Hello Blog!
I really enjoy bell hooks’ work and plan on reading more by her over the break. Her thoughts were very striking and gave me much to ponder over. One quote in particular that struck me was, "When race and ethnicity become commodified as resources for pleasure, the culture of specific groups, as well as the bodies of individuals, can be seen as constituting an alternative playground where members of dominating races, genders, sexual practices affirm their power-over in intimate relations with the Other" (hooks, 309).
I gave an example for this in class about the “Clean Girl Aesthetic." I wanted to dive a little deeper into that.
This is a Tik Tok from an Indian woman describing how she was ridiculed by white girls for oiling back her hair when she was younger. https://www.tiktok.com/@makeupbymonicaa/video/7136248773453417771
They told her that she looked “dirty,” but now these same white people are taking this style created by Black, Latina, and South Asian communities and rebranding it to be “trendy” and profit off of it. There are over 2 million videos under the Clean Girl Aesthetic hashtag on Tik Tok, and all of the videos at the top of the hashtag are of white women. The Clean Girl Aesthetic has been commodified for the pleasure of white people, despite white people calling it “dirty” and making fun of it in the early 2000s.
Speaking of Tik Tok, one particular person on the app that does exactly what hooks’ words put forth is Trisha Paytas. I feel like you could write a Theory/Praxis paper on her and her alone, she is fascinating (and not the good kind of fascinating). She makes videos stealing things from other cultures and passes it off as her own. People on the app often make jokes about her and comment things on her videos like “So what culture are you this week Trisha?” She’s dressed up in countless culturally offensive costumes and posted them online. She’s also gotten a lot of attention from how controversial she is. She can take off her costume at the end of the day, but to those that are a part of the marginalized communities she is making fun of, it is not a costume, it is their real life. Trisha is a white person and exercises a strange power dynamic over minorities in this way.
That’s all for now!
Signing off,
Aveyourfaveblogger
Sarah Hussey
ReplyDeleteCritical Frameworks Comment Blog on 12/4
Dear Aveyourfaveblogger,
I absolutely loved your take on Hooks and agree with a lot with what you are saying. I want to talk even more about some examples you were giving! You talked about the quote:
"When race and ethnicity become commodified as resources for pleasure, the culture of specific groups, as well as the bodies of individuals, can be seen as constituting an alternative playground where members of dominating races, genders, sexual practices affirm their power-over in intimate relations with the Other" (hooks, 309).
I want to delve into that a little more. I feel like the idea of “the Other” is what really made me think. The fact there is an “other” means that there is a superior piece to the puzzle. It reminds me a bit what we were talking about in class about the idea that women are extensions of men. And to question if we exist outside of our oppressor which is men. I think that is something I’ve never thought about before.
However, then you talked about the “Clean Girl Aesthetic”. Man, I hated this era of tiktok! A lot of trends on media are whitewashed and used to profit off of. Another general example of this I can think of is that fact that if you are a person of color you are automatically “musty” when they are clearly not, and white girls almost never.
You also talked about Trisha Paytas! Wow, there is so much to say about this woman. She does constantly steal cultures and trends and voices it as if it were own. The sad fact about this is she has been doing this for years and no one has batted an eye because she is just “Trisha Paytas”. She will stay on top making money no matter how often she is cancelled. Cancel culture is a temporary thing in all honesty. It’s these celebrities who benefit off it in a way whereas if you a regular person your mistakes are permeant. I always thought it would be the opposite way around, but it’s not!
Anyways, that’s all I got! Wonderful blog, Avery!
Signing off,
SarahSlays