It’s Monday, the sun is shining (somewhere) and Kim Kardashian is under fire for cultural appropriation yet again.
The 37-year-old reality star recently posted a video on Snapchat that shows her hair in bead-adorned braids that resemble Fulani-style braids, which are inspired by the Fulani women of East and West Africa.
But Kardashian credited actress Bo Derek, who is white, for the traditionally black hairstyle.
“So guys I got Bo Derek braids, and I’m really into it,” she says in the video, referencing the actresses’ look from the 1979 movie, “10.”
Kardashian, who recently faced blackface accusations while promoting her new beauty line, has previously attributed credit where credit isn’t due for her hairstyle.
Almost exactly five years ago, she posted a photo of herself with her hair braided and called the look “Bo Derek braids.”
Fulani braids are a style of cornrows that usually consists of braids with beads. And cornrows are a hairstyle worn by both black women and men that have been around since ancient times ― long, long before Derek wore them in 1979.
“History tells us cornrows originated in Africa. The intricate braiding of the hair indicated the tribe you belonged to,” Toni Love, a cosmetologist, barber, instructor and author, said in an interview with Ebony last year.
Love added, “Cornrows on women date back to at least 3000 B.C. and as far back as the nineteenth century for men, particularly in Ethiopia. Warriors and kings were identified by their braided hairstyles.”
Below is a picture of Solange Knowles wearing braids inspired by the Fulani tribe:
It’s easy to see why people were upset by Kardashian’s “Bo Derek braids” comment:
HuffPost’s own Zeba Blay explains why it’s important to denounce these kinds of actions:
“When black women ... criticize white women like Kylie Jenner or Rita Ora for wearing black styles, it’s not simply out of this need to deny access to something simply for the sake of it,” she wrote in 2015.
“To you, white women, it’s just a cool hairstyle. To us, it’s something we’ve fought to be able to fully embrace. There are other ways to admire or celebrate black hair without coopting it. But understand — black hair can be deeply political, deeply spiritual, and deeply personal.”