To ask what you think about cultural appropriation?

[malificent7]

For example...i love african wax print but would it be offensive if i wore it as a white, non African lady? I wouldn't go full on but just a skirt in the print?
I also like Buddhas and have several in my house. I have a keen interest in the religion but i am not buddhist.
So are these examples of cultural appropriation, if not, what is? why is it deemed so offensive?

Imo it's bad if it's to take the piss. So people on stag or hen dos in anyone's national dress.

Apart from that I think do whatever you like if you're not being rude

I have the most beautiful sari I was given as a gift by the Indian government department my husband was working with. I asked if it was OK for me as a white woman to wear it or whether it might risk causing offence.
The women who took me shopping for it said that they wore jeans and European dresses most of the time, so why did it matter? They liked that I thought their national dress was so beautiful I might want to wear it. I don’t look Indian when I wear it, nobody would think it was anything but an incredible piece of needlework and design.

I think using pretty material isn’t cultural appropriation. It’s trade, assuming it is authentic. I think using something in a way to suggest you are from a different culture, or to gain any perceived benefits of being a particular culture, is unacceptable. I don’t think most people are offended by globalisation of some aspects of their heritage.

Here you go, one of many articles on the subject.

I think it's time we started listening to people from the cultures that are being appropriated. If they don't like it, we should respect that. We shouldn't dictate to them what they can and can't find offensive.

I’ve never come across an example of ‘cultural appropriation’ that was an offensive thing to do, that wasn’t really just racism.

There’s nothing racist in wearing a print or having the statues. Go for it.

I'm not sure, I have a little Buddha too, he sits next to my tiny Virgin Mary (I'm Catholic), and some Tibetan prayer flags and some books about spells/paganism as well as Bible. I don't think I'm being disrespectful, I'm interested in religion/spirituality so they are not just decorations.

I think its ok if you wear/do things in the spirit of friendship/family...when I was 13 we had a lodger for a year who was a postgrad student from Bangladesh, she used to let me try on her Saris and then I'd go to Primark with her to find stylish but not revealing 'English' clothes. It was like having a cool big sister for a year

The women who took me shopping for it said that they wore jeans and European dresses most of the time, so why did it matter?

Possibly because India didn't colonise England for many generations? The situation isn't equally weighted on both sides, so this argument doesn't really work.

If they don't like it, we should respect that.

But there will be wildly differing views within the one culture.

Who gets to be the ultimate arbiter? How can we talk as if cultures speak with one uniform ‘voice’? They don’t.

I really think a lot of cultrual appropriation is big corporations rather than individuals

E.g. fine to wear african wax prints. Not fine for topshop to sell cheap knock off versions.

Not fine to mock other cultures e.g. dress up as native americans

If other cultures didn’t want others to wear ‘their’ clothes, presumably they wouldn’t want to sell them to tourists.

I have two lovely, very simple long shift dresses in natural unbleached cotton. with embroidery, apparently the usual ‘house dress’ of Ethiopian women, bought by a dd who was there a lot for work. They’re brilliant in hot weather or as a pool cover up.

The second was bought at a shop at Addis Ababa airport - nuff sed really.

You find other cultures’ ditto for sale all over.

Possibly because India didn't colonise England for many generations? The situation isn't equally weighted on both sides, so this argument doesn't really work.

‘Work’ in what sense? What needs to work? For who?

Fashion has always borrowed from other cultures, more powerful, less powerful, about the same. It’s how our artistic culture develops.

I’m not saying the alternative doesn’t exist, I don’t know, but I have many Indian friends and they are all very positive about non Indians wearing saris for Indian weddings for example.

I have a little Buddha too, he sits next to my tiny Virgin Mary (I'm Catholic), and some Tibetan prayer flags and some books about spells/paganism as well as Bible.

I think that's called 'hedging your bets'

Unless you are doing it to be offensive, so-called cultural appropriation is BS. It’s called multiculturalism-and it’s a good thing
Alternatively you can all give up ‘British’ fish and chips unless you’re actually Jewish..

Not fine for topshop to sell cheap knock off versions

What cultures can they take inspiration from? Is there a list?

It is fine. Culture does not belong just to one nation, it is shared by others in so many aspects: food, fashion, hair styles, interior designs, everything is being "inspired by". Nothing wrong with it.

