Cultural appropriation

[Londonerlove]

AIBU to be totally annoyed by cultural appropriation.
I read this today and though wtf!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/newsbeat-44572555

I’m not a fan of kim but if she wants her hair in braids she can have her hair in braids?

Shouldn’t this be praised rather than attacked?
Is eating pasta cultural appropriation?

But that’s fashion isn’t it.

I had a perm in the 80s abd thought that was cool. sorry sinister was the wrong word but perhaps stop looking for negative motives when there are none.

ScarlettLouise

Wear what the fuck you like. I do. And the biggest congressional of stupid twats gather on Twitter. I avoid it at all costs.

Bertrand didgeridoos are not sacred objects in the way it was earlier implied. Many people play them in all kinds of contexts and music styles nowadays and there are no public outcries. It is an admirable skill to be able to play - well done to your son. I think you're exotifying it if you dance around it saying ooh should I play it. I think that is Orientalist. ALL instruments come from somewhere in the world, why insist some deserve a 'timeless/primitive' status? It's a musical instrument - get on it and make some music! Blend the sound with English folk music - don't the Levellers incorporate a didge on one of their songs?

bobo

It’s nowt to do with colour it’s simply fashion. Dictated by men of course

In my example earlier, I hoped that people in my community examined why they were going to the white women for braids and why they hadn’t been interested before. Why they hadn’t gone to the black women who were already doing it.

This sums things up for me - CA is being confused with racism.

This thread seems to be going in circles. To simplify, here is a little quiz to find out if something might be considered cultural appropriation, if you are wearing an item not from your culture/religion:

a) Is it a sacred object or hold religious significance?
b) Are the people who's culture the item is from considered 'other' or oppressed in mainstream white culture for wearing the same item?
c) Are you wearing the item outside of a situation where it is necessary/appropriate (i.e. a sari to an Indian wedding; wearing mendhi that your Muslim friend offered to paint on your hands; having dreadlocks because your lifestyle and/or means mean that your hair has adopted that style naturally etc etc...)?
d) Are you wearing it as a fashion item, wanting to be admired for your 'different' style, and/or seeking to 'push boundaries' by adopting this item/style into pop culture?

If any of the above, it might well be cultural appropriation. D is what is happening a lot in celebrity land and why POC are getting offended.

Ohmydayslove Umm Im not really sure.

This is all SILLY.

Honestly, do people of colour face overt and more likely subtle racism? Undoubtedly they do.

Is wearing a pair of hoop earrings, a kimono or eating a taco-topped pizza racist cultural appropriation ? Don’t be daft.

And the victim top trumps is absolutely tiresome. Someone proclaimed upthread that Irish are now eliminated from victimhood and are now in the “privileged” gang...

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

It isn't appropriation, it's cultural flattery. It's only appropriation if they pretend it's part of their culture.

"
NotMeOhNo
So no need to apply any cultural context at all? No sense of the current position of aborigine people? What if the symbols on it were religiously significant? You wouldn't feel even a faint twinge of discomfort?

Someone proclaimed upthread that Irish are now eliminated from victimhood and are now in the “privileged” gang... What even the gypsies?

irma

Agree but offended and silly seem to be the fashion

Bertrand yes of course we can be aware that symbols are appropriated for commercial gain and feel uncomfortable about that. But capitalist society means we can never be pure - there is exploitation everywhere. Theft of artistic traditions is a bourgeois concern. The fact our very clothes are made of slave labour should surely be our greater focus? The material situation of Aboriginal people are not further worsened because some cappo scumbag ordered a bunch of didgeridoo from a Chinese factory. Your son should learn about how to support land rights/anti mining campaigns and contribute to them in return for his appreciation of the instrument.

But why are we all tarnished with the same brush. Like I’ve said before, the oppression that happened many years ago should be remembered but that doesn’t mean I should bear the burden for others mistakes.

Stop blaming and put an end to it. So what if I’m white. Am i not allowed to be white without being white any more without being accused of racism?

I just can’t get my head around women criticising fellow women for how they dress and do their hair. How can us infighting like this possibly help the cause for racial equality and harmony and feminism.
Well.. because many POC feel outraged when they are told that their cultural clothing is inappropriate or that they need to integrate more into the local customs and then their white friend wears the exact same thing, has no idea of what she is wearing but calls it 'vintage' and 'oriental' all over social media because she doesn't even know the country that her garment is from, the same garment that is causing discrimination for the WOC. People are angry at other women when they are too inconsiderate to at least know what culture the garment is from, because in their view if you are going to wear something that another of the actual culture cannot wear without discrimination then you should have the respect of knowing what it is.

How is asking women this playing into the hands of men? Pointing out when somebody is disrespecting another culture doesn't hold back feminism.

" Am i not allowed to be white without being white any more without being accused of racism?"

I honestly don't understand why you think you're not.

And can I say very clearly that being a feminist does not mean agreeing with and supporting everything that every other women does.

@tacolover you really need to chill. How will the world ever be a better place unless you let things go.

Have you embraced your culture? Surely if you had you would feel proud that others are adopting your culture?

It's all about blame, hearsay, conjecture and thought crimes Londonerlove. Get with the program.
It's quite a specific ideology, ie you can have bits of my culture but I can't have bits of yours. It's the opposite of the brotherhood of man that Marx wrote about.

Stop blaming and put an end to it. So what if I’m white. Am i not allowed to be white without being white any more without being accused of racism?
Get a grip. 'Stop blaming and put an end to it'? What does that mean? What do you want us to do?

Nobody has said you're not allowed to be white, stop being ridiculous. What you have done on this thread is outrightly denied that you have white privilege; the fact that you can't comprehend the idea that your skin colour will never be the cause of your problems makes me think that I cannot reason with you.

Look at Taco going on about social media. This is all identity politics bullshit.
More illogical nonsense: so if garments cause oppression then does removing a hijab remove oppression? Thought not.

@notme says who? You can happily adopt my culture and I can happily adopt yours. I don’t see issue. Why should I be tarnished with the same brush as my EDL neighbour. If we all stereotype we will never progress.

Women need to stand together not divided over stupid things like dress and hair.

So one racial group being told they have to make themselves look like another racial group to be accepted is just silly fluff is it?

Surely if you want to stand with other women you would support them in trying to overcome this not dismiss the problem out of hand because its not your experience.

you really need to chill.

I've often been told that by men when challenging sexism in the workplace. Should I also let that lie and "chill"?

As others have said black people don't own braided/plated hair. Plates and braids have been used all over the world by lots of different races.

However the issue with Kim K's braids is they are a specific style of braiding used by a tribe in Africa and Kim K originally referred to them as Bo Derek braids. I also feel Kim, Kyle and the other one that just had a baby seem to fetishise black culture. They copy alot of the elements of modern black culture and get praised for it like they're fashion pioneers. They like the glamorise 'rapper' elements of black culture but likely have no interest in the hardships black people actually face in modern day America.

@tacolove I am denying it. But that’s my personal experience. I’m not denying it doesn’t exist in general.

At the moment if one of my members of staff are absent and we need agency cover we specifically request a black male. There is a very valid reason behind this.

Have you embraced your culture? Surely if you had you would feel proud that others are adopting your culture?
I have embraced my culture. I don't feel proud when white people wear traditional garments from Bangladesh and plaster it all over social media calling it 'Indian vibes' and 'vintage' when I've been told not to wear them because I need to integrate more into 'British culture', no. Or should I just let that go?