Cultural Appropriation And Its Effects On Minority Culture

It is not wrong to wear clothing or eat food from cultures different from your own, but the minute credit is not given to the right people is the minute one’s “appreciation” turns into appropriation.

Racial and cultural appropriation has become increasingly significant in society within the past 30 years. “The idea of “cultural appropriation” has recently entered mainstream

Anyone who knows me, knows me knows that I love to watch reruns of “What not to wear” on TLC, As it teaches me something I clearly know nothing about, fashion. However anyone who is in my Spanish class known that I not only care about my culture but others as well. This school year has been interesting both fashion-wise and politically, from the Kylie Jenner Lip challenge, to Donald Trump running for president. It has been such a weird school year however, that it has pointed out a sad fact about the current fashion world, that is prevalent through the politics we discuss in our everyday lives, and that is cultural appropriation. As cultural appropriation according to the Oxford Dictionary is “A term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another. It is in general used to describe Western appropriations of non‐Western or non‐white forms, and carries connotations of exploitation and dominance.” And despite how much we would like to believe that this issue doesn’t exist in our present day society, if one looks In clothing stores, fashion magazines, and even Halloween parties, cultural theft is occurring. This can be seen especially with indigenous cultures as: elements of indigenous cultures are morphed into fashion trends and costumes for those who will never understand their significance. “Navajo print” leggings, “tribal” jewelry, and “Indian princess” Halloween costumes are examples of gross

As our country evolves with different cultures from around the world, people are unaware of the fine-line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. So, what is cultural appropriation? Cultural appropriation is when members of a dominate culture, mainly white, borrow from the cultures of minority groups without their input. While there are many people who feel disrespected by others using their culture, there are still people who appreciate and value ones culture.

It is a term that has dominated the media; from Halloween costumes to NFL mascots, headlines across the nation blare the words: “cultural appropriation.” Yet, many still are not quite sure what the term means. To put it simply, cultural appropriation is the exploitation of a culture that is not one’s own.

The authors goal of the text was to discuss cultural appropriation. She uses African American culture as the primary example for inappropriate and misuses of their culture. The paper

Another example of this kind of cultural appropriation is exemplified in a more contemporary example: Lana Del Rey’s music video for her song entitled “Ride.” This music video features Del Rey riding through what is presumable the expansive West while being with men, burning fires in the western desert, and sporting a traditional Native American headdress. While this example also conflates the same issues as the above example, it also brings on a new problem: taking a sacred cultural emblem and using it for stylistic

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or theft of icons, customs, beliefs, or styles from one culture or subculture by another. McWhorter argues,“But what began as a legitimate complaint has morphed into a handy way of being offended by something that should be taken as a compliment.”(McWhorter 1)A multitude of people may believe when there is adoption of one culture it should be seen as a compliment as well because they are appreciating the culture by imitating it into their own. “It used to be that we said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But now there is new way to see the matter: Imitation is a kind of dismissal.” But if not fully understandingthe significance of what is being adopted then to the owning culture it is seen as appropriating and not appreciating. If it was indeed appreciating, time would be taken out to fully understand what and why the culture indulges in the custom or belief and so on. Just noticing a particular act of item in a culture and putting it into your own without the proper

Compounding the issue, merchandising and marketing also aid in the appropriation of these cultures because they “continue to sell us costumes that are inarguably politically incorrect and disrespectful to the very identities they are portraying” (Zulch 2015). Some examples of common costumes that are considered to be culturally appropriated are gypsies, Egyptian goddesses, and Geisha girls. One group that is particularly affected by cultural appropriation during the Halloween season is the Native American Indian population. By appropriating Native American culture into Halloween costumes, Americans dismiss the historical Native American Indian genocide, hypersexualize Native American women, and preserve offensive stereotypes regarding Native people.

