What do you think of Cultural Appropriation?

[Sprinkles_penguin]

I've seen around the Internet a lot of people calling out each other for cultural appropriation. I think it's a very interesting topic, because it happens more often than we think. In my opinion, "cultural appropriation" is very common and happens all the time and should not be deemed bad at all. As long as people respect the other culture, I don't see what's the deal with people styling their hair or dressing as they want.

I know it's very sensitive when a dominant culture takes elements from a minority culture, but as long as it's done respectfully, there should be no problem.

Cultural appropriation is a phenomenon that happens all the time, it's how cultures work. I watched a video of a white British girl who went to Japan wearing a kimono. She walked around the streets of Tokyo, and many Japanese people were actually happy that she was wearing a kimono, and they said they wanted their culture to be more popular around the world.

 

[Corrie]

As long as you're not being racist or rude about it then who cares? So I'm white, does that mean I can't eat rice? It gets ridiculous imo.

I think it's great that cultures blend so we can learn things from each other.

 

[Puffy]

i’m japanese and russian, which are two... popular? cultures as of late. i grew up pretty involved with both cultures. i lived with my japanese mom until i was 13 and then spent 4 years with my russian dad and recently moved back in with my mom.

i don’t think cultural appropriation is inherently bad. in fact i think it’s quite good!
i don’t mind when people try to learn about my cultures or take part. i will gladly incorporate you into my tanabata star viewing or my slavic easter celebration if you genuinely are interested! the issue arises when people want to nitpick or make fun of your customs and culture. i’ve been bullied all my life for not really being ‘american’ as both of my parents are first gen immigrants and thus celebrate different things (my dad doesn’t celebrate his birthday but his ‘name day’ for example). i also really don’t like it when people incorporate stereotypes into my culture, or use slurs etc. but that’s to be expected, right? i’m showing you my celebrations because it’s just like any other holiday. i don’t make fun of your holidays so why should you make fun of mine?

 

[seliph]

I've seen around the Internet a lot of people calling out each other for cultural appropriation. I think it's a very interesting topic, because it happens more often than we think. In my opinion, "cultural appropriation" is very common and happens all the time and should not be deemed bad at all. As long as people respect the other culture, I don't see what's the deal with people styling their hair or dressing as they want.

I know it's very sensitive when a dominant culture takes elements from a minority culture, but as long as it's done respectfully, there should be no problem.

Cultural appropriation is a phenomenon that happens all the time, it's how cultures work. I watched a video of a white British girl who went to Japan wearing a kimono. She walked around the streets of Tokyo, and many Japanese people were actually happy that she was wearing a kimono, and they said they wanted their culture to be more popular around the world.

As long as you're not being racist or rude about it then who cares? So I'm white, does that mean I can't eat rice? It gets ridiculous imo.

I think it's great that cultures blend so we can learn things from each other.

neither of you are understanding what cultural appropriation is.

cultural appropriation is taking part of a culture (no, eating food from other countries is not a part of this) and using it for your own personal gain without being invited to do so, usually for aesthetic purposes. this is disrespecting the culture you're appropriating from because the purpose of these items etc is not aesthetic.

an example that comes to mind is how not so long ago it became quite popular for white girls to wear bindis as a fashion accessory, so much so that fake cheap bindis were being sold in stores like forever 21. this is an issue because while brown girls are still discriminated against by western society for taking part in their own culture, white people were facing zero repercussions for sticking rhinestones on their forehead for a ~look~.

it is also imperative that we look at this issue from a western perspective and with diaspora in mind. of course a british white woman isn't going to have problems wearing a kimono while in japan. it's not uncommon there to wear a kimono, and japanese people in japan aren't going to face harassment for taking part in their own culture. we have to look at this while thinking of japanese people in the americas/europe who are marginalized and underrepresented and would probably face a plethora of racist remarks if they went to prom in a kimono while non-japanese people get to use their culture as an aesthetic.

to simplify, many cultural items serve some sort of cultural purpose/significance. when that purpose is disrespected it is cultural appropriation. food's purpose is to be eaten and is not cultural appropriation.

