Cultural Expression Essay

The Dynamic Nature of Cultural Expressions

Overtime, people’s view of cultural expressions has evolved to exclude some of the stereotypical biases that were attached to certain forms of cultural expressions. A person who wore certain clothes, or had tattoos on their skins or spotted dreadlocks was viewed as rogue and could be viewed as rebellious. Not any more, the world has moved to accept new forms of cultural expressions, and people have found new ways of expressing what they feel is the right way of life and the world has begun to accept the new forms of cultural expressions.

People have embraced the art of using ink and dyes to draw patterns, pictures or word art into their skins to express culture and what they feel. Many cultures have

Initially, culture dictated how women and men wore their hair, and any deviation from this was regarded as disobedient and uncouth. In some cultures, men’s hair was meant to be kept long and locked, while the women were expected to shave to the scalp. In other cultures, women were expected to keep their hair long, well combed and held with a pin at the back of the head. Anyone who deviated from this form was seen as deviant. In the modern world however, hair has been used as a form of self expression and has largely been accepted. People use hair to express where they come from and what they believe in. In the Jamaican, people wear dreadlocks and long beards to show religiosity, while in the west; many young people have used hair to condemn racism and oppression. A case in point, Lupita Nyong’o, an actor, recently condemned the Grazia Magazine for editing her hairstyle in their cover photo, saying that they wanted her to conform to the western form of beauty. I believe that hair is a necessary tool of social and cultural expression and should be used to communicate people’s

Personally, the tattoo I wear or the music that I listen to has to project what I feel on the inside. These cultural expressions have also enabled me to understand other people better just by how they choose their music or tattoos or how they wear their hair. Sometimes however, these cultural expressions have led people to inappropriately judge who I am or what I believe in. Tattoos especially are sometimes hard to interpret and someone can love or dislike you just by the tattoo you wear, or the clothes that you adorn. However, even with these limitations, I go on to say that one should use these cultural expressions to project who they are.

People’s view of cultural expressions is dynamic and not static. I recent history, tattoos and hairstyles were left to cults and rebels, today however, they are acceptable and are seen as modern forms of cultural expression. In the future, they might or might not be acceptable, depending on the how the society will view them at that time. It is advisable to; therefore, review how certain expressions are viewed by the community before using