Cultural appropriation is still a controversial societal issue. This is also proven by a recent incident in Switzerland: the Viennese musician Mario Parizek was not allowed to perform in the Zurich bar “Gleis” because, as a white man, he wears dreadlocks.
The show was planned several months in advance. Shortly before the big moment, the disappointing news came: Due to the “discomfort of our fellow human beings”, the concert had to be cancelled. The native Tyrolean would adopt a foreign culture with his hairstyle.
Cultural theft or admiration?
Parizek said he got the dreadlocks done to break down society’s entrenched barriers. “I got my dreads done when I was 13 because I grew up in a pretty right-wing village and I thought at the time, I want to show these right-wing people that there are other people, too,” he explained.
Estella Weiss-Krejci, lecturer at the Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Vienna, finds the reaction of the organizers exaggerated. “Yes, it’s important to be culturally sensitive, but that sensitivity is something that’s rapidly disappearing. The rampant ‘culture of rejection’ fills me with growing unease. Who will be hit next? Nobody is safe anymore. I find the cultural police interference on the part of the organizers to be exaggerated,” she said.
“I have no words for it”
The musician commented on the events on Instagram. After announcing in a post that his concert had been “cancelled at short notice” because he was “white” and wearing “rastas”, he expressed his horror at the inappropriate behavior of the organizers in a video. He said: “Congratulations to the track for this more or less fascist attitude. (…) I have no words for it, to be honest”. He also faded in the text “White + Dreads We have to stay outside” in the post – and ironically supported the statement with a dog emoji.
Adele also used African traditions
British singer Adele was previously accused of cultural appropriation. Why: As part of the Notting Hill Carnival, which celebrates Brits of African and Caribbean descent, Adele posted a photo on Instagram in which she can be seen in a Jamaican-print bikini with a Bantu knot, a traditional hairstyle seen in bis 600 ethnic South African groups are represented. Her fans weren’t exactly thrilled: Adele would insult Caribbean culture with her look.