Is Doing Henna Cultural Appropriation?
Lately I've had several clients timidly sit down in my studio and awkwardly apologize, “I'm sorry if this is cultural appropriation, I just really love henna.” It got me thinking, is it cultural appropriation? Wikipedia defines cultural appropriation as the adoption of an element(s) of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from minority cultures. In the case of henna, this definition could be interpreted as: it’s taking the sacred art and application of mehndi without permission and turning it into fashionable consumer culture, where [...]