Culture is dynamic, not static. It has changed over time and values have moved all over the place. You do not own a culture, it is not yours. You can tell others not to adopt your culture but they don't have to acknowledge. I also take the stance that it is an effective way of iconoclasm that helps to remove old culture that divides and allows for a new common culture to take it's place, hence removing the deviance until these groups split up again. What are your thoughts?
I think its bull crap and those yelling "cultural appropriation!" are just a bunch of people wanting to find something to whine about. That's just the thought that typically runs through my head. One culture takes things they like from another culture and that's how society advances. It should be flattering if anything if one culture likes something about yours so much that they decide to adapt it to their own.
There's a difference between "cultural appropriation" and mocking a culture. Eating sushi and sashimi is "cultural appropriation;" sorority girls having an "Asian party" and stretching their eyes in order to mimic a physiological trait of a particular people is not "cultural appropriation."
I like "cultural appropriation", without it, how can I be all smug and superior of the authenticity of my culture? "This is how you do X? Let me show you how to truly do X"
Hmm, I think there's a fine line between mocking a culture, appropriating a culture, and respecting/experiencing a culture~ because of this, a lot of the news articles that are screaming appropriation tend to be a bit unfounded and makes all appropriation seem ridiculous because of it.
I think it's crazy when people make you feel like you're being racist for appreciating a culture. I'm sorry, but like the OP said, culture doesn't belong to anyone. Culture changes, people bring it to other countries and it molds the people and their way of life. I love aspects of many cultures, and no one is going to tell me I can't have a statue of Ganesh in my house, or have Asian-inspired art. I think it's important to be politically correct, but sometimes people confuse being politically correct with being overly sensitive. I would never wear a Halloween costume of a Native American, because those are offensive and mocking. I would, however, wear feather earrings if I want to, or have a dream catcher in my bedroom.
It's a topic that I'm interested in, but would rather not get involved in. Like gender and religion, it tends to be very heated subject in which debates over it usually spiral into madness and you don't care what the reached conclusion or outcome at the end of it is. I understand the need for cultural appropriation, how it seems unfair that a certain culture was hated upon for doing a certain thing but if a different culture does it than it's seen differently. You see this kind of thing in magazines, with titles like "white girls do it better" or whatever. And even though I'm white I can see how that would be annoying. It's something that I don't really want to get involved in, since I don't really know anything about it and it doesn't really affect me. However, I am interested to see what others have to say on this. It's interesting how you stated dream catchers before, our cultures are so mashed together that we don't even think about it anymore. Kind of like how at my old school we had an "international food" day, and as we entered the food hall we were faced with rather familiar food- and of course we asked when the international food day was, and they looked at us perplexed and explained how all of this stuff was from different places and cuisine. We were so used to living in such a diverse world that we became unaware of it. I think it's ok to use things of different cultures, to some degree. It's more the question of where we draw the line.
See, when I was growing up we used to eat udon for dinner, my sisters had kimonos, chopsticks were used as much as forks... I'm not Japanese. However, my dad (stepfather technically) was biracial- white and Japanese, making my sisters a quarter Japanese. Heritage isn't purely a black or white thing. And because of global migration, neither is culture. Cultural blending/appropriation is a natural effect of immigration, emigration, and a globalized market. Think about how many things we do every day that comes from other cultures. I sometimes eat bagels and lox for breakfast if I'm going to a cafe. But I'm not Jewish. I listen to music produced in Europe sometimes, yet I'm not European. I go out for sushi and sashimi if I'm running errands downtown. Occasionally, if I don't feel like cooking I'll send out for a pizza (Italian) or General Tso Chicken (Americanized Chinese cuisine). But so do most Americans. Even without thinking about it. Heck. Even the English language has borrowed phrases and words from other languages. How about cafe? That's French. Manga? That's Japanese. If we examined every word I wrote in this post, about 80% of these words could trace their origin to another language. What matters is respecting other cultures and the things we adopt and borrow with respect. For example, don't go snickering "oyyy vey" when you're eating the bagel and lox and don't stereotype or beat down other cultures.
See, when I was growing up we used to eat udon for dinner, my sisters had kimonos, chopsticks were used as much as forks... I'm not Japanese. However, my dad (stepfather technically) was biracial- white and Japanese, making my sisters a quarter Japanese. Heritage isn't purely a black or white thing. And because of global migration, neither is culture. Cultural blending/appropriation is a natural effect of immigration, emigration, and a globalized market. Think about how many things we do every day that comes from other cultures. I sometimes eat bagels and lox for breakfast if I'm going to a cafe. But I'm not Jewish. I listen to music produced in Europe sometimes, yet I'm not European. I go out for sushi and sashimi if I'm running errands downtown. Occasionally, if I don't feel like cooking I'll send out for a pizza (Italian) or General Tso Chicken (Americanized Chinese cuisine). But so do most Americans. Even without thinking about it. Heck. Even the English language has borrowed phrases and words from other languages. How about cafe? That's French. Manga? That's Japanese. If we examined every word I wrote in this post, about 80% of these words could trace their origin to another language. What matters is respecting other cultures and the things we adopt and borrow with respect. For example, don't go snickering "oyyy vey" when you're eating the bagel and lox and don't stereotype or beat down other cultures.
Even with Halloween costumes. if I want to wear a sombrero and go as a mariachi, why not? If I want to go as a Native American warrior why not? If you catch me squinting my eyes and being stupidly racist to Asians, then call my ass out on it. Those are physical traits you cannot change. Culture can be changed and challenged.
They aren't, in and of themselves, but they have a history of being used when lampooning a people or culture. During blackface, performers at least darkened their skin and gave themselves bigger lips; bigger lips are "biological traits [and] aren't cultural," but certain people associate such traits with a culture and therefore invest them with the status of a cultural trait.
I was gonna rant, but pretty much everything I planned to say has already been said. Mocking a culture is wrong, but it's bullcrap to call people out for "cultural appropriation" for enjoying something from another culture.
I hate it when SJWs see people, like a white person trying out a kimono, and scream "CULTURAL APPROPRIATION!" and be overly politically correct. In a melting-pot society, we should embrace all cultures. A group doesn't own a culture, culture should be shared and interchanged with other people from foreign cultures. There's a total difference between enjoying and cherishing a foreign culture, and disparaging and mocking a foreign culture. Going back to my example of a white person wearing a kimono, that is appreciating and cherishing Japanese culture. Wearing a slutty version of a kimono with Chinese motif (saw a Buzzfeed video about it, and seen it on Amazon), that's a bit insulting. True story, a girl I know is half German and half Chinese, and she has very strong physical Caucasian traits. She doesn't have the eye creases. I don't know how to describe her, but she looks like a white girl with long black hair that gets really greasy after a day (#chineseproblems. That's why we shower every day ROFL!). She decided to wear a qipao, a traditional Chinese dress, to her school, because she wanted to show her appreciation and pride for her Chinese side. She wore a more modern style to school; that style was introduced when China started to open up to the West. At school, she got called a racist and was accused of cultural appropriation. Her strong Caucasian features and the fact that she has a German last name didn't help her much at all. Moral of the story is to know the reasons why a person wants to cherish foreign culture. Secondly, know more about the culture itself before you make snap judgments. Some just happens to like that culture, or they are part of that culture. Here's an idea on what her qipao looked like. Quite stylish, isn't it?
Cultural Appropriation: When a more dominant culture (typically European, or "white"), takes, or appropriates, aspects of a less dominant culture (for example, African, or "black"). Characterized by when people don't fully understand what they're doing. For example, cornrows. Kylie Jenner (I think), came under fire for wearing cornrows, which originated in, what I believe to be, African countries. When white people wear cornrows, they are called "rad", they are "exotic", they are "trendy." When black people wear cornrows, they run the risk of being called "ghetto", or "thuggish." See the difference here? Cornrows were meant to be able to help with the natural hair of African peoples. The more dominant culture of white people, appropriated the less dominant culture of black people. Other examples: Thug Kitchen (using racially stereotypical language); 'Tribal' tattoos, which appropriate Maori culture; Katy Perry's "Unconditional" performance in a kimono (assumes that asian women in general are always willing to serve their husbands). Wearing those feathered headdresses to an EDM concert (appropriates Native American culture). Why? They perpetuate stereotypes, which are often dangerous (asian women are willing to serve and won't complain; black people speak and act like thugs). Cultural appreciation: Let's say that you are invited to an Indian (subcontinental) wedding. You appropriately research what is normally worn, as well as why; or somebody gives you something to wear, like a sari. You understand why you're wearing it (to respect the other person's culture), and you have permission of the people there to wear it. You're appreciating their culture. In the case of the half German, half Chinese girl, she's obviously cherishing her culture. And yes, you can appropriate your own culture. People dressing up as mariachi,native american warriors...appropriating. By dressing as a NA warrior, you perpetuate the stereotype that all NA's are savages, and by subconcious, are dangerous.
It's a problem when say, a white female rapper gets positive attention for something her black counterpart would be criticized for. In that case, yes, I do think it points to a larger issue and needs to be discussed. Or when someone attempts to school you on your own heritage, while patronizing you at the same time. This happens a lot more than I would be comfortable with. I've long noticed how easily an Anglo-American can showcase a foreign country or culture with a larger audience than if someone from that country or culture would be able to. Living in a global village, with multiculturalism becoming more commonplace, I suppose you could say we have certain responsibilities. Taking something sacred from one group, and basically making it into something as degrading as a stripper outfit, just because you can, doesn't do that.