Pokimane Responds To Accusation Of Cultural Appropriation Over Her Natural Hair
Popular Twitch streamer Imane "Pokimane" Anys recently posted a picture of herself with her natural, curly hair. Someone on Twitter called it cultural appropriation, claiming Anys is a white woman "trying to make herself look African." Anys, who is Moroccan, mocked the post.
The original accusatory tweet was shared on Reddit by someone in defense of Anys, albeit incorrectly. The Reddit user wrote, "Pikimane [sic] is half Moroccan." As spotted by Dextero, the streamer shared a screenshot of the post on Twitter and wrote, "also wanna clarify pikimane is 100% moroccan lmao."
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Based on the original tweeter's profile, it looks like they were trolling and don't actually believe what they wrote. Still, the tweet has nonetheless sparked debate in the replies to Anys' clarification.
Several people seemed to either not know Anys is Moroccan or weren't aware Morocco is in Africa - it's located along the northwestern coast of the continent. Even if this whole thing started due to a troll, it's good that people are learning about the diversity of Africa and its people. However, it also highlights the fact many people still assume African people to be one homogenous group.
Hair holds a lot of cultural relevance for many people, especially people of colour who are frequently told that their natural or healthy hairstyles are unprofessional or messy. That's why it's a big deal when popular games like Animal Crossing add more realistic non-white hairstyles.
Anys took a break from streaming in July for a "mental reset" and is due to return to it Thursday, September 1. It's becoming more common for streamers to speak out about the toll Twitch can take on
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