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asteriluv · 4 years ago

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YooA & WM Entertainment Cultural Appropriation: What’s Happening and Why it Matters

(written by @asteriluv and @lizannbeth1999)

As you may have heard, OhMyGirl’s Yooa’s new Bon Voyage promotions have been met with accusations of cultural appropriation from Native Americans and their allies (if not, you can check them out here). This post breaks down what was appropriated and the impacts associated with this appropriation. As fans, we were especially disappointed and hurt by this situation.

Our goal with this post is not to cancel, bully, or otherwise insult YooA, OhMyGirl or WM Entertainment. Instead, our goals are to educate people about the situation, change the narrative surrounding the situation, and call activists, allies, and fans to take action against this cultural appropriation. After reading this post, please sign our petition here to demand the removal of the appropriated imagery from Bon Voyage promotions and other releases.

Overall, we want people to understand that this concept is not inspired work, it is cultural appropriation. While some pieces of this concept may be inspired by Princess Mononoke, the other pieces that we take issue with are based on a racial stereotypes, primarily about Native American plains people. This incident is inexcusable, and we ask that you join us in taking action against this cultural appropriation. Details on how to take action are included at the end of the post.

Long post below, so, tldr: The Bon Voyage promotions culturally appropriate multiple Native American cultures through the usage of war paint combined with other factors such as jewelry and paint in traditional tattoo patterns.

[Image description: Bon Voyage album release promotion featuring Oh My Girl’s YooA wearing face paint mimicking war paint and wearing turquoise jewelry]

Firstly, the face paint used in the Bon Voyage promotions is similar to both traditional Inuit tattoos and Cherokee war paint for new warriors. War paint for all Native American tribes is a part of culture and spirituality which was criminalized in the United States up until 1978, when the AIRFA (American Indian Religious Freedom Act) was passed granting Native Americans freedom of religion.

[Image description: man in war paint]

Additionally, war paint has been appropriated in redface (when a non-Native person wears traditional Native American paint and clothing in a disrespectful way), as well as in the promotion of racist tropes. This happened even during times when Native Americans could not wear their traditional war paint legally. You can find many prominent examples of redface within old west movies, fashion events, and Halloween costumes. We were unable to find a photo of war paint exactly the same as the style as YooA is wearing because it is a style of face paint most often worn by people participating in redface.

The picture below was found on Pinterest (photo credit: amylynnlarwig.com). It was tagged as “tribal face paints”, “Halloween ideas”, and “Halloween makeup”. See the problem?

[Image description: Model wearing face paint meant to mimic traditional Native American war paint.]

[Image description: Bon Voyage album release promotion featuring Oh My Girl’s YooA wearing face paint mimicking war paint]

Within this context, YooA is using the traditional war paint as an aesthetic. This is wrong and never justifiable. This is not appreciating, promoting, or sharing Native American cultures, this is mocking it. It de-humanizes Native people by reducing them to an aesthetic.

Asteri: “For people who don't think it's war paint, it is, as a Native person I'm telling you it is. Seeing this caused my stomach to swell from anxiety. A lot of racism towards natives comes from using us as costumes or just general redface... Second Nations (non-Natives living in the Americas) playing cowboy and Indian, calling the "Indian" kids injuns or squah, but that's extreme. Oftentimes, it’s over sexualised costumes and misuse of our cultural clothes and the inaccuracy of their portrayal. This is redface to me and is inappropriate. It also reminds me of non-Native kids uvulating at native kids while wearing fake feathers and face paint.”

Many people have been claiming that the paint that she is wearing is not war paint, but instead paint inspired by characters from Princess Mononoke. While aspects of the album concept may be inspired by the film, the war paint is most definitely not. Even if the concept was completely based on Princess Mononoke, it would still be cultural appropriation for YooA to wear the face and body paint because many characteristics used in the film’s character designs are based on Japanese shamanism.

[Gif description: clip from Princess Mononoke with the title character riding a wold]

Some people have also pointed out that the face paint in some photos is also extremely similar to Inuit face tattoos. Inuit people have been persecuted for participating in this and other aspects of their own culture. In addition, their culture and traditions are closed to those outside of their tribe.

(note: neither or the writers are Inuit, and we do ask for input from Inuit people about the accuracy of this claim as well as their opinions on this situation)

[Image descriptions: 1-3: YooA wearing black face paint with two black, horizontal lines on each cheek and one vertical line extending from her chin to her lower lip]

Some of the jewelry used within the Bon Voyage promotions is also appropriated from Native American cultures. Now, the jewelry itself is not an issue. It is completely okay for Second Nations or Non-Native people to wear if it is ethically sourced. But mixing war paint with turquoise jewelry shuts down the Princess Mononoke argument. Wearing war paint as a Non-Native, which on its own is redface, and pairing it with jewelry that has been considered sacred and is specifically a Native American style severely weakens all arguments that this is not Native American CA(Cultural Appropriation)/Red Face.

(Asteri notes that the jewelry has many similarities to Diné designs; we are not Diné , and we do ask for input from Diné people about the accuracy of this claim as well as their opinions on this situation)

Through these points, the disrespect to American indigenous cultures through cultural appropriation is shown. There will continue to be arguments about this situation, but it does not change the fact that this is cultural appropriation and both YooA and WM Entertainment have disrespected Native people and their cultures. Cultural appropriation de-humanizes those whose culture is being taken by reducing their people to an aesthetic and mocking their cultural and spiritual identities. Here is what we are asking for from YooA and WM Entertainment:

Here is what we are asking for from YooA and WM Entertainment:

Written apologies from WM Entertainment in both English and Korean that include details of what they have done, the impacts of what they have done, and a commitment to educating staff about cultural appropriation to make sure that situations like this are not repeated.

A video apology from YooA

The complete removal of culturally appropriated content from the Bon Voyage promotions and videos

Now, you may be wondering what you can do about this situation. Here is what we are asking people outside of the company to do:

Sign our petition here and share it

Contact WM Entertainment on Instagram and on Twitter (WM Entertainment main and OhMyGirl accounts) through comments, tweets, and DMs to tell them that the promotional concept is disrespectful and harmful; explain how you are impacted by the situation and/or how you are standing in solidarity with Native Americans (WM Ent: Instagram, Twitter; Oh My Girl: Instagram, Twitter)

Boycott the single and album releases until the previously listed demands are met

(If you choose to complete any of these actions, please be respectful toward YooA, OhMyGirl, and WM Entertainment. Remember that our goal is to change the narrative surrounding this situation and take action against cultural appropriation and its harmful effects. We do NOT want to cancel, insult, or bully YooA, OhMyGirl, or WM Entertainment. In addition, please act respectfully toward everyone involved in the conversation, whether they be activists, fans, or others.

Additionally, we do not wish to harm YooA’s career. As fans, we hope that she will continue to have a successful career after this situation is dealt with appropriately.)

Thank you for reading this post and for your support in working toward a solution.

Other Resources:

About cultural appropriation

Tumblr Post of a compilation of links to readings about settler colonialism

#kpop #ca #ohmygirl #wm entertainment #anti-indigenous racism #redface #native #native american #racism #racist #ndn #kpopracism #racisminkpop #culture #cultural appropriation #activism #petition

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