Hi there, I'm a white teen and I've been wondering about what and who I should believe when it comes to cultural appropriation. I understand the significance of things like cultural hair for black people, and I believe there shouldn't be a double standard where black people are shamed for it while white people are treated normally. Black people have lived through discrimination and have experiences that create a stronger perspective. White people can have book smarts, but black people can have both book smarts and street smarts due to living through it. That's why it's important to primarily consult with them for these sort of things.

However, I've also come to figure out that the idea of cultural appropriation is subjective, and there's different ways black people think about it; it isn't homologous. I came across a tiktok of some guy, who was white but black people were agreeing with him, criticizing this video of a mall goth wearing dreads. But at the same time there were black people--not only on the stitch, but on the original video as well--saying it wasn't that big of a deal. It made me think about what I'm supposed to believe.

As a white person, I know I'm not fit to have a say on what cultural appropriation is and what's not, but how am I supposed to not when it's something clearly subjective and the opinions vary from black person to black person?