beauty queens

Herlene Nicole ‘Hipon Girl’ Budol sparks cultural appropriation backlash 

Rappler.com

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Herlene Nicole ‘Hipon Girl’ Budol sparks cultural appropriation backlash 

Herlene Nicole Budol's Facebook

The host-turned-beauty queen wears an afro for a photoshoot and calls it a ‘statement’

MANILA, Philippines – Comedian-host and Binibining Pilipinas 2022 candidate Herlene Budol drew flak after posting a photo of herself with an afro, which many criticized as cultural appropriation. 

Budol, who rose to fame as the “Sexy Hipon Girl” from the variety show Wowowin, released a photo of herself with the said hairstyle, captioning it with: “I love my Fro’ – It’s not just a hairstyle; it’s a statement.”

In the comments section, netizens were quick to admonish her, saying that she and her team should’ve known better, and accusing them of cultural appropriation. Cambridge Dictionary defines cultural appropriation as the “act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.” 

One commenter wrote, “Unless you naturally have a fro, then you can’t use this hairstyle. You are beautiful but this hairstyle is inappropriate to use.” 

Another said, “Our hair is not just a style. African culture is not a costume.” 

“This isn’t yours, so don’t wear it for publicity. As a beauty queen, you should know better,” another comment read. 

A netizen added, “As much as I love this look please take this down and learn what cultural appropriation means. Black people are constantly being culturally appropriated so don’t add onto it.” 

Budol and her management team have yet to address the issue. Budol is among the 40 candidates competing in the Binibining Pilipinas 2022 pageant, which is scheduled to crown their new set of queens on July 31. – Rappler.com 

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