When Timbaland posted a clip of Sailorr performing her viral single “Pookie’s Requiem” on Instagram last year, the majority of the comments had nothing to do with the music. Instead, everyone was discussing what was in Sailorr’s mouth. The Vietnamese-American R&B artist chooses to wear black grills to honour the Vietnamese tradition of nhuộm răng đen – the practice of teeth blackening. In a world where teeth are increasingly expected to be straight, white and uniform, the sight of Sailorr’s black grills came as a shock to many and the post was filled with comments calling her teeth rotten, saying she was guilty of cultural appropriation, and asking ‘what’s up with her mouth?’
Teeth blackening has been practiced for centuries across...
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