Cardi B Pays Homage To Goddess Durga While Promoting Her Sneaker Collection. We Think It Really Is About Inner Strength

Cardi B Pays Homage To Goddess Durga While Promoting Her Sneaker Collection. We Think It Really Is About Inner Strength

I would say that Indian’s are extremely touchy about conversations surrounding religion but that would be stating the obvious. As children, we are taught never to comment on someone’s religion or politics. But hey, when you do what I do, it’s a job requirement. The thing is when it comes to religion or any of the gods and goddesses, Indian’s are always on edge. One small slip and the response is extremely brutal. How many of you’ll remember Agrima Joshua and her joke about Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue? She and her family were threatened with rape over a  simple joke. So it stood to reason that when famed rapper Cardi B tried to pay homage to Goddess Durga while promoting her debut sneaker collection with Reebok, it did not go down so well. 

Cardi B’s debut sneaker collection which is in collaboration with Reebok is all set to hit stores this Friday. Little did she know that her sneakers would become international news but for all the wrong reasons. It all started when pictures of the 28-year-old rapper posing as Hindu Goddess ‘Durga’, in a bid to promote her new sneakers, went viral. The pictures were meant as a homage to Goddess Durga. They show Cardi B as a warrior woman with eight hands while holding a bright red pair of sneakers. Yikes, she should’ve known that she was playing with fire. Cardi B captioned the picture, “So excited for my sneaker drop this Friday, November 13th! Hope you guys love it!” 

Footwear News’ Instagram handle also shared the image of Cardi B posing as Goddess Durga. In the caption, they said that she was paying homage to Durga Maa as the Goddess is a symbol of inner-strength and protection. The caption read, “If Cardi’s rockin’ it, go buy stock in it. That’s a tip as FN’s November cover star Cardi B makes her first major foray into the shoe industry with the Nov. 13 debut of her Club C Cardi sneaker collection with Reebok.” 

 

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If Cardi’s rockin’ it, go buy stock in it. That’s a tip as FN’s November cover star @iamcardib makes her first major foray into the shoe industry with the Nov. 13 debut of her Club C Cardi sneaker collection with @Reebok.⁠ ⁠ In a @GeorgesHobeika dress, she pays homage to Durga, the Hindu goddess, whose symbols of protection and inner strength resonate as much in modern times as they have through the centuries. Like Durga, Cardi B is a dominant female voice at a critical time.⁠ ⁠ At the link in bio, Cardi B gets candid with FN’s @nikarajohns about her future in the fashion industry, upcoming Reebok collab and her relentless need to win in the FN exclusive.⁠ ⁠ –⁠ Photography: @jorafrantzis; Style Director: @shannonadducci ; Styling: @kollincarter; Style assistant: @jennijenu; Tailor: @sirbabajagne; Makeup: @erika_lapearl_mua; Hair: @tokyostylez; Nails: @marienailz; Set Design: Brielle Hubert, Pete Hickok and Yalina Flores⁠

A post shared by Footwear News (@footwearnews) on

 

Further adding, “In a Georges Hobeika dress, she pays homage to Durga, the Hindu goddess, whose symbols of protection and inner strength resonate as much in modern times as they have through the centuries. Like Durga, Cardi B is a dominant female voice at a critical time.” ⁠

Now while no one can deny that the picture is aesthetically pleasing and the outfit Cardi B is wearing is gorgeous, it failed to impress most Indians. In fact, people took serious offence to this and called it cultural appropriation. The thing that did not sit well with most people is the fact that in the outfit Cardi B is wearing while paying homage to Goddess Durga, reveals a lot of her cleavage. “Bare-bodied” was the term used on social media. And the fact that she chose to pay homage to a Hindu goddess while holding a shoe in her hand definitely did not help her Cardi B’s case. People began lashing out at the WAP rapper and calling her out for mocking Indian culture. 

Also Read: #Trending: Desis Slammed K-Pop Singer For Culture Appropriation After She Posted A Video Of Her Dancing to A Punjabi Song. It Was Wrong But She Apologised

https://twitter.com/wotermelonsugrx/status/1326414868120018945

https://twitter.com/PRITSOFFICIAL/status/1326353836274032641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1326353836274032641%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.india.com%2Fviral%2Fthis-is-disrespect-rapper-cardi-b-poses-as-goddess-durga-to-advertise-new-sneaker-collection-indians-are-enraged-4207218%2F

https://twitter.com/MissAmericHANA/status/1326420547387977731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1326420547387977731%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.india.com%2Fviral%2Fthis-is-disrespect-rapper-cardi-b-poses-as-goddess-durga-to-advertise-new-sneaker-collection-indians-are-enraged-4207218%2F

However, I don’t see it like that. This entire thing, like most things on Twitter, is being blown out of proportion. By trying to pay homage to Goddess Durga, Cardi B was not mocking Indian culture. Like the Footwear News’ caption read, she was only appreciating everything Durga Maa stands for- inner-strength, protection and so much more. If you ask me, the whole thing is very symbolic because everything Goddess Durga is worshipped for is relevant today, more than ever. I don’t see this as Cardi B appropriating Indian culture. She is merely trying to pay homage to one of our most worshipped goddesses of the Hindu culture. Given that Durga, if described in present times, would stand essentially for a feminist, isn’t just iconic that she’s being paid homage to? 

After desi Twitter lashed out at Cardi B, she took to Instagram to send out an apology. She said that she didn’t mean to offend anyone’s religion and that she was told the photoshoot would represent a Goddess that stood for strength and feminity. In her apology, Cardi B said, “When I did the shoot, the creatives told me I was going to represent a Goddess; that she represents strength, femininity and liberation, and that’s something I love and I’m all about. And though it was dope, if people think I’m offending their culture or their religion I want to say that was not my intent. I do not like offending anyone’s religion; I wouldn’t like it if someone did it to my religion.”

Further adding, “When people dress as Virgin Mary and Jesus, as long as they do it in a beautiful, graceful way…. But I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful; maybe I should have done my research. I’m sorry, I can’t change the past but I will do more research for the future.”

These are volatile times and practically everything is up for debate especially when it comes to Hindu-ism and its depiction. Even though she has issued an apology, we do not think it was offensive though.

The bottom line is, we don’t think Cardi B’s homage to Durga was disrespectful. Do you agree with us? 

https://thehauterfly.com/culture-2/the-wiggles-video-papadums-appropriation-viral/

Mitali Shah

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