Overwatch's new Mei skin draws criticism for cultural appropriation
The MM-Mei skin has the Chinese hero sporting a Black hairstyle.
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Overwatch's new Mei skin draws criticism for cultural appropriation (Read staff post)
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...I mean if it's clearly based on an actual MMA fighter, I think the problem doesn't exactly lay with Overwatch on this one but goes further up the ladder.
User Banned (Permanent): Dismissing concerns of cultural appropriation, account in junior phase
So basically the issue isn't overwatch, but people are angry because this Chinese fighter wears her hair a certain way?
I'm sorry, but I don't think hairstyle should be considered any kind of cultural appropriation, I've known people of all races that wear their hairstyle in all sorts of ways. This just seems ridiculous.
" but cornrows are typically not worn by fighters who are not Black. "
That's not true at all. It's a pretty common hairstyle for fighters with longhair in general in MMA. I know Urijah Faber use to wear it a lot.
That's not true at all. It's a pretty common hairstyle for fighters with longhair in general in MMA. I know Urijah Faber use to wear it a lot.
My wife brought this up and actually found the source of the braids. We still figured it might raise eyebrows for people who didn't know where the style came from, though. I feel like an official communication about the inspiration would clear this up.
i saw this pic from the neck up a while ago and was like wtf
but eh
if it a functional hairstyle for boxing/MMA and she's supposed to be based on this one specifically... then whatever
but eh
if it a functional hairstyle for boxing/MMA and she's supposed to be based on this one specifically... then whatever
Literally nothing. Thats the way she has her hair in fights which is perfectly okay and thats what they went with for this Mei skin. That being said it might just be the quality of that screenshot but the hair on that skin looks sooooo bad.
Unless I'm missing something, the article doesn't actually cite any of the supposed fan criticism, i.e., from who, from where, saying what, etc. Sloppy "article".
I actually wouldn't mind more ethnicities rocking the cornrows because that would help make them more mainstream. I mean, it's sad that that's what it would take but we live in a sad world.
The article seems desperate to call this cultural appropriation right after telling you it's literally based on a Chinese fighter with the same hair
User banned (2 weeks): dismissive driveby
It's the current news meta, find a couple of random users on twitter that disagree with something and write a quick article with some eye catching title for easy clicks.
Just reminds me of the Kenyon Martin and Jeremy Lin back and forth lol. Don't think this is a big deal tbh.
Oh yeah, I believe someone out there has said something and maybe there were some Twitter threads and so on, but this piece could have taken ten extra minutes to lay out the response. Like...how extensive is the response here, what exactly have people said, who said it, etc. It's just really lazy and empty "reporting".
Every female MMA fighter. WWE has gone with the "female MMA" for years and that hairstyle has veen worn by Ronda Rouse and the now called Sonya DeVille in her MMA phase.
A lot of non Black women are adopting cornrows and other styles you would normally see on Black people. It is definitely appropriation, but it has become such a norm in the fight world, especially amongst popular Asian fighters that it would be an uphill battle to put an end to it.
That being said, it looks so terrible on Mei. Yikes
That being said, it looks so terrible on Mei. Yikes
It's pretty lucrative to search for keywords on Twitter, pick out a handful of Tweets, and write an article saying "People are saying ____ about game today". It isn't particularly insightful reporting but I guess it meets quotas for them.
It's absolutely OK because it has nothing to do with cultural appropriation.
Is using hairstyles that are popular with different cultures looked down upon? I honestly didn't know this. I'm not sure why it's bad unless the said hairstyles have a history of being used as a harmful stereotype. I guess I'm pretty ignorant on this subject so I'd like to know about it.
*Editing my comment after reading the thread more and thinking about my biases. Nah this isn't ok and people are right to be upset about this.
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how else are you going to keep long hair in an MMA match? This isn't "appropriation" it's "your hair will definitely get ripped off if you don't braid it"
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Didn't people give Jeremy Lin shit for having dreadlocks a few years ago? I liked his response to it.
How many female MMA fighters have gone into a ring/octagon with straightened hair, curls or styled in a way which you would see on the red carpet?
They braid, plat, or get cornrows so it's not so easy for their hair to get yanked out or make it difficult to see their opponent during a fight.
Even male MMA fighters do it for one of many reasons and I am certain no female or male MMA fighter does it to appropriate.
They braid, plat, or get cornrows so it's not so easy for their hair to get yanked out or make it difficult to see their opponent during a fight.
Even male MMA fighters do it for one of many reasons and I am certain no female or male MMA fighter does it to appropriate.
I am not familiar with Overwatch, but the article says no.
I don't see the issue considering the circumstance. However, it's a very hideous skin, nonetheless.
Apex had Crypto and Mirage skins that came with black hairstyles, which I thought looked tacky on them, but you didn't see a lot of people mad about it cuz that game launched with 2 playable black women.
None. People have complained about that to Blizzard for 5 years.
Headline for clicks and writing that inside the article to prevent backlash
