Imitation over Identity

Makhia Brown Dr. Harris ENGL2017-65125 April 23, 2026 Imitation over Identity Nowadays, when you open an app or listen to the radio, all you see or hear is Black influence, whether that is a dance, a song, fashion, language or dialect, and hairstyles. Today, Black culture is more visible, yet Black people are more marginalized than ever. Many scholars believe that with everyday interactions and a diverse society, cultures are bound to be exchanged naturally. However, this point of view neglects the influential disparity that occurs when Black expression is transformed into Black performance. Black expression is personal and culturally rooted, whereas Black performance is tailored to be publicly consumed and possibly altered. Although many may argue that culture exchange is seen as a natural process, Thomas F. DeFrantz and Anita Gonzalez have theorized that mainstream pop culture often exploits Black expression, while gaining profit without giving the credit that is due and erasing its historical origins and complex identities. The original meaning of Black expression is often lost when it hits mainstream. Black expression is supposed to be something personal, taught, and culturally rooted, so when it hits the “mainstream,” it needs to be modified to make it accessible for outsiders to completely understand it. An example of this is Hip-Hop and Rap. It was not just music, it was a way for a marginalized group of people to express the way they live their lives, protest (N.W.A.’s “F*ck Tha Police,” Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture,” etc.), and claim a spot in the world that has forsaken them. Meanwhile, mainstream media started to focus mainly on the vibe of hip-hop, this includes the fashion (streetwear), being “tough,” and the beats, rather than the message they were trying to convey. The modification is not an accident but is claimed to be necessary for consumption because the original representation contains truths that are “uncomfortable,” so platforms must dilute the messages to make it “safer” for its non-Black audience. As bell hooks emphasizes, “The commodification of Otherness has been so successful because it is offered as a new delight, more intense, more satisfying than normal ways of doing and feeling” (366). By consuming the musical rebellion, but ignoring the social condition, mainstream is “eating the other.” This survival tool is then turned to an accessory for pop culture consumers, which helps “performance thrive, while the expression is not understood. Mainstream mostly profits from Black ideas without crediting the creators. There are so many trends being started, especially during the COVID period. Some of the trends that were becoming popular were being created by Black creators, but you would not know that because nobody ever gave the creator the recognition they deserved, just the individual, who is usually a popular white influencer. One known incident that emphasizes this was the situation on the Renegade dance, where a young Black dancer had her original choreography taken, altered and popularized by a well-known white influencer who significantly profited off it. With this happening, popular influencers get access to a marketplace that allows them to meet bigger influencers and get lucrative brand deals, which Jalaiah Harmon did not initially get. Balanda notes, “Polow da Don, a producer for Usher and Missy Elliott believes that, ‘Dubsmash catches things at the roots when they’re culturally relevant. TikTok is the suburban kids that take things on when it’s already the style and bring it to their community’ (Lorenz, 2020).” This is starting to become a pattern in the industry because nobody voices their opinions and/or they aren’t taken seriously. Stereotypes are mostly created when Black expression is commodified by mainstream culture, reducing a complex heritage into an uncomplicated aesthetic. In mainstream, this becomes something individuals start to think are cool without having any knowledge on it. “This is due to the fact that White Americans who use Black culture often are equated with being “trendy” and “fashionable” by the White mainstream, while African Americans are equated with negative stereotypes by the White mainstream” (McKnight 9). This shows the issues with Black culture becoming popularized. Simplifying Black identity starts to become a tool of stereotyping. Mainstream start to show how the Black identity becomes a one-dimensional genre. It reduces African Americans to just music, just dancing, just fashion, etc. A modern-day example of this is Vogue’s recent take on an Afro and calling it a “cloud bob.” Women known for their natural hair, like Tracee Ellis Ross, have been raving about this controversial name. Vogue says that it is “organic and expressive,” and although it is, it has already been “organic and expressive” over many centuries in the Black, natural hair community. It comes to show how White Americans never really discover anything, but simplify creations created by minorities, and making it “aesthetically pleasing.” Some scholars may argue that the exposure helps spread and celebrate black culture. Jannette L. Dates and William Barlow argue that even after the history of African American treatment, mainstream is a site for positive racial socialization. In Split Image, they suggest that the visibility of Black-created content in mainstream media creates a dual purpose of getting Black creators the publicity that they could never have ever thought about having and forcing white audiences to see it, popularizing it. This visibility does not mean that white audiences are going to respect it or try to understand it, which eventually leads to a misunderstanding and misrepresentation. In conclusion, mainstream pop culture has long engaged in the appropriation of Black culture, stripping it from its historical roots while benefiting from its popularity. This results in the erosion of meaning, not acknowledging the importance of its background; the failure to give respective credit; White Americans thinking they are the first to do things; and the rise of stereotypes that stem from the lack of understanding. Today, this is important because the mainstream media influences institutional views, policies, politics, and community treatment. With how the media portrays Black individuals, their livelihood is affected, such as their treatments with the police, in job interviews, in the workplace, in stores, or in general. Works Cited Balanda, Marisa E., "Bodies without the Burden: White Appropriation and Exploitation of Black Appearance and Culture" (2020). Student Publications. 857. https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/857. Accessed 15 April 2026. Coates, Hannah. “How to Wear the Cloud Bob, Fall’s Breeziest Haircut.” Vogue, 23 Sept. 2025, www.vogue.com/article/cloud-bob. Accessed 21 April 2026. DeFrantz, Thomas F., and Anita Gonzalez, eds. Black performance theory. Duke University Press, 2014. Accessed 3 March 2026. From bell hooks, “Eating the other: Desire and resistance.” In Black Looks: Race and Representation, pp. 21–39. Boston: South End Press, 1992. Accessed 17 April 2026. McKnight, Tamaron (2019) "Culture vs. Experience: The Popularization of Black Culture in White America," 3690: A Journal of First-Year Student Research Writing: Vol. 2019, Article 3. https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/journal3690/vol2019/iss1/3. Accessed 12 April 2026. “Split Image : African Americans in the Mass Media : Dates, Jannette Lake, 1939- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.” Internet Archive, 1990, archive.org/details/splitimageafrica00date/page/75/mode/1up?q=mainstream. Accessed 22 April, 2026.