A Facebook post criticizing Urban Outfitter's $16 Bamboo Hoop Earrings has gone viral.
Renée Jackson, a 24-year-old who lives in Brooklyn, told BuzzFeed News she "literally laughed out loud" when she spotted the item in a store. Baffled, she wrote a post wondering why a prominent fashion fixture in the black community was being rebranded and revalued.
The post has been shared more than 16,000 times. Her caption reads:
"The same earrings that people find ratchet or ghetto on black women are now $16.00 and sold at hipsters R us. These are literally a dollar at the nearest black hair store. My culture says you're welcome."
Jackson said she was compelled to share it online "because it was that ridiculous."
"I looked at the price and was like, 'No way... Not these'," she said. "I've worn them, my friends have worn them, since middle school. You can get these for a dollar at any hair store."
She also explained that you can get the earrings personalized with your name for no more than $5 — still making them cheaper than Urban Outfitters.
The sentiment has really struck a chord.
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Other people say they think the Urban Outfitters price is an unreasonably high markup.
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Jackson explained that she actually enjoys shopping at Urban Outfitters, but she's frustrated they, and others, don't care to understand the "stigmas" of appropriating cultures.
She said there are a few commenters on her Facebook post that have disagreed with her and posed the commonly heard question "Different races of people wear these earrings — what makes you think you own them?"
She wanted to clarify that she doesn't think anyone "owns anything," but she has an issue with taking fragments of a culture for fashion without understanding the culture.
"What happens is some people — not just white people— have the tendency to discover something, take it, and they say it’s new, it’s hot and it’s trendy," Jackson said.
"It’s a fashion statement — they don’t want to know about the culture, they just want the look," she added.
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