When Design Appropriates Culture

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UPDATE: They have taken down their Twitter marketing branding themselves as hoodrats. This is good, however, this should always be a reminder that there are benefits to authenticity and cultural sensitivity.

From the PR duo that called themselves “Strange Fruit,” to this current duo calling themselves “hoodrats”, these incidents should not be merely disregarded as garden variety appropriation. This requires further examination of culture, context, and expertise.

Though I can’t decide what’s more offensive, calling yourself a hoodrat, or calling yourself an art director.

I almost have trouble believing this is real. Because no blonde white women should be calling themselves “hoodrats,” simply because their last names are Hood. Further, it’s terrifying that they are calling themselves brand developers and art directors without acknowledging origins of the word “hoodrat,” and how it has historically been used as a derogatory term often targeting young black and Latina women.

The word “hoodrat” is used to suggest women of color in urban environments are less desirable, less beautiful, require less protection from the state and their communities, and are set in contrast to the ideal of white beauty; a beauty these two happen to carry. This isn’t like the word “bitch,” where one takes it and attempts to turn its use into something empowering. They are already privileged in their whiteness and ideal beauty standards.

The way they’re photographed, styled and framed, makes them look like they’re in a mug shot. It’s as if they already knew they were guilty of a cultural crime and thought they got away with something. Culture and context matter to brand identity. Because they have alienated a potentially viable audience for their brand, they have failed as art directors and brand developers.

This would be a good time to bring up the importance of raising African American voices in the design industry.