We want the world to love Bahamian culture—until they make money from it

The Bahamas has spent decades trying to get the world to fall in love with its culture. We want visitors to taste our food, hear our music, experience Junkanoo, learn our history and take a little piece of the islands home with them.

We want Bahamian culture to travel.

But what happens when someone from outside the Bahamas helps make that culture popular—and then tries to make money from it?

Scottish social-media creator Heather Wulk, known online as “Wulk242” received backlash.

Wulk built a following by cooking Bahamian dishes and sharing her affection for the country. When she proposed selling a “Hey Cousin!” T-shirt featuring the Bahamian flag, however, some Bahamians objected.

Some questioned why Bahamians won’t support other Bahamians first. Others questioned whether Wulk should commercially use the national flag.

Who gets to benefit when Bahamian culture becomes commercially valuable?

There is already a market for Bahamian-inspired products. Bahamian businesses sell clothing, gifts, food and lifestyle products built around national identity and island culture.

Who gets to capture that value?

A Bahamian entrepreneur selling a flag-inspired shirt is participating in that economy from within the culture. A foreign creator doing the same thing occupies a different position—even if her intentions are entirely sincere.

That does not automatically make the outsider exploitative. Nor does being Bahamian automatically make every use of culture legitimate.

Wulk says she was not trying to take anything from Bahamians. She says the shirt was intended to celebrate a community that had welcomed her, and that she had planned to donate part of the proceeds to charities.

Some Bahamians agree with her.

Former Free National Movement candidate for Englerston Heather McDonald told her that culture is meant to be shared and encouraged her not to be discouraged.

Miguel Taylor argued that the critics represented only a few voices and urged her to continue.

Danielle Bandin similarly argued that Bahamians should not discourage someone who is bringing attention to the country while much larger foreign interests profit from the Bahamas.

If we want outsiders to discover Bahamian culture, should we also expect them never to build anything from that discovery?

Tourism itself depends on people finding economic value in what makes the Bahamas distinctive.

That is a conversation the Bahamas should be prepared to have—not only when a Scottish TikToker sells a T-shirt, but whenever our food, music, stories, traditions and identity become increasingly valuable in the global digital marketplace.

When the world falls in love with Bahamian culture, who gets to benefit?