Why Anita Ronge – the “Kasi Mlungu” – is Wrong

Entertainment News, Opinion 3 Minutes

On my way to work yesterday morning, I was confronted by some BS in the form of the self-proclaimed ‘Kasi Mlungu’ who seemed to be trying to say that her life is so hard because she’s too white to be black and too black to be white.

l2sqexfwvmuty06ze

Anita ‘DJ Duchaz’ Ronge is an Afrikaans girl from Bonearo Park who went to Hoerskool Kempton Park.

Remind me again what makes you so black?

3oz8xqpqkxpdslqvrs

Wait, it doesn’t stop there…

She even ended up trending because so many people were co-signing her, even going so far as to make here their #WCW for simply appropriating our culture – which is exactly what she is doing.

Anita went so far as to turn it into a hashtag that a bunch of other people jumped on.

While some of you may think what Anita does is cute, allow me to show you why it is not.

What Anita is doing is a phenomenon called cultural appropriation. This means that she is adopting and using elements of a culture that is not her own. Worse off, she is using it as a commercial gimmick. She is making money off pretending to be black when a black person would either a) be paid peanuts for doing the same thing or b) they wouldn’t get paid at all for being who they are.

Anita prides herself on being thee white person in the hood and her fans treat her as though that is an achievement.

They never stop to consider the fact that they will never be celebrated for being able to speak English or going to hang out in Sandton and other so-called “traditionally white” spaces. In fact, they would be crucified for it because some people would accuse them of being coconuts, thinking they are better than others and that they are forgetting where they come from.

We spend a lot of time in these “traditionally white” spaces so why should it be celebrated that this woman DJ’s in the hood, eats at shisanyamas, wears traditional Zulu attire and has black friends?

The fact that black people give Anita props for what she does says nothing about race relations either. Loving her will not change how Kobus treats you when he finds you out in the streets.

In fact, the fact that she wore some traditional attire and put on a performance of blackness and added a caption with the intent to endear herself to black people because she is “hated” by other white people is insulting.

#StopRacism? You’re going to stop racism by putting on some beads and munching on ice? Girl bye.

And I am not the only one that feels this way.

Remember, if all the hate becomes too much for Anita, she can just drop the act and go back to being white. She can walk into a job (even if she might only have a matric certificate) and get a well-paid position while the young black woman who attends the parties Anita DJ’s at will have to knock on 100 doors just to get a job that pays her R8000p/m.

16473426_10212089647936474_7643898318959748869_n

Our blackness is not a costume, our lives are not a gimmick and one white woman who pretends to be black (because let’s face it, that is what she is doing), will never single-handedly stop racism.

If she really cared, she would acknowledge her privilege, educate herself on our lived experiences, admit that what she is doing is hurtful to some and find a way to make money without having to pretend to be something she is not.

There is more to being black than hanging out ekasi, saying ‘neh’ at the end of every sentence, calling people mabhebheza and dating black men (something she regularly boasts about in her tweets, SMH). All that does is perpetuate stereotypes of blackness.

 

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @mediagirl_za

Published by Media Girl ZA

Digital Content Creator seeking the fullest expression of self

Published

24 thoughts on “Why Anita Ronge – the “Kasi Mlungu” – is Wrong”

  1. Thank you Kay for addressing this,
    I honestly thought I was the only one on social media who saw something entirely wrong with this whole situation.
    Hopefully open minded people will not see this as “hating” but actual 100% FACT.

    Like

    Reply

  3. Let her do what she wants, I don’t understand this ” cultural appropriation” bullshit, if I wear Versace and eat pasta and brag about it does that make me appropiating italian style/cullture, same goes for black girls like little kim wearing a kimono, or Beyonce dressing up as Queen Victoria… We live in a global village now, cross pollination of cultures are inevitable. Beyonce can appropriate pantsula dancers and exploit our dance style because she is american, but Just because I’m a “white” African South African I can’t… it is a double edged sword.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Engaging in Italian and European culture is not appropriation as they exported their cultures from a position of power and they continue to benefit from it in the long run. When you spend money on Versace, it goes into the pocket of an Italian person. When Lil Kim wears a Kimono, yes that is appropriation and she is wrong for that. There have been a number of Asian people who call people out for appropriating their culture. Cross pollination of cultures is not the same as appropriation, neither is appreciation and what Anita is doing is not appreciation. Beyonce did not appropriate pantsula dancing. She hired dancers from a country that it originates from to come showcase their work, which they got paid for. She didn’t hire some American dudes to do it. It is not a double edged sword, you are just determined to disagree with me because you bought into the rainbow nation fallacy.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    2. Versace sir is not cultural attire. It’s a brand of clothing made by Italian people for public consumption. Barely comparable to traditional African attire that has meaning attached to it and represents particular things. Pasta again Italian staple that’s now become a stable in many other countries. Made for public consumption. So sorry your examples do not stand. Anita is appropriating people’s cultures for commercial appeal and monatery gain. She could opt out of blackness whenever it suits her. What she also doesn’t understand is that blackness is not a performance.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Let us reference Nicki Minaj in Versace at the 2012 Grammy Awards complete with a guy dressed as the pope. Just a fashion label righhhhtt…

        Like

      2. Mario,

        I refuse to engage with you further until you READ and EDUCATE yourself on cultural appropriation. All you’re doing right now is pulling random instances in pop culture history out of your ass without making an actual point. You’re also pulling an Anita and playing the victim when you are not.

        When black people do westernized things, it does not qualify as appropriation. I will not explain this to you because I am a writer not a teacher. You clearly have internet access and therefore access to Google and Google Scholar. There are countless academic articles and theses at your disposal so there is no reason for you to be acting like a 5 year old all up and down my comments.