 

[LuchaSloth]

I think we're all human...and we all share the desire to learn and experience new things. I think that a lot of what society calls "appropriation" tends to be nothing more than the sharing of culture...which I think is a fantastic thing. Culture is awesome. Sharing it is awesome. Now...sometimes there are things like drunken white girls wearing Native American headdresses to raves. And I do think that is one such instance where things are a big no-no, merely because it makes light of the atrocities that were carried forth on those people. But, I've always hated when people jump on attacking the spread of culture in general. If the intentions are pure, and the person who is partaking in the cultural "exploration" is doing so in earnest, I'm always for it. Humans are one species. Who's to tell us which human cultures we are and aren't allowed to learn from?

I like to drink saké from time to time. I have the little saké cups and everything. It might be American culture to crack open a Budweiser...but, sitting with my saké set and meaningfully drinking saké is something that has come to be important to me. It's certainly not something from the culture of my country. But I enjoy it greatly, and I practice it with great respect for the culture from which it was derived.

 

[cornimer]

Cultural appropriation, as seliph defined it, further marginalizes already marginalized groups and is wrong. Eg: I am white and not Muslim, if I decide to wear a hijab because I think it looks fashionable that is not ok.

Participating in different cultures at the invitation of people who belong to that culture, with an actual understanding of what you are doing and the significance, is not wrong. But that's not cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation, by definition, is always bad.

 

[LuchaSloth]

Cultural appropriation, as seliph defined it, further marginalizes already marginalized groups and is wrong. Eg: I am white and not Muslim, if I decide to wear a hijab because I think it looks fashionable that is not ok.

But...at the end of the day, that garment is little more than a piece of fabric. And what is "human nature" if not to adapt? Where does one draw the line between hijab and another type of face-covering? If you are working outside and the sun is hot enough, it's reasonable to wrap a light colored t-shirt around your head to stay cool...and if you are pushing through a strong wind during a blizzard, it is likewise okay to wrap a cloth around your face...which is not to say that you are marginalizing the usage of cloth headdresses or coverings from the middle east, but are adapting to your environment. Such is human nature. Who draws where that line actually is? If you live in a polluted city and want to protect yourself from smog, you might cover your face in fabric. Or, even now...with millions wearing paper masks (something that was widely seen as asian culture until just recently). The only difference lies in the intentions. Which is why I say...if your intentions are genuine, there is no aspect of a culture that cannot be replicated in earnest.

 

[cornimer]

But...at the end of the day, that garment is little more than a piece of fabric. And what is "human nature" if not to adapt? Where does one draw the line between hijab and another type of face-covering? If you are working outside and the sun is hot enough, it's reasonable to wrap a light colored t-shirt around your head to stay cool...and if you are pushing through a strong wind during a blizzard, it is likewise okay to wrap a cloth around your face...which is not to say that you are marginalizing the usage of cloth headdresses or coverings from the middle east, but are adapting to your environment. Such is human nature. Who draws where that line actually is? If you live in a polluted city and want to protect yourself from smog, you might cover your face in fabric. Or, even now...with millions wearing paper masks (something that was widely seen as asian culture until just recently).

Yes a cloth is just a cloth, but the particular style in which the cloth is worn gives it a specific meaning to people of that religion. It's not ok to intentionally copy that style if you don't belong to that religion.

Putting cloth over your face to protect from wind is a different scenario, obviously you can do that but that's not the same as putting something on as an actual part of your outfit.

Masks are a medical tool that protect people from smog and germs, of course it's not appropriation to wear one to protect yourself.

 

[Sprinkles_penguin]

neither of you are understanding what cultural appropriation is.

cultural appropriation is taking part of a culture (no, eating food from other countries is not a part of this) and using it for your own personal gain without being invited to do so, usually for aesthetic purposes. this is disrespecting the culture you're appropriating from because the purpose of these items etc is not aesthetic.

an example that comes to mind is how not so long ago it became quite popular for white girls to wear bindis as a fashion accessory, so much so that fake cheap bindis were being sold in stores like forever 21. this is an issue because while brown girls are still discriminated against by western society for taking part in their own culture, white people were facing zero repercussions for sticking rhinestones on their forehead for a ~look~.

it is also imperative that we look at this issue from a western perspective and with diaspora in mind. of course a british white woman isn't going to have problems wearing a kimono while in japan. it's not uncommon there to wear a kimono, and japanese people in japan aren't going to face harassment for taking part in their own culture. we have to look at this while thinking of japanese people in the americas/europe who are marginalized and underrepresented and would probably face a plethora of racist remarks if they went to prom in a kimono while non-japanese people get to use their culture as an aesthetic.

to simplify, many cultural items serve some sort of cultural purpose/significance. when that purpose is disrespected it is cultural appropriation. food's purpose is to be eaten and is not cultural appropriation.