That the eleventy million identical threads we've had on the subject have covered it?

I think that's called 'hedging your bets'
Haha yes! "Dear God/Universe, please can I ..." Usually related to uni exams.

apparently the usual ‘house dress’ of Ethiopian women House dresses are a great invention. I think women used to have them in England too? My Italian nonnas had some to do the housework in. My Filipina MIL always brings me back really cool colourful house dresses when they visit.

Growing up with a girl from Sudan relentlessly bullied for her Bindi, I find it really uncomfortable seeing them being worn now as a “festival look”.

Same with Native American headdresses. Wtf.

Clothing I would perceive as different - style is derivative - unless it had a specific religious or cultural meaning.

Surely it's flattery.

Well considering "African" wax print didn't even originate in Africa, but Indonesia via Dutch colonisation, I think you are safe.

Personally I think we are so culturally mixed these days, world travel, mixed race, culture and colour marriages, that cultural appropriation can't really exist, it seems to have become just another thing for people (usually white people actually) to become enraged about.

It's a difficult one, because obviously it can cause a lot of frustration, but I think it all depends on context and having an understanding of the culture. For example white people (the Kardashians are a key example of this) wearing braids but calling them "Bo Derek braids" - obviously Bo Derek is not the originator of the style and it was used to protect black hair way before she ever wore it - so there is a misunderstanding of where it comes from. But then on the flip side black women wearing braids or locs get told it's unprofessional or various other things (didn't Zendaya get abuse for wearing them on a red carpet?). So it's part of a wider picture.

I think if a person is respectful and understands the background and meaning of something, then it should be celebrated that we can experience things from different cultures and share in them - as long as the originators get credit and there is no double standard.

I’m mixed race (so i assume to some that makes me more qualified to speak on the topic?) but I think cultural appropriation is such a US issue, that’s just come over here through the internet.

Even if someone did think your dress was cultural appropriation, you’re unlikely to meet one of that tiny minority out and about, and they’d be unlikely to bring it up.

Since you’re not being offensive or mocking the other culture, there shouldn’t be any issues.

But then on the flip side black women wearing braids or locs get told it's unprofessional

But that’s the part that’s wrong. That’s the part that needs to be tackled.

Trying to stop white people wearing braids isn’t particularly relevant to that.

as long as the originators get credit

In cultural terms identifying ‘the originators’ is usually almost impossible.

@LaurieMarlow Who gets to be the ultimate arbiter? How can we talk as if cultures speak with one uniform ‘voice’? They don’t.

Yeah, I worded that badly.

What I meant to say was - say I want to wear my hair in dreadlocks (I'm white) or, I don't know, start rapping (deliberately choosing examples of commonly appropriated things that haven't yet featured here, so as not to shit-stir).

It shouldn't be OK for me to just crack on with that just because I feel it's a tribute to that culture, or because my friend said it's OK, or because lots of other aspects of people's cultures are shared. If there are people from that culture IRL or online who have taken the time to explain why they find appropriation hurtful or offensive, then people should listen to what they're saying and take it on board.

I don’t see the issue with white people wearing braids. The same as I see no issue with Beyoncé wearing her long blonde straight hairpieces.

You should be able to wear a hairstyle you like/ cook a cuisine you like/ decorate your house how you like without giving credit to the originators ffs.

But then on the flip side black women wearing braids or locs get told it's unprofessional This is the issue though.

Here's the last bit of the article I linked to earlier, saying it better than I can

How to Avoid Cultural Appropriation

Every individual can make the decision to show sensitivity toward others. On occasion, someone may not be able to recognize a harmful appropriation unless it's pointed out. This is why it's important to recognize why you're buying or doing something associated with another culture.

To behave responsibly and sensitively toward other groups, ask yourself a series of questions.

Why are you "borrowing" this? Is it out of genuine interest? Is it something you feel called to do? Or, does it simply look appealing and trendy?
What is the source? For material items such as artwork, was it made by someone from that culture? Has that individual given permission for the item to be sold?
How respectful is this work to the culture? Would people from that group object to the piece of art or to it being sold to outsiders?

The sharing of ideas, traditions, and material items is what makes life interesting and helps diversify the world. A genuine interest in other cultures is not necessarily wrong, but cultural appropriation raises questions that should not be ignored.