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?

The hair thing has been baffling me for years!
Why? How? Wtf?
I am from a country where we barely have black people yet even I don't find their natural hair unprofessional 🤷🏻 It's like telling a ginger they need to colour their hair. Or to a straight hair person they need to curl theirs.

It's s t u p i d.

As long as hair are clean and kept, there should be no issue.

I think that if people are informed that a culture takes offence at their icons being ripped off, then it's clearly cultural appropriation, and people that continue to do so are showing their racist colours. And that people ought to do their research before they do their ripping off, as to whether that culture does find it offensive.

In NZ, Maori have made it very clear they do not appreciate ta moko, traditional Maori tattoos being used by non-Maori without consent (which is a very big deal - my Pakeha BIL has a traditional Maori tattoo that was very much a taonga, a treasure, and a gift of not inconsiderable mana (esteem)), and they really, really don't like it when some dimwit appropriates it for their fashion show).

I was curious, so I googled 'appropriation'. The definition there is 'the act of taking something for your own use, usually without permission' i.e. theft.

To me, cultural appropriation is the act of claiming original ownership of a particular custom/dish/dress/style etc. that is core to a particular culture, usually not your own, with the intention of exploiting it in some way.

Other things that tend to get included, but that are really racism are:

• misusing symbols that are sacred to a particular culture
• malicious fun taking or shaming of a cultural icon

But the lines are blurred, and some people are more sensitive than others.

Crikey there is a whole load of wide eyed "what's the problem?" butter wouldn't melt baloney in this thread.

Outside of invitations to a specific cultural event, in which you are an active (invited) participant, no you do not wear someone else's culture as a decoration, to be adorned and removed, costume like, as you see fit. That's just grim and cringe worthy.

And to be clear, colonizing the culture, or being geographically adjacent, does not make it yours.

In 2020, it really shouldn't need to be said.

Wasn't the biggest appropriation swastika?

@SchrodingersImmigrant Well... yes, I think we can all safely agree that was one of several things they did that were out of order.

Being offended by proxy is a popular hobby these days.

@BestZebbie

Isn't the key issue that makes appropriation negative is when one person would get discriminated against for wearing or doing something, but a more privileged person can just take it and be applauded for it. So the girl teased for wearing a bindi at school is rightly irritated by festival goers using one for a cool weekend fashion, but British people watching Howl's Moving Castle isn't a problem because it isn't treated as something negative when Japanese people watch it either.

Just for reference, Howl's Moving Castle was a book by British author Diana Wynne Jones long before Hayao Miyazaki ever made a film of it. And it is a book worth reading. It's brilliant and she is an underrated author. You should all read her books. Not entirely relevant to the thread but I felt that Diana Wynne Jones deserved her due credit for creating that book.

Also Howl is actually Hwyl, but the people on his magical world can't pronounce welsh.

DWJ is fabulous.

She is.

Apart from a few outliers I actually think there is a fairly broad consensus here.

‘Cultural appropriation’ in the way the term often used in helpful and non sensical.

However there are genuine issues/ concerns about the following:

• Important religious or cultural symbols being used disrespectfully (however this is awkward and very debatable on a case by case level)

• indigenous arts being exploited/copied without credit

• hair (particularly black hair) being seen messy/ unprofessional when in natural or cultural styles.

And it is these issues which need to be reviewed rather than people shouting cultural appropriation at a white Child with corn rows.

Apologies that should say ‘is unhelpful’

Picsinred
So under your definition westerners wearing sarongs on holiday should be banned?