Is cultural appropriation harmful? Lets first define it. Cultural appropriation as Oxford defines it is “the adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.” In other words, taking something from a culture and adapt it to one’s culture.
The definition includes that for cultural appropriation to happen, the exchange is not mutual but instead the dominant society subdues another nation’s cultural aspect. The problem with such appropriation is that the marginalized culture does not get a saying on what is being subdued.
For example, sometimes some fashion trends become stereotypical and they are still seen as high fashion. The ones affected say its harmful when their traditional clothing becomes socially acceptable since it was suddenly fashionable. 
Imagine a family-owned Indian food restaurant with their own recipes. They have windows which let the customers see how they food is made. A owner of another restaurant in a different state sees how the food is made and imitate it, his recipe becomes famous and profitable in the state that he is. In this scenario, the Indian family is harmed since its their recipe but they did not receive any credit for it. This is actually a true story but instead of an Indian restaurant, it involves a burrito cart owner in Portland. Jamilah King commented to Bustle on such “The problem, of course, is that it’s unclear whether the Mexican women who handed over their recipes ever got anything in return. And now those same recipes are being sold as a delicacy in Portland.”
Using a restaurant as an example again, sometimes dishes can also be inauthentic. Maunika Gowardhan had a discussion about it when a restaurant in London faced accusations over her biryani wrap recipe. “This is a complete misrepresentation of what the dish is. All you are doing is using the name, not the dish,” Gowardhan said.
A poll made by Tylt showed how 67% think appropriation is sharing culture, while 32% voted to stop aproppriation. Bari Weiss, from the New York Times, says that appropriation is what drives American culture. America has been based on bits and pieces of other cultures and now there is a fresh one. One can eat a Palestinian dish right in Brooklyn. Weiss points out how these are benefits of appropriation, that it isn’t a dominant group taking pieces of other cultures but instead sharing.
Critics disagree, as the poll shows 32% disagreed. They argued that there is a double standard, the world we lived in is still racist and its unfair when a black person seems disparaged when wearing dreadlocks but if a white person does it, its seen as edgy (Tylt).
A way of reducing cultural appropriation would be acknowledging the source by giving them credit. A recent movement started to spread cultural awareness. To avoid cultural appropriation Commisceo Global recommends to not stereotype, avoid anything sacred, promote diversity and share benefits. Stereotypes tend to be adopted when cultural appropriation happens; some customs, practices and ideas are based on stereotypes. Some fashion designers use sacred symbols for their fashion lines; such as Cavalli, when he used a sacred symbol in one of his ads. An Islamic sufism students protested, as one result the UK banned the selling of sacred headwear without native Americans approval.
The hashtag Stop the Cult is a campaign that urges for people to instead of appropriate to appreciate cultures. Understand the culture and history before using the cultural object one wishes to use and as said before, honor the source by giving them credit. These are two things the campaign recommends one to do.
Bari Weiss sees appropriation as a good thing, when there is no mockery, “culture should be shared, not hoarded.”
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cultural_appropriation
https://www.theweek.co.uk/cultural-appropriation
https://www.bustle.com/p/7-things-you-might-not-realize-are-cultural-appropriation-that-are-60679
https://thetylt.com/culture/can-cultural-appropriation-be-a-good-thing
https://www.commisceo-global.com/blog/how-to-avoid-cultural-appropriation-promote-cultural-awareness-instead
Hey Vanessa!
The topic of cultural appropriation is certainly a debatable one and many instances have surfaced that proves that the topic walks a thin line between disrespectful cultural exploitation and admiration. Based on certain situations, I believe that in most cases of cultural appropriation occur when individuals are ignorant of certain customs and cultures and are unaware of a trend’s origins and meaning behind the act. For example, a lot of popular fashion shows and magazines utilize unique customs and fashion seen in other countries and cultures that many designers believe to be highly fashionable. In doing so, and without giving credit to the culture that these fashionable practices derive from, cultural practices are taken out of context and expressed in ways that may be disrespectful to a country or ethnic group’s history or existence. Especially in the United States, we see models such as Kendall Jenner being criticized in her recent Vogue magazine shoot for flaunting teased hair that represents an afro. She received heavy backlash from the African-American community.
In these instances, cultural appropriation really comes down to the motives behind the act and whether or not one is properly informed on how their actions may resonate with a specific audience and if that audience will approve of such actions. Because, on the other hand, cultural appropriation may occur in a way that, upon further investigation, could just be a mutual cultural exchange or an act in admiration used as a message of celebration. However, the distinction, once again, is a tricky and sometimes unrecognizable one.
Like the above examples, I think the United States, due to the nation being created and inhabited by immigrants, is often the root of cultural appropriation. However, in one interesting article from The New York Times, it was, in fact, the opposite. Walter Thompson-Hernández, a writer employed by the NYT, grew up in southeast Los Angeles where lowrider culture — “a community with an affinity for cars, outfits with intricate designs, multicolored lights and heavily tinted windows that can be traced in Southern California to as far back as the 1940s” had traveled to Japan after a Japanese journalist vacationed to Los Angeles and documented this experience. Thompson-Hernández questioned whether this was considered cultural appropriation. So, he journeyed to Japan to see the spread of this subculture. He discovered that, under the belief that cultural appropriation “completely disregards the original communities,” those in Japan who had taken up the cultural in fact did the opposite. Thompson-Hernández found that they were in constant communication with the lowrider culture in Los Angeles and saw it as more of a cultural exchange. I believe this particular example shows the intricate and delicate standards that cultural appropriation thrives on and that this topic is worthy of deep consideration and careful contemplation.
