, but I still wonder if we can really change a perspective and idea that has been ingrained within a culture for so long where whether they realize it or not (and I’m sure many people are acknowledging this in this day and age), how can we change a set perspective if not only the individual doesn’t want to fight it and the public doesn’t want to fight it?