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‘Little Women’ star Florence Pugh apologises for cultural appropriation past

“Stupid doesn’t even cut it. I was uneducated. I was unread.”
  • 30 Jun 2020
‘Little Women’ star Florence Pugh apologises for cultural appropriation past

Florence Pugh has apologised for culturally appropriating items of clothing and body art from Black and Indian culture.

In a recent Instagram post, the Little Women actress opened up about her past, admitting that "the world is trying to make change and I'm learning a tidal wave of information that, frankly, was always there but I was always unaware of."

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LOVED this mustard 2020 Amy moment. Knocking it out the park again @rebeccacorbinmurray @peterluxhair @nikkideroest #colmansmustard

“Like many, I’ve read, listened, signed, donated, read again, sssh’d my white fragility and really wanted to trace instances in my life where I have been guilty. Whether big actions or small, we HAVE to look at ourselves and see how we were adding to this problem.”

“One part I have identified in my own actions is cultural appropriation, which came to my attention when a fan last year pointed out a picture of me I had posted back when I was 17.”

The photo in question featured Pugh as a teen wearing braided cornrows, a style of hair braiding from the Caribbean. It wasn’t until she showed the photo to her friend that she became aware of cultural appropriation and that it was offensive.

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Wow Wow Wow Perfection 🔥😍🔥😍🔥🔥 Follow @africansbraid 💗✨ @euphoricstylez #feedinbraids #cornrows #cornrowstyles #braids #braids #braidstyles #braider #braided #neat #neatbraids #hairdresser #hairgoals #hair #hairstyle #hairstyles #hairstylist #hairdo #haircolor #hairoftheday #hairfashion #hairdye #protectivestyles #braidideas #hairstyling #haircare #hairideas

“She began to explain to me what cultural appropriation was, the history and heartbreak over how when Black girls do it they’re mocked and judged, but when white girls do it, it’s only then perceived as cool,” she recalled. 

“I could see how Black culture was being so obviously exploited. I was defensive and confused, white fragility coming out plain and simple. I didn’t want to upset anyone and was perplexed as to how I hadn’t heard this term before.”

When the actress was eight years old she befriended an Indian shop owner who taught her about Indian culture. She recalls learning how to wear a bindi—a coloured dot worn on the centre of your forehead in Hindu culture—and about henna—a natural dye prepared from Lawsonia inermis plants, used in Indian culture for various practices including temporary body art.

The woman was “excited to share her culture with me and I was excited to learn,” she said. And, as Pugh got older, she continued to “henna [her] hands, feet, [her] family’s hands and feet, [her] friends-[she] was obsessed.”

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@jedi_lyssaa is a sight for sore eyes compared to yesterday's post! Hahaha 😂 I'm so happy many of you seemed to enjoy it though! 💖💖💖 Analyssa always lets me freestyle on her and the henna always seems to flow! 🌿 Funny story, for one of the arm pieces I held my phone to take a time lapse as per usual and once I finished realized I never hit start! Oops!🤷‍♀️😆😆😆 At least I took a billion photos! Which ones your fave?!🎉💖🎉💖 . . . #henna #hennaart #hennadesign #hennaisneverblack #hennainspire #henna_i #hennapro #hennaartist #tattooart #tattoostyle #sandiegoart #sandiegoartist #bridalmehndi #mehndi #tattooartwork #gypsysoul #instaart #instahenna #fullsleevetattoo #instadraw #sandiegohenna #instagood #seaportvillage #festivalfashion #festivalready #hennadesigns #downtownsd #nailsonfleek

But, in 2017, bindis and henna became a trend within the beauty industry. Large makeup brands that started selling ‘Easy! Quick Dry!’ henna ink pen and stencil kits in commercial chemists and shops were selling reimagined and cheapened versions of this woman’s culture. Pugh admits she thought because she was taught about it differently, she was an exception, but now she acknowledges that that way of thinking is part of the problem.

“I actually wasn’t being respectful in how I was using it,” she said. “I wore this culture on my own terms only, to parties, at dinner. I too was disrespecting the beauty of the religion that had been taught to me those years ago.

“Stupid doesn’t even cut it, I was uneducated,” she continued. “I was unread.”

“I cannot dismiss the actions I bought into years ago, but I believe that we who were blind to such things must acknowledge them and recognise them as our faults, our ignorance and our white privilege and I apologise profusely that it took this long.

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To see change I must be part of the change.

Florence Pugh is just one of several celebrities who are addressing their own white fragility and white privilege right now. If you would like to know how to continue confronting your own and being a better ally for BIPOC now and always, our pals at Syrup have made a few guides below.

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FYI, racism is not just an "American problem," nor are we "lucky" to be in Australia right now. Our nation has a bloody and horrific history of the treatment of the First Nations people of this country, that continues to the present.⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ The death of George Floyd in the U.S. has a chilling parallel to the death in custody of David Dungay Jr. Our support of oppressed black Americans should be equally matched with efforts to dismantle the systemic racism towards Indigenous people here in Australia.⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ If this makes you angry (and it should), know that there's a couple of things you can do to help fight for Indigenous people and their rights. From educating yourself, listening to Indigenous voices, donating and more, here's what you need to know to support First Nations people now and always.⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ #AboriginalLivesMatter #InThisTogether2020 #NRW2020
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Is it just us or have there been more people than ever promising to step back and 'listen and learn'? While it's a good thing that people want to self-educate, it's important that "listening and learning" doesn't become "staying silent and not engaging".⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ If someone you know (or you, yourself) are currently on that 'listening and learning' tip but want to make sure it's actually effective, these are some handy points to keep in mind to make sure it helps you on your path to activism. In the constant anti-racism fight, awareness must be backed up with action.⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ #AboriginalLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #allyship #allies #holdingspace #endpolicebrutality
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With news feeds returning to normal and coverage beginning to die down, it's never been more important to keep the momentum of the #BlackLivesMatter movement going. After you've taken the first steps to better yourself and show up right now-whether you've donated, marched, or started educating yourself and others-how can you ensure that your activism and support for BIPOC continues indefinitely?⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ Swipe through for some tips on how to make your allyship a permanent change.⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ ⁣⁠⠀ #AboriginalLivesMatter #allyship #allies #holdingspace #endpolicebrutality

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