The entire point of white women doing mma with braids like that is there's nothing to grab onto and yank. Guess what you can do with a ponytail? It literally defeats the entire purpose of it as a protective harstyle.
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Overwatch's new Mei skin draws criticism for cultural appropriation (Read staff post)
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Yes really.
Anyone could easily just grab her existing ponytail in a real fight. As such, there's no need to actually braid her hair down: you can pull loose hair into a ponytail and receive the same practical result. Loose hair, if pulled back hard enough, will stay in a ponytail. I've had permed hair for the majority of my life, including during my short fighting stint. I know how this works.
But methinks no one thought of that because it was more of a mad dash to dismiss Black folks and the anonymous-yet-ever-convenient Twitter wokescolds than it was to actually have a meaningful discussion.
So again, good job.
I get that part, and that makes the skin inaccurate to the sport, which is a failure on Blizzard's part. Though probably it was an artistic decision involved here.
Or is this a case where if it were more accurate it'd be less offensive?
Also, it's braids not cornrows.
To me, the issue of cultural appropriation is always context and purpose. I don't mind people from other cultures cooking (or, honestly, trying to cook) our traditional food, using our music instruments, wearing our costumes or participating in our rituals.
What bothers me is them not recognizing where it comes from, presenting it as their, changing it and claiming it's what my culture does and, more importantly, profiting from it or taking the spotlight that should belong to us.
It's not part of my culture to wear that hairstyle but I would have absolutely no problem with a woman using it, or Blizzard putting it in a game if it's a representation of someone who wears that hair. I'd have an issue with them mixing our culture with others like it's just atrezzo, or profiting from it without at least donating a share of the profits back to the original cultures, although sadly that's something I have yet to see happen.
Also, I want to make one last point. When you see yourself in media, you're not being represented; you are being marketed to.
What bothers me is them not recognizing where it comes from, presenting it as their, changing it and claiming it's what my culture does and, more importantly, profiting from it or taking the spotlight that should belong to us.
It's not part of my culture to wear that hairstyle but I would have absolutely no problem with a woman using it, or Blizzard putting it in a game if it's a representation of someone who wears that hair. I'd have an issue with them mixing our culture with others like it's just atrezzo, or profiting from it without at least donating a share of the profits back to the original cultures, although sadly that's something I have yet to see happen.
Also, I want to make one last point. When you see yourself in media, you're not being represented; you are being marketed to.
....
Mei has cornrows, which is a type of braid.
Oh please. "Hey Blacks, don't get too comfortable with seeing and hearing yourselves in Overwatch. Did you know the game was made by.... a corporation?!"
User banned (permanent): Concern trolling in a thread about cultural appropriation
My bad, I didn't even know what cornrows were.
I guess it's topical? Sorry, I'm trying to formulate a reply here but my face is on fire. Gimme a minute
What is wrong with being marketed to? I am a black man and if there was a video game that had a black male character marketed to me, I would be happy with it. White male gamers have had video game characters marketed towards them like Nathan drake and Marcus Fenix. I do not have an issue with these white characters. I would be more satisfied with gaming if there was more diversity.
Lmao. My man came in acting like he knows braids and then admits he never seen cornrows.
Clara Amfo (UK BBC DJ) put it best.
"You want my culture, my expertise and my music but you don't want me."
I can fully understand why people would feel a bit shit that the rare usage of black Culture in overwatch is used for this before a black woman appears in the game.
You can argue the merits of the article but to use it as a springboard for declaring cultural appropriation ridiculous or whatever as so many people have done here is tone deaf.
If you treat everything in isolation and declare it "fine" you miss why the issues exist in the first place.
This thread is so messy. My god. It´s not that hard to be educated about these kind of issues.
The way that are people out here using arguments like "Cancel everything", "Blizzard doesn´t need to ask for permission", "Everything is wrong nowadays", "Twitter this Twitter that". Don´t use this thread to say dumb things. People like this tend to use these arguments just to dismiss real and important topics.
The way that are people out here using arguments like "Cancel everything", "Blizzard doesn´t need to ask for permission", "Everything is wrong nowadays", "Twitter this Twitter that". Don´t use this thread to say dumb things. People like this tend to use these arguments just to dismiss real and important topics.
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Not to mention the skin just looks goofy as hell. She looks goofy as hell like that. No to mention there isn't a black woman character in OW? Come on now.
User Banned (Permanent): Dismissing concerns of cultural appropriation, previous ban for excusing blackfacce
Cultural appropriation is such a stupid, idiotic takeaway from this, and all other cases it's been mentioned. Culture is ment to be shared, that's why we have culture. I've never heard about anyone being angry because someone has mimiced or weared anything from their culture. It's always a single person or something being offended by someone else. To quote Stephen Fry: "So fucking what". It's stupid and people that say others can't look like or dress like some cultures is disgusting and pathetic.
I thought shit would look better after the thread lock, but-
But God damn....
yeah that comment was really just the cherry on top of all the dismissive comments and lack of even trying to understand
User Banned (Permanent): Mansplaining, condescending rhetoric in a sensitive thread, misusing the ticket system to troll
You say that but every fighter I've seen wear hair pulled back into a ponytail eventually has their hair get loose.
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Maybe training a little bit at your local gym doesn't make you an expert on proper hair technique in a ring? Or are these professionals just doing it wrong?
You seen cornrows that turn into a giant ponytail that you can pull in UFC?
that's not the same as that picture so it's mute. show me one exactly like that picture.
Literally an mma style character where every female fighter wears the hair in that type of style. Not sure what the issue is here. Feel like sometimes people stretch really far. I'd understand if the character wasn't a fighter but she clearly is and has the hairstyle to match.
How is it any different? It's long hair in the back that can be pulled. Women have cornrows with long hair in the back all the time. Know why? Because you're not allowed to attack the back of someone's head. The point of braids is to keep hair out of their face during a fight. So the back doesn't mean anything.
I fear my timing is flawed but the overall conversation has got me curious. In terms of functionality, that ponytail looks like a bit of a weak spot to me.
reposting cause it seems people don't know what they talking about. that hair copying this
What a cesspit of a thread. Such a graveyard, and rightfully so. I still remember how, when I was in secondary school where I was one of six or seven black kids in the entire year group of 240 students, the school rule was that no one could have a haircut below a number 1. This completely ignored the fact that a lot of black men and women have their hair short, but the school didn't give a fuck.
Black people are constantly facing issues like this in professional and educational environments, so when people who aren't black are seemingly allowed to have traditionally black hairstyles and not be told they're inappropriate, the optics are bad. I do agree that it makes sense for MMA fighters to have their hair in braids as it's a great hairstyle from a utilitarian perspective, but don't ignore the context ffs.
Black people are constantly facing issues like this in professional and educational environments, so when people who aren't black are seemingly allowed to have traditionally black hairstyles and not be told they're inappropriate, the optics are bad. I do agree that it makes sense for MMA fighters to have their hair in braids as it's a great hairstyle from a utilitarian perspective, but don't ignore the context ffs.
Banhammer is swinging wildly, fuck yeah.
Isn't the writer of this article white? This all feels weird.
Isn't the writer of this article white? This all feels weird.
This whole thread is full of people explaining the issue multiple times over. At a certain point if people don't get it, it's because you just don't want to.
This is going to be the first thread I get to see become a graveyard in real time.
Exactly, they don't even have to agree, but they're not even trying to understand people's frame of reference in general.
why are so many of you always willing to ignore the obvious?
This isn't really about who wears cornrows or whatever white people wanna call them today.
It about the fact that black culture is once again only utilized when it benefits white people and the active erasure of black people that has kept
the culture alive. This particular hair style in this case.
Boxerbraids as it's been called are cornrows and that style has actively been deemed as ugly, ghetto, loud, unprofessional you know the regular shit as soon as black people be expressive with our culture. How many camps there gotta be through the years that are forcing lil black kids to remove their cornrows? Their dreads? How many are forced to cut their dreads because some white wrestling coach decided a kid had to force a kid to cut his dreads instead of allowing covering as they usually do? How many grown up people are locked out from job opportunities because it is unprofessional?
