THE ETHICIST TAP : [Q]

 

I'm a woman in my 40s with severe '' alopecia ''. Doctors say I'm not a candidate for hair transplant,  and within a year I'll be visibly balding.

This is devastating; I'm already supporting a buzz cut and am not someone who can rock a bald look.

WIGS are uncomfortable and expensive, and caps and herchiefs for chemotherapy aren't durable. 

I'm drawn to scarves, head wraps and turbans.

Yet I'm aware those styles are rooted in cultural traditions, such as those associated with African American, Islamic and certain Jewish communities.

Can I wear such head coverings respectfully without appropriating another culture?

[ Name Withheld ]

The World Students Society thanks professor Kwame Anthony Appiah who teaches philosophy at N.Y.U.