Whether it’s a sports team’s mascot or a Halloween costume, cultural appropriation is everywhere.
It can be incredibly easy to glimpse into another culture outside of your own as mediums like film, television and social media keep us connected and allow us to see how others live throughout the world. We can view how others dress, what they eat and the holidays they celebrate with the click of a button. But where can we draw the line between appreciating someone else’s culture and appropriating it?
Experiencing another culture does not automatically mean you understand it. Appreciation can quickly turn into objectification if stereotypes or generalizations cause harm to a community’s culture. However, this can be avoided and we can celebrate people’s traditions in a respectful way by educating ourselves on the differences between appropriation and appreciation.
What is Cultural Appropriation?
Cultural appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the practices, customs, or aesthetics of one social or ethnic group by members of another (typically dominant) community or society. The act of cultural appropriation is done when someone takes from others and tries to put themselves in a position of authority.
More simply, if someone adopts something from a culture like a hairstyle, a piece of clothing, a manner of speaking or even a type of exercise without first acknowledging and working to understand the history of the culture they are obtaining elements from, they are appropriating a culture.
Unlike an exchange of cultures where multiple parties are interchanging cultural practices amongst each other, appropriation refers to a particular power dynamic in which members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of that has been systematically oppressed by a dominant group.
According to The Tablet, the term cultural appropriation was first “adopted by indigenous peoples of nations tainted by histories of colonization, such as Canada, Australia and the United States.” When any marginalized group is having a part of their heritage exploited by someone in a greater privileged position, regardless of the intent, ignorance comes into play because the appropriation has been done with no prior knowledge or interest in that culture.
What is Cultural Appreciation?
Cultural appreciation is when someone seeks to understand and learn about another culture in an effort to broaden their perspective and connect with others. Appreciating a culture outside of your own involves listening, striving to understand the complexities of it and seeking to honor traditions and beliefs as best as you can.
An important aspect of cultural appreciation is always giving credit where credit is due. Whether that encompasses researching the historical context or significance of the element you are ‘borrowing’, or remaining conscious and respectful of certain traditions
Cultural appreciation relies on a person’s willingness to learn and admire another culture without comparing it to something negative or set their own standards for it. Some questions to promote the practice of cultural appreciation can include: Am I doing this as a personal opportunity to interact with and experience another culture, or am I doing this for the photo I’ll post on Instagram later? Do I understand the significance of this attire/tradition/custom? Will my participation result in a cultural exchange, or will it perpetuate stereotypes and hurt people who belong to this culture?
Why Does It Matter?
Being mindful of whether or not you are appropriating someone’s culture, rather than acknowledging its significance, can be extremely important not only in social settings, but in everyday life. Understanding the skill of cultural or cross-cultural competence is not easy, but well worth the practice, as it serves as an important tool to identify, not only your own prejudices and biases towards BIPOC, but also inspires members of your community to create safe spaces for all people.
Acknowledging your intent to appreciate rather than appropriate after the fact can be just as harmful as the appropriation itself. This has been seen on many occasions with major corporations, fashion brands and celebrities. To avoid this, whatever you plan on borrowing from another culture should be researched.
Easy Ways to Avoid Appropriation
These everyday practices can be incorporated into any lifestyle to avoid cultural appropriation:
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Examine your own culture. Putting cultural appropriation in the context of whether or not you’d be offended at something regarding your own culture can be the easiest way to determine if you’re exploiting someone else’s. Ask yourself, “Would I be offended if someone wore an important religious symbol from my culture without understanding what it truly means?” and if the answer is yes, stepping back and re-examining your actions can make all the difference.
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Listen and Ask Questions. Listening to the stories of members of a community you wish to appreciate and adopt certain norms from can help put into perspective why you are so interested in their culture in the first place. For example, buying a piece of handmade jewelry from a local vendor and asking questions about their background, how the piece is made and how it fits into their culture.
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Don’t Stereotype. Stereotyping an entire culture from a few opinions heard beforehand can lead to a dangerous path of ignorance, and sometimes even racism. To avoid this, address your own stereotypes and try to pinpoint where they originate. Generally, stereotypes stem from a lack of self-awareness and unconscious bias which makes working against them a difficult task. This must be worked at to promote diversity and share the benefits of cross cultural exchanges.