And why can Bo Dereks ass throw on some Fulani braids and be a sex symbol for decades with that pic alone? How come Ms my skin color is easy to wash off for when I wanna be blond Kardashian praised for it while the vilification towards black women are rampart?
Again this would not be a problem at all if there was a smidgen of respect for our culture. If we was allowed to exist within our own culture and be as celebrated and praised for our culture as the vultures be when they take from us without any recognition?
No instead y'all Goofy's wanna pretend it something else, something that exists in a vacuum because you once again can't help to look through history with a fat stupid lens of white supremacy.
This isn't really about who wears cornrows or whatever white people wanna call them today.
It about the fact that black culture is once again only utilized when it benefits white people and the active erasure of black people that has kept
the culture alive. This particular hair style in this case.
Boxerbraids as it's been called are cornrows and that style has actively been deemed as ugly, ghetto, loud, unprofessional you know the regular shit as soon as black people be expressive with our culture. How many camps there gotta be through the years that are forcing lil black kids to remove their cornrows? Their dreads? How many are forced to cut their dreads because some white wrestling coach decided a kid had to force a kid to cut his dreads instead of allowing covering as they usually do? How many grown up people are locked out from job opportunities because it is unprofessional?
And why can Bo Dereks ass throw on some Fulani braids and be a sex symbol for decades with that pic alone? How come Ms my skin color is easy to wash off for when I wanna be blond Kardashian praised for it while the vilification towards black women are rampart?
Again this would not be a problem at all if there was a smidgen of respect for our culture. If we was allowed to exist within our own culture and be as celebrated and praised for our culture as the vultures be when they take from us without any recognition?
No instead y'all Goofy's wanna pretend it something else, something that exists in a vacuum because you once again can't help to look through history with a fat stupid lens of white supremacy.
Bro I'm as black as you can be lol. I just don't understand how this is an issue. Other things yes, but this character is based off an MMA character. 99999% of all female fighters when they are fighting have their hair in this style doesn't matter on their race or background as it helps avoid hair getting in their eyes while fighting.
I never questioned your race in the first place and it doesn't really change the fact that you aren't trying to get the point. The opinions of black women (whether it was era members or tweets from black female game journalists) have been shared in this thread for people to 'get it'.
User Banned (1 month): Concern trolling in a thread about cultural appropriation through insincere whataboutism regarding women's sports
Years and years of struggle for womens mma to break in to acceptence just so people can shit on how they wear their hair on a video game forum.
Don't see why that's the read you take from this whole thread.
your ass? I didn't ask you to come in here and show it. Put your pants back on, get your damn clown shoes while you at it and stop tryna make this into something it ain't you goofy.
because shit don't exist in a vacuum.
How hard is it to understand? This is taken from real life and that is reflected in this game. Erasure of black people damnit.
Only part of us that is allowed is when it can be utilized as either a fashion statement that exclude us or a practical thing that can benefit someone else. while, again, excluding us. Go ask them Clowns at Blizzard HQ to go back in time and include us and actually be inclusive and I won't say shit if they throw cornrows on any character. As for society? same shit just on a bigger scale.
Yeah, it's based off an mma fighter. They use the hair style for function, not to make light of a specific culture or demean them.
Blizzard exclude black women, use black peoples culture when it fits them and nets them some money.
Edit: women for people. I worded. My bad.,
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Yo I didn't even think about the fact that there aren't any black women in Overwatch yet. That in and of itself makes this not okay. Like no black women, but Mei gets cornrose, the thing black women get shit on for having. I apologize for saying it was "literally nothing" at the start of the thread. It is something and frankly Blizzard should be changing it. They can change that one minor thing with that Hanzo skin because people got bent out of shape over it they can do it here.
Still can't believe they decided to make her white in a game with so many white people already. You literally drew a black Ashe and chose the white version like what the fuck?OP is correct, Ashe had an original design as a black woman
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That's not true...OW had Doomfist, Baptiste, and Lucio for black male representation.