When individuals partake in cultural appropriation, they participate in the deculturalisation of racial aesthetic expression. This type of performance is arguably one of the first forms of cultural appropriation, highlighting that white society’s adoption of the Black experience is not a new phenomenon but a historical trend. Ministrelsy aimed to mock Blackness and reinforce the racial and social hierarchy in America. Ministrelsy, which was first established in the United States in 1843, is when a white performer would dress up in blackface, dance, sing and or perform comic routines based on stereotyped depictions of Black people. In his book of the same name, Lipsitz notes that “white people are encouraged to invest in whiteness, through public policy and private prejudice work, and remain true to an identity that provides them with resources, power and opportunity.” One way in which white people possessively invest in whiteness is through Ministrelsy. After years of takedowns, why now? Surprisingly enough, the answer lies in the exact reason white people engaged in this behaviour in the first place, and American Studies scholar, George Lipsitz calls it the ‘Possessive Investment in Whiteness’. She traded her grills and cornrows for pink dresses, puppet shows and pigtails.Īfter all of this, it can be difficult to understand why we’re seeing white people flock back to whiteness. For her song “We Can’t Stop”, Cyrus told her songwriters, Timothy and Theron Thomas, “I want urban, I want something that just feels Black.” Once she achieved what she wanted (distance from Hannah and Miley Stewart), she returned to whiteness. During this era, Cyrus wore dreadlocks, cornrows and gold grills. ![]() It caused controversy but not enough, so she searched for something that unquestionably conveyed rebellion in the eyes of whiteness: blackness. She released “Can’t Be Tamed” in 2010 to move away from this idealisation. Whether she liked it or not, she was seen as a role model for young girls from a very young age. Before then, Miley was desperately trying to move away from being seen solely as Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart – a character so beloved for her girl next door persona and superstardom. The ‘Ghetto Hot Cheeto Girls’ trend is reminiscent of the Miley Cyrus identity crisis of 2013-2015. While Ray was honouring the Rosas of the world, those outside of Black and Latinx cultures attempted to make a mockery of her and poorly caricatured her. Black and Chicanx cultures heavily influence the ‘hot cheeto girl’ aesthetic, and essentially Ray’s homage to his culture became something incredibly ugly online. He was and is so in love with her and believes her essence is in him. Ray himself stated that he even created the Rosa character because he knew girls like that and had them in his family. Ray, who is Latinx, created a character that many people loved on the internet. ![]() The term “Hot Cheeto Girl” came into popularity through Adam Ray ’s viral TikToks, where he would play a character called ‘Rosa’.
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