By Maya Koeppen ’17

As the music festival season kicks off this spring, an increasingly popular trend emerges again in festival fashion and this time its opponents have decided to speak out. The trend of bindi, henna, and other bohemian fashion statements was recently spotted at the annual Coachella music festival and immediately sparked backlash from South Asian women across the nation. Upset and frustrated by this trend, individuals decided to fight back with the Reclaim the Bindi movement.  The movement, coined by Desi style blogger Anjana Rajaims, aims to put an end to the use of these cultural clothing and accessories by people who do not belong to the heritage or religion.

Through this movement a greater sense of cultural appreciation and pride has brought people together to regain their culture “from those who have taken it from them”. Many young women have taken to social media to express their distaste by posting pictures of them wearing bindis along with the hashtag #ReclaimtheBindi and captions shaming the mass culture appropriation. This trend is overall an insensitive and capitalistic take on what is a very holy and sacred aspect of the South Asian culture. So before you decide to wear that cute exotic gem to Sweetlife this year, think twice.