Blueprint 🧩
The beauty of our culture is we are always switching it up. You know how you’ll have the Black Woman in the office. Every day its something brand new? Braids on Monday. Curls on Tuesday. A scarf all natural on Wednesday. Locs by Thursday. Silk press on Friday. Nails done, bills? paid! and not to mention switching between different aesthetics every new season.
Everybody screaming “Who are you today?” “That looks ghetto.” “Low-class.” “Unrecognizable.”
Buuuuuuuut then they began copying her.
Braids on a Monday saying they were inspired by Vikings and by Tuesday with the baby hairs laid and hoop earrings saying im in my hot cheeto phase. Scarves on a Wedneday. Faux locs on a thursday. By Friday, they saying “We’re twinning!” “It’s just fashion.” “You always change… Who even are you?” and ol’ reliable is deployed “You don’t have culture!” or the “We should all share cultures.”
We’ve always switched it up and transformed ourselves. The Blueprint post flair will reflect cultural appropriations where our culture and traditions are treated as free for all to such a degree it becomes associated with the group that has copied it.
We are going to build an archive of these things.
Lindy Hop —> Mexicans, Europeans
Breakdancing —> Japanese
Hip-Hop music —> South Koreans (K-pop), global mainstream
Rap flows —> Global pop artists
Graffiti art —> Europeans, global art world
Sneaker culture —> European luxury brands
Streetwear —> Global fashion industry (Europe especially)
Jazz —> French and European musicians
Blues —> White American musicians (Elvis, etc.)
R&B vocal style —> British pop singers
Rock and Roll —> White American rock musicians
Soul music —> British soul scene
Funk aesthetics —> Global pop culture
Gospel music —> Korean, Japanese choirs
Call-and-response singing —> White gospel, global pop
Hoop earrings —> Fashion industry influencers
Long acrylic nails —> Instagram beauty influencers
Baby hairs styling —> Global beauty influencers
Durags —> High fashion (e.g., Louis Vuitton)
Wave caps —> White streetwear consumers
Edge styling (“laid edges”) —> TikTok beauty influencers
Twerking —> Miley Cyrus, global pop
Black slang / AAVE —> TikTok, Twitter non-Black users
Hair weaves/extensions as fashion —> Global hair industry
Gold grills —> White rappers (Post Malone etc.)
Airbrush art (T-shirts) —> Festival fashion
Spoken word poetry —> Global literary scene
Slam poetry —> College literary clubs
Black preaching cadence —> White evangelical churches
Black church call-and-response —> White gospel music
Barbershop culture —> Global grooming trends
Hair salon culture —> Salon/spa marketing globally
Black pageant culture —> Reality TV beauty contests
Majorette style —> TikTok dancers
Stepping —> White fraternities/sororities
Double Dutch —> Fitness communities worldwide
Skating styles (JB, bounce) —> Urban skaters worldwide
Urban dance crews —> K-pop
The nod/Dapping —> Appropriated but misunderstood in memes
90s Hip-Hop style (oversized clothes, chains) —> Global streetwear
Black film aesthetics (Blaxploitation style) —> Quentin Tarantino, indie filmmakers
Black sitcom humor style —> White sitcoms
Black stand-up comedy formats —> Netflix comedy specials (non-Black comedians using Black styles)
Rhythm-centered workout routines —> Global fitness culture (Zumba etc.)
HBCU marching band style —> White college bands
Black American wedding dances (Electric Slide, Cupid Shuffle) —> White weddings
Black funeral aesthetics (homegoings) —> Documentaries, non-Black photographers
Black American meme language (GIFs etc.) —> Twitter users worldwide
Influencer aesthetics based on Black beauty —> Non-Black influencers (Instagram etc.)
Thick curvy body ideal —> Kim Kardashian, mainstream white beauty culture
Dance challenges (TikTok etc.) —> TikTok users worldwide
Headwraps/scarves as fashion —> Bohemian fashion
Crooked caps / sideways hats —> Skater culture globally
“Blaccent” performance —> White actors/comedians globally
Woke terminology —> Corporate marketing
Black protest culture aesthetics (BLM-style design) —> Corporate advertising
Vinyl DJ culture (turntablism) —> EDM/global DJ industry
Rap battles —> Global rap competitions (Europe, Japan)
Cyphers (freestyle circles) —> K-pop, international rap shows
Drumline drumming style —> White college bands
Shade / reading culture —> Drag culture globally (originating from Black queer spaces)
“Tea” as gossip phrase —> Global pop culture
Black Twitter formats/slang —> Global meme culture
Swagger / cool aesthetic itself —> Global fashion, advertising
“Black girl magic” aesthetic —> Corporate feminism campaigns (non-Black women claiming it)
