Written by: Manaswi Sapkota - 26004, Grade IX
Posted on: 02 September, 2022
I think we might all heard the term “cultural appropriation” but do we actually know how to recognize cultural appropriation? To recognize cultural appropriation we should first know what exactly is cultural appropriation and what qualifies as cultural appropriation.
Cultural appropriation is using elements and norms of an oppressed community whilst stereotyping them and not giving the community credit for what they did. It's in a way like stealing someone's art. It would be considered stolen if the person wasn't credited properly or wasn't asked consent for posting their art. Obviously, not everything is cultural appropriation but there are lines drawn between cultural appreciation and appropriation.
Cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation are two very different things. Cultural appreciation is respecting the culture and borrowing things like norms from the culture while giving them credit. Cultural appreciation is healthy for both parties involved and doesn't harm anyone.
Why is cultural appropriation a problem? Cultural appropriation is a huge issue for obvious reasons. Everything that happens today is in some way related to history. If that's the case then doing something that signified pain and discrimination against a certain community isn't cool nor is it funny.
Here are some things that can be taken as examples for cultural appropriation: artifacts, certain dance moves, clothing, music, language, decorations, hairstyle, tattoos, cultural practices, etc. If in some way we take and completely credit ourselves (steal) for one of the above things taken from another culture it’s considered cultural appropriation. There are many more things that can be considered cultural appropriation but these are just a few. Some cases of cultural appropriation in the world are: Voguing and Rock ‘N’ Roll. Voguing was a dance that was made popular by Madonna during the 1990s. Many people think Madonna invented it but in reality voguing originated from gay clubs in New York and the Balck members of the LGBTQ+ community were the first to use it. Just like that Rock ‘N’ Roll was a music genre created by black musicians but in the 1950s claimed to have invented this genre of music. The black musicians never got credit for their invention and nor did they ever get to perform their invention.
How can we avoid cultural appropriation? We could avoid cultural appropriation if we question our actions and then only act upon it. Giving credit to the community or person you got that idea from is also a very important key to avoid cultural appropriation. Before doing something from a certain culture it’s best to learn more about it and know what wouldn’t and wouldn’t offend the community. If we learn more about different cultures it’s rare to culturally appropriate something. So the key to avoiding cultural appropriation is to learn about different cultures.
Cultural appropriation is never funny to the people of the community. It’s not funny in general either. In fact, it can be considered stupid and ignorant. If sometimes you think you might’ve been involved in culture appropriation it’s best to ask a member of the community you think you might’ve offended. Instead of being too proud to ask or learn we should correct our mistakes and not do it again. Cultural appropriation is serious and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