Source:
Thompson-Hernández, Walter. “How My Southeast L.A. Culture Got to Japan.” The New York Times, 19 Feb. 2019, http://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/style/how-my-southeast-la-culture-got-to-
japan.html.
This is an interesting view at cultural appropriation with the idea that we are exchanging cultures is very real in a county full of immigrants. Though, cultures are not always exchanged and sometimes “stolen” or changed in negative ways. On the idea of cultural exchange, some I learned not too long ago was there are many blacks from Africa coming to Ukraine for an education. Ukraine is not diverse what so ever and seeing a black man is just very rare. So when I learned that there are Africans learning the Ukrainian language, some speaking better than 2nd generation Ukrainians here in the United States, I was mind blown. In addition, these Africans learn our culture and perform cultural dances and teach Ukrainians about their culture. This I believe is a great example of cultural exchange where both parties teach and/or learn from each other. Though are there many times we look at a cultures without understanding it and try embrace it in some way that may be incorrect.
Hi Vanessa,
I think cultural appropriation is definitely a topic that is on the rise with the world’s ever-increasing globalization and cultural assimilation patterns. Clearly, as your entry suggests, there is much debate about whether this is a good or bad thing. In some perspectives, cultural appropriation seems to be a simple sharing of culture. However, in other perspectives, cultural appropriation has seemed to harm the less dominant culture by treating it as unorthodox or invalid. In other words, big name fashion brands can take hold of a sacred symbol and turn it into something that is completely and utterly meaningless.
This reminds me of the time when I went to San Marco’s Cathedral in Venice, Italy. Upon entering the cathedral, you are instructed to cover your knees and shoulders if you were wearing something that was too exposing, or you would not be allowed to enter. This is due to the fact that the San Marco Cathedral is considered a very holy place by the Catholic church, as well as by many Christians. It even houses the bones of Mark on the alter, who was reportedly one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. As you walk through the cathedral and make your way towards the alter, signs appear that instruct you to not even speak or whisper. This cathedral was clearly striving to maintain the holiness of the space by covering human skin and by silencing the human voice. Now, when we reached the alter, I noticed several children who were running around the encasement of the bones of Mark! These children and their parents, respectively, were not treating the area of space with the same reverence and awe as others were.
This experience made me realize that “holiness” and “sacredness” of any object or place is truly dependent on one’s perception and association of identity with it. David Christofferson articulates his own feelings in this way: “Speaking of society in general, I am afraid that many of my generation have been remiss in transmitting to your generation a feeling for sacred things and an understanding of how to respect them.” It seems that David identifies himself with certain sacred objects, so when those objects are treated as unsacred, he perceives this as a personal attack against him. I felt the same way witnessing people treat San Marco’s Cathedral more as a tourist attraction, or something to play on, rather than something with religious significance. Since I identify with Christianity, I felt personally attacked or insulted that people didn’t seem to be respecting the space that I felt was sacred.
I suppose that it is all relative to the viewer or object in question. Cultural appropriation is a tricky subject to discuss once we break it down to the philosophical level.
Source:
Christofferson, D. Todd. “A Sense of the Sacred – D. Todd Christofferson.” BYU Speeches, speeches.byu.edu/talks/d-todd-christofferson_sense-sacred/.
Hey Vanessa,
The topic of cultural appropriation is a large issue within the United States that not only assimilates other cultures but also may create stereotypes. Appropriation may cause many to become blind to the truth or originality of something. From food to fashion to hair styles, we can see cultural appropriation in many ways. This in many ways is harmful to societies if not physically to individuals. Cultural appropriation creating stereotypes puts out false information and paints negative images of these cultures. In many cases, one will not know the truth as they truly may not know something is just not true.
Something that I found interesting in my life when I was younger that had to do with cultural appropriation involved tacos. Moving from Ukraine to the United States, I had my first taco at the age of 14 when I went to camp. There I got to try my first taco which painted an image in my head of what a taco really is. But until I found out that this taco that I ate was taken from Mexico and Americanized. For years I was blind until I was told about it. In high school my teacher brought up how ideas can be stolen and made better to fit a society’s image. In the United States, the tacos we eat are not what the standard tacos are in Mexico. Unlike the hard shelled tacos we eat in the United States, Mexican tacos are soft shelled and the tortillas are always corn. Another interesting fact is that the Mexican tacos are not greasy and a lot healthier than American tacos.
Overall, this is similar to the story about a Portland cart owner. Ideas that are small can be stolen by those who are “bigger” which could result in more successes. And when someone steals and idea from someone who is a “nobody”, they have an easy get away as many times no one will believe this lower person. This has happened with the United States with famous people stealing fashion ideas and then claiming it as their own while the original creators get no credit and actually get hurt by claims.
In the end, cultural appropriation creates numerous negatives that affect not only a culture or society, but also individuals. Something in my personal life that I have experienced was the Ukrainian culture being seen as Russian culture. While Ukraine’s culture has a longer history, Russia’s size and popularity has this negative affect on Ukraine making Ukraine look as if it is stealing Russia’s culture.
Sources:
https://roguepriest.net/2014/05/21/how-are-authentic-mexican-tacos-different-from-american-tacos/
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraine-s-stolen-history-stolen-culture