I understand this, but if someone is purely taking that culture with cero bad intentions, they are free to wear bindis. I know many people are still mocked nowadays for wearing traditional clothes of their cultures, but I think THAT is the problem, and not cultural appropriation. We cannot blame racism and discrimination on people who are just wearing things from a foreign culture.

 

[LuchaSloth]

Masks are a medical tool that protect people from smog and germs, of course it's not appropriation to wear one to protect yourself.

A lot of people choose to wear them as fashion accessories in Japan.

The point is, culture is always moving...always flowing. What starts as one thing flows somewhere else and is adapted into something new. This is how culture has always been. If we set a firm stance on what "is and isn't" acceptable between cultures, where does that leave us? I think a good example might be the "wigger" culture of the 90's. You had Caucasian people intentionally dressing as if they were part of that culture. And they took a lot of heat for it. But, when people realized that you could dress that way because it's what you sincerely liked, and not because you were mocking it...it came to be that those people blended right back into society, and no one even thinks about how they are dressed anymore. You just see them as people...because that's what we all are at the end of the day.

 

[Sprinkles_penguin]

Cultural appropriation, as seliph defined it, further marginalizes already marginalized groups and is wrong. Eg: I am white and not Muslim, if I decide to wear a hijab because I think it looks fashionable that is not ok.

Participating in different cultures at the invitation of people who belong to that culture, with an actual understanding of what you are doing and the significance, is not wrong. But that's not cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation, by definition, is always bad.

The terms "white" and "Muslim" are not exclusive, as you can be a White Muslim. And also, I think wearing a hijab if you're not Muslim is not bad, on the contrary, you're spreading their culture around the world and you're practicing a precept of Islam, which they should be happy about.

 

[LuchaSloth]

I'm not trying to get all metaphysical here or anything...but, being human is nothing more than an experience. Just as we have people who feel like they were born the wrong gender, and seek to change that...we also have people who learn about a culture that they wish they were a part of, and seek to genuinely be a part of that culture. And that decision can be a sincere one. There's no reason why it automatically must be "wrong".

 

[cornimer]

The terms "white" and "Muslim" are not exclusive, as you can be a White Muslim. And also, I think wearing a hijab if you're not Muslim is not bad, on the contrary, you're spreading their culture around the world and you're practicing a precept of Islam, which they should be happy about.

Yes I know, I didn't mean for those terms to be exclusive when I typed them.

Personally I don't think you're spreading the culture if you wear a hijab and are not Muslim. I think you're erasing the meaning of an important religious garment. If you were thinking of converting to Islam that's one thing, but if you just feel like wearing it because it looks nice or is interesting, then you're disrespecting the fact that it is worn for a reason.

 

[Bread Kennedys]

I feel it's okay to dress different ways or partake in another country's cultures by eating their food or whatever. If you're not actively going around shouting racial slurs and actually doing things to disrespect their culture, you're probably fine. Also, controversial take here, but white people don't get to decide what's okay and what's not okay for other cultures. Those cultures get to decide what's okay and what's not okay for their own cultures. Example, when the trailer for Super Mario Odyssey was shown off, and Mario was shown wearing Mexican clothing, you had certain white people getting upset on behalf of actual Mexican people who were perfectly fine with Mario wearing this costume and showing people a part of their culture. Also, most people in and out of our culture today wear t-shirts, but that originated as a part of American culture specifically. By the logic of people who preach about "cultural appropriation" and how bad it is, if you're not a white American you're not allowed to wear t-shirts. See how lame that is?

 

[LuchaSloth]

Personally I don't think you're spreading the culture if you wear a hijab and are not Muslim. I think you're erasing the meaning of an important religious garment. If you were thinking of converting to Islam that's one thing, but if you just feel like wearing it because it looks nice or is interesting, then you're disrespecting the fact that it is worn for a reason.

I feel like you keep going back solely to religious culture...which is strange. Culture appropriation as a concept is not a wholly religious thing. It can be any aspect of a culture. The Wu-Tang clan culturally appropriated a lot from Kung-Fu culture...and those 70's Kung-Fu movies certainly culturally appropriate that same culture. And I think we can all thank them for it. They never did it as a form of disrespect. They did it because they wanted to show their appreciation for it. In turn, it evolved into new and great things that we all love...which, again, is what I feel is the core of human existence...simply growing. We should all be different people when we die than when we were born.

 

[cornimer]

To speak to something I'm actually familiar with, the crucifix the most important symbol in the Christian religion. I'd be kinda annoyed if I saw my atheist friend who doesn't believe in Christ and has no interest in becoming a Christian wearing a crucifix because they think it's a cool necklace. That's completely disregarding the meaning of the crucifix.

Post automatically merged: Apr 22, 2020

I feel like you keep going back solely to religious culture...which is strange. Culture appropriation as a concept is not a wholly religious thing. It can be any aspect of a culture. The Wu-Tang clan culturally appropriated a lot from Kung-Fu culture...and those 70's Kung-Fu movies certainly culturally appropriate that same culture. And I think we can all thank them for it. They never did it as a form of disrespect. They did it because they wanted to show their appreciation for it. In turn, it evolved into new and great things that we all love.

That's because I am religious and that's something I feel I can actually explain properly (see above). I'm not about to start talking about racial culture when I don't participate in any. I wouldn't know what I'm talking about.

 

[LuchaSloth]

To speak to something I'm actually familiar with, the crucifix the most important symbol in the Christian religion. I'd be kinda annoyed if I saw my atheist friend who doesn't believe in Christ and has no interest in becoming a Christian wearing a crucifix because they think it's a cool necklace. That's completely disregarding the meaning of the crucifix.

There are plenty of people who wear the cross as a symbol without any religious connections. I know several. Especially if you want to go into Irish or Scottish culture and talk about people who have tattoos of crosses made in the style of the celtic knot.

Heck...I have tattoos on each of my legs. They are of two women...both in the style of the Mexican dia de los muertos. One of them is wearing a crucifix necklace. In no way do I consider myself being culturally insensitive to Mexican culture or religious culture with either of those tattoos. Those tattoos hold meaning to me outside of what someone might assume I am "appropriating".

 

[Xara]

i think as long as it’s done respectfully and not with the intent of being rude or making fun of someone’s culture, it’s perfectly fine but as a white person, it’s not my place at all to decide what’s okay and what’s not

 

[Sprinkles_penguin]

Yes I know, I didn't mean for those terms to be exclusive when I typed them.

Personally I don't think you're spreading the culture if you wear a hijab and are not Muslim. I think you're erasing the meaning of an important religious garment. If you were thinking of converting to Islam that's one thing, but if you just feel like wearing it because it looks nice or is interesting, then you're disrespecting the fact that it is worn for a reason.

I do understand this, and I know that it might feel a little bit weird if you see someone from another religion wearing or using symbols, but as long as they are doing it respectfully, I don't care if I see a non-Christian person wearing a crucifix (I'm Catholic). In fact, Muslims, long ago, culturally appropriated hijabs from the Jew and Christian peoples in Europe and the Middle East (veils and other clothes resembling to modern day hijabs were used long before the Muslims started to use them. Actually, early Muslims viewed headscarves and veils as an oppression to women).

Post automatically merged: Apr 22, 2020

I feel it's okay to dress different ways or partake in another country's cultures by eating their food or whatever. If you're not actively going around shouting racial slurs and actually doing things to disrespect their culture, you're probably fine. Also, controversial take here, but white people don't get to decide what's okay and what's not okay for other cultures. Those cultures get to decide what's okay and what's not okay for their own cultures. Example, when the trailer for Super Mario Odyssey was shown off, and Mario was shown wearing Mexican clothing, you had certain white people getting upset on behalf of actual Mexican people who were perfectly fine with Mario wearing this costume and showing people a part of their culture. Also, most people in and out of our culture today wear t-shirts, but that originated as a part of American culture specifically. By the logic of people who preach about "cultural appropriation" and how bad it is, if you're not a white American you're not allowed to wear t-shirts. See how lame that is?

THIS.
I'm Mexican and I actually believe the Mexican Mario is totally fine. I know it's stereotypical (traditional Mexican clothes do not look like that) but it's OK, and it's a way to make Mexican culture more popular (although I would have preferred Mario to be dressed as a Mariachi, rather than the stereotypically Tex-mex poncho and sombrero) Many things we use on our everyday-life come from primarily white countries, but it's OK.

 

[Jacob]

Someone else's culture is not fashion or just cloth