So, it’s October 31st and you’re walking into a Halloween party. Everyone’s having a good time and so are you. You walked in with a ton of confidence as you love your costume but instead of getting a compliment, some random stranger taps you on the shoulder and says “your costume counts as cultural appropriation.” (Attention Getter)

Over the years cultural appropriation has become the norm in the music industry. Since the 1950s white musicians have been banking off of other cultures as a way to to entertain and make profit without giving credit (n)or (under-) compensating the originators. For example elvis presly proclaimed “the king” of rock and roll. Which had been around a while before elvis hit the scene in the juke joints of the deep south. As Elvis admits he himself didn’t invent rock and roll in interview saying “Rock ’n’ roll was around a long time before me,”. He found fame and fortune off of re-recording songs wrote and recorded by african american musicians and claiming them as his own gaining fame and fortune. “Elvis was paid $25,000 for doing three songs in a movie and I only got

The article, “We're A Culture, Not a Costume”; analyzed by Mediha Din starts with a story about a friend named Julie who always throws a neighborhood Halloween party. For this party she goes all out and even has a contest and who has the best costume. The winner of the costume for the annual party was a corrupt cop. She was dressed up as a sexy cop with a pig nose and tail, and a small Ziploc bags with powder. The article then goes and explains who is a sociologist view the costume. Din throws in the words like prejudice, discrimination, and racism. Prejudice refers to attitudes. Discrimination refers to treatment. Racism is a discriminatory belief or action based on race. Next the article, gives examples of business using Native American culture

In 2016 I remember watching former President Barack Obama hold the first ever Diwali celebration in the White House. And although this was an attempt for America to appropriate Indian culture, at no point did I feel offended or mocked. As an American Indian, this made me garner a feeling of great pride for both my country (USA) and for my ethnicity. I felt as though I was more a part of the USA, as it supported the same values I was taught growing up. According to Oxford Dictionary, cultural appropriation is defined as the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society. This can be especially dangerous due to the distortion and disconnection of such custom from its roots. Losing one’s cultural identity to another group is not fair or proper. However, at the same time, cultural appropriation can be beneficial to the overall development of the world. People can relate to aspects of other cultures and feel as though they too support the same ideologies. In this case it is improper for us to discourage such actions because many people in the world can share the same viewpoints and therefore be connected. Therefore, cultural exchange is the act of sharing cultural values between different groups of people and thus connecting the world through similar interests. One universal commonality between many groups is art, specifically music. Music is a media which can be

Cultural appropriation is a huge topic, within today’s society, many question what is cultural appropriation and what is not. The definition of cultural appropriation is, “....the use of ideas, symbols, artifacts, images, objects, etc., derived from contact between different cultures. It often implies a negative view towards the minority culture by the dominant one and is often culturally insensitive”(Biron). Examples of cultural appropriation would be portraying a culture through stereotypical depictions of them or wearing a culture as a ‘trend’. Another example would be wearing a headdress to portray a Native American or wearing a sombrero and a poncho to depict a Mexican. Just those words sound degrading and racist each of these ethnicities. Many think it is socially acceptable to be insensitive to a culture, because they classify the appropriation as them appreciating the culture. Cultural appropriation shows only the stereotypical view of culture and has no regards to the actual culture. Many look at the cultures as inspiration for ideas, but that does not mean to steal the ideas completely. Cultural appropriation is not only insensitive, but also racist. Blackface, for example, was used to portray an African American by painting the face of an non-black actor black. The NFL team Redskins uses an offensive and racist word to label their team; their mascot is a “Native American” wearing headdress. First and foremost, not all Native American cultures wear headdresses, these depictions of Native culture show natives as all the same. Minorities have faced appropriation for decades, but why did this problem only recently come about?

Cultural appropriation is when someone adopts aspects of a culture that’s not their own. That's only the icing on the cake. It’s particularly a power dynamic in which members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group. Cultural appropriation is not the same as cultural appreciation, (when people share mutually with each other, because cultural exchange lacks that systemic power dynamic). When it comes to wearing fashion based on other cultures, it’s hard to know if you’re being tacky, cool, or offensive. Practicing appropriating culture let’s people show love for the culture,