PERSPECTIVES OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE
We included this part because we believe that people from the cultures involved should have a louder voice when it comes to these topics. That being said, we are in no way invalidating the feelings and opinions of people who were genuinely hurt or offended. However, the same validation should also be given to people defending oh my girl who are also part of the said cultures. Not just for the sake of being fair, but to have a more complete discussion about any issue.
Mexican and Indian Perspectives:
YooA’s Traffic Cover is Neither CA nor Blackfishing
Some people are claiming that YooA’s clothing & style in her dance cover of Traffic is CA. Many people on Twitter are even claiming that YooA darkened her skin for the cover, which is simply just not the case as the video was filmed in an underground parking lot, which can make skin tones look darker. But more importantly, the color grading used for the video contributed to her looking darker than usual.
This should have been a cause for celebration as another entry in the not so long list of moments where Kpop idols were not whitewashed. But instead, a lot of people unfairly and wrongfully called Yooa out for doing CA/blackfishing. This, even after POC from the cultures concerned defended Yooa. We hope that this clarifies the issue and clears misconceptions.
BEHIND THE SCENES (UNEDITED)
FINAL VERSION (EDITED)
On claims that YooA did CA in her Traffic cover
On claims that Hyojung (member) is fatphobic:
Native American people’s perspective on Cultural Appropriation:
General perspective of YooA’s Bon Voyage
An African man’s perspective of Bon Voyage because people are claiming that the chants are African
While we do acknowledge the similarities to African chants/melody, there’s still no reason to claim CA because there are so many tribes in Asia and other parts of the world that have similar chants/melodies as well (you'll hear it at the beginning of the song). And, the music that we know today has been influenced by so many musical styles from many cultures around the world. The reason being, is because the migration of people thousands of years ago resulted in sharing of cultures. Cultural appropriation should not be claimed from the slightest similarity to another culture. Much more so if no one can identify which group of people are the rightful owners of the cultural element in question…
People of Color’s reaction to Bon Voyage: