Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation was is it? Its when a dominant culture takes things from another culture that is oppressed. I personally believe that cultural appropriation should not exist in the U.S. This is because we have the right to express ourselves, and if that’s a white girl wearing dreadlocks or cornrows. Then she should have the right to do so. There are many people that get offended, but that’s because the people that take something from their (the oppressed culture) culture, don’t know what it could mean to them.
Cultural appropriation is an incredibly complex topic with multiple implications. Cultural appropriation is disrespectful because one takes items from a marginalized culture for entertainment purposes without respecting or displaying an understanding of a culture. One can argue that there are greater problems than culture appropriation (because there are). However, cultural appropriation is an important issue as it displays a disconnect in our education system. Specifically, individuals are not taught about other cultures, their history, and therefore can't learn from historical mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI think a major part of the reason why people feel so strongly about cultural appropriating is like as Peter said. But adding on to that, when you take something from another culture because it's fun or cool without understanding that culture, in many ways it further oppresses that culture. Even if it seems like something harmless like a "white girl in dreads," the reality is that things like black hair and hairstyles (like dreads) have been used to ridicule and other African Americans since their forced arrival in the US. If you take the piece of culture without understanding it, you're benefiting off someone's culture while they may still be oppressed because of it. You further that cycle where you take what you like from a culture, but leave the actual people out of the acceptance.
ReplyDeleteHow and to what extent should people be held accountable for acts like cultural appropriation? In class, we talked about how ignorance is not a justifiable excuse for dangerous actions, though people often claim "I didn't know" and believe that makes certain actions acceptable. How dangerous is it to give a pass to people who take practices and traditions from marginalized cultures, for what they see as the benefits to themselves, without becoming fully aware of the history and potential for the wrong message to be conveyed? Is it ever acceptable for people to take parts of a marginalized culture- for example, if someone actually has gone to the effort to learn about the culture and intends for "cultural appreciation" (a term that is often brought up in debates about cultural appropriation)? Or, is the idea that someone is appreciating certain parts of another culture that they see as positive but not needing to face the hardships that people of that culture cannot escape inherently wrong regardless?
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