        Come back when you understand the topic at hand. You don’t have to agree with what I am saying, all I ask is that you stop speaking about something you clearly know nothing about.

        Like

  4. Kay, you are reading too much into this & you’re entitled to your opinion most definitely. All I’m going to ask you NOT to do is dare compare black people (with Ubuntu) who don’t see this your way to “Kobus”. I see your point, but it’s pointing the wrong direction and I understand cause awumazi uAnita.

    Like

    Reply

    1. I didn’t compare them to Kobus though. You just misread the point I was trying to make. What I intended to say with that statement is that Anita is not stopping racism by behaving the way that she does (as she claims) because Kobus (the racist white dude you will encounter at some point in your life) will not care that you love Anita. He will mistreat you and discriminate against you either way because you are black. He will not care about your “ubuntu.”

      Just because my opinion is different from your does not make it wrong. Even if I knew her, I would still feel the same way and so would all the other people who see this cultural exploitation for what it is.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  5. Buying into the rainbow nation fallacy, you actually just want to keep racism alive. You are taking a stance from an ivory tower and pigeonholing anyone who wishes to discuss this cultural discourse with you… but because I’m white I’m somehow inferior and not allowed to challenge you with an open debate… so selling your culture to the highest bidder i.e Beyoncé “paying pantsula dancers”without any reference to South Africa is fine, but a white South African who also as per your “theory” paid for “traditional beadwork” that’s not fine? So you can buy hire rent and sell your culture to make pretty music videos for American consumption, but a stupid white chick cant try and make a statement in the confines of our country, strange web we weave, much

    Like

    Reply

    1. You: “Let her do what she wants, I don’t understand this ” cultural appropriation” bullshit”
      Author of this post: *Kindly and patiently explains the difference between appropriation and appreciation.*
      You: “because I’m white I’m somehow inferior and not allowed to challenge you with an open debate”

      You’re not trying to engage in open debate, you’re showing up with the expectation that everyone will just accept what you have to say as god’s truth, (despite the fact that you have shown absolutely zero attempt to at least understand the opposing view) and throwing a little tantrum when they don’t.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. No tantrum, how about Beyoncé’s Catholic attire at the Grammy’s that is culturally offensive and apppropriating just like this white girl. Or is it? You throwing the tantrum and inciting racial tension…

        Like

    2. No Mario, I don’t want to keep racism alive because lets be real, between you and I, I am the one who suffers most because of it.

      “You are taking a stance from an ivory tower and pigeonholing anyone who wishes to discuss this cultural discourse with you…”

      1) You are assuming and
      2) How did I pigeon hole you?
      3) Am I not engaging in a discussion with you without being rude or disrespectful?

      You’re the one who is in your feelings for some reason.

      “but because I’m white I’m somehow inferior and not allowed to challenge you with an open debate…” – your words, not mine. I have not asked you to refrain from expressing how you feel because I know that people only choose to understand you from their level of perception. I can only explain my stance and contextualize it, I can’t force you to agree with me. In the same way I do not have to agree with you if I feel you are not making any sense.

      It is not the paying for beadwork that I have a problem with, it is the fact that she puts on this “I’m a black white girl” act as a way to make money. Wearing the beadwork is only a small part of what’s wrong with what she is doing.

      She is making a statement but it is the wrong one.

      Like

      Reply

  7. Or you should question .. why it’s such a big deal for you … let her be who she wants who are you to decide she’s wrong by how she expresses and wants to view herself

    Like

    Reply

    1. I have stated why it is a big deal for me in the article. No need to explain my viewpoint further. As someone who’s culture is being exploited by her, I have the right to speak up. Just like you have the right to disagree and carry on with your life. ✌🏾

      Like

      Reply

  8. We speak English, French, Portuguese and etc European languages that our former colonial rulers forced us to adapt to and learn not because we really liked them but because it was a form of survival.

    I agree with you media girl this behavior is repulsive and I don’t like it either. Many a times European people are celebrated for speaking broken African languages but if a fellow black person who speaks a different dialect speaks my language in a broken note not many of us take time and patience to correct them so we communicate better. Oftentimes we switch automatically to English or any other preferred European language to communicate with our fellow black brethren. Which is a shame. For instance right now in South Africa we think Apartheid is over but it’s not yet. Look how many companies will consider a candidate for a job if for instance the languages they are very good at is the vernacular? Most require you to be bilingual (English and…….) I of course you guessed right the other language is not xhosa or Zulu or tswana even though having a 2nd language besides your mother tongue qualifies one as bilingual.

    This Anita Ronge girl I rest my case and words on her actions. Those that don’t agree with my opinion well I don’t wish to beg you to. We all are entitled to our own. Good luck to her if her motives are pure love for culture integration and sorry to some of us that have eyebrows raised.

    #iloveafrica

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, and most settlers from all over the world in South Africa, who fleed their homeland because they were prosicuted for being Protestant, and then also fought against the British and thrown into consentration camps and forced and opressed to speak English. To this day it is considered rude for Afrikaans/Greek/Itlatian people to speak Afrikaans/etc at a table with one English person. We all have major identity issues black and white, we’ll only learn by exploring each others cultures… some more passionately than others… ohh eheh this white girl!

      Like

      Reply
  9. Pingback: Why Anita Ronge – the “Kasi Mlungu” – is Wrong - Marie Claire - South Africa

  10. Ai suka let her be maan many black people live their lives as thou they are white speaking English even at home with their parents

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment