This platform discusses multiple political issues regarding different demographics, who have been encountering complications and disadvantages in their daily lives because of this, another subject that correlates to this topic is cultural appropriation.
What does it entail?
Cultural appropriation technically means that an individual who has no involvement with another culture is emulating certain trades from different cultures that they have no affiliation with, meaning that they should not even have the permission to participate in someone’s else culture.
Except for the culture that truly belongs to their own identity, not the ones that are not connected to them, meaning that when the person in question wears a garment that has historical attachments with other cultures they are committing to cultural appropriation.
Not only clothes are a part of this but, there a lot of other examples that can give some clarification surrounding this topic.
How do you recognize cultural appropriation?
Sometimes it can be a little complicated to illustrate cultural appropriation, especially when the mainstream media is also responsible for these occurrences, and in some cases they deliberately enable this.
As I have stated before, when someone is appreciating their own culture they are not participating in cultural appropriation, whenever a person executes something that has no association with their own culture in any aspect, this is considered cultural appropriation. However, when someone is inspired by another culture (for instance musically) it isn’t directly cultural appropriation, but could be considered cultural appreciation.
People can be influenced by other places and locations, but it must be executed properly, this could be as easy as acknowledging the history and importance of those places.
Imagine a white person executing traditional dances when he‘s technically mocking the culture in question, this could also be considered as cultural appropriation. In most cases, people have misconceptions about what it precisely entails, and it is frankly very understandable.
Regardless of how it is interpreted, you can immediately identify these problems with just one singular question, how would a person of color react to this and would they consider this as something that should be endorsed?
Unfortunately, cultural appropriation tends to have a lot of endorsements, since numerous prominent stars from European or sometimes even Asian, and American countries contribute to this issue.
Even when you come from a community that consists out of POC people you can still accidentally commit to cultural appropriation, since this does not only apply to individuals from European demographics. This could apply to other demographics as well, just because you’re Indian for example, does not give you the right to disrespectfully emulate black culture, or the stereotypical things the media tends to show.
It’s understandable that this problem is not immediately recognized, since people barely have any awareness of what this truly entails, and how this is affecting these communities.
They generally are not even aware of why it’s considered to be inappropriate in the first place, but to have an understanding about this conversation we need to uncover the underlying problems of cultural appropriation.
Can POC individuals also participate in cultural appropriation?
In the other paragraph, I’ve made it abundantly clear that this problem is not only targeting European or white people in particular, but that is the generalized ideology behind cultural appropriation, POC individuals can also coincidentally participate with cultural appropriation. This realization occurred to me when I was using certain slang that actually is being used by other demographics that I didn’t have any relationships with, and I never really understood why I should avoid those references.
But after multiple explanations, it became clear to me that they have used these remarks to embrace themselves, this is comparable with the usage of the “N-word” which I have initially discussed in my article about racism in Europe and how some still tend to use this offensive word without the comprehension that this has a historical meaning and that the term was never used in a complementary context. For instance, if the Latino community uses the N-word as well, which happens quite frequently, they are also contributing to not only racism but also cultural appropriation.
Some will be in disagreement about it, because in their perception they have the entitlement to use this offensive term, due to the fact that they live in an urban “environment”. Frankly some of the African Americans never gave explanations on why this shouldn’t be used which causes a lot of misunderstandings.
But sadly, due to the lack of information, some tend to use terms because they have the assumption that these terms are not offensive to anyone, and this can cause a lot of consequential problems.
As a black/mixed raced individual, I don’t feel like I must be accountable for every single person that doesn’t understand the history of certain slang and why this is being enforced in the first place. But when someone asks for an explanation in an appropriate manner, I am more than delighted to give them an understanding about this problem, so that they will never make this mistake again.
Aside from that, some people just love to emulate others, hence why they will consistently use these terms or ‘behave’ in a certain matter that is supposed to embody “urban” people, or other cultures that they are trying to imitate. Some deliberately use certain slangs since they have connections with people from other countries, but technically this should also not be permitted regardless of the circumstances.
Even when you have a bond or relationship with someone who happens to be black, Asian, or even Mediterranean does not mean that you have right to impersonate them, especially when you are associated with that person.You’re not only insulting them, but you’re also illustrating stereotypical misconceptions of that particular group, which should not be normalized in any occasion.
In most recent cases some people emulate other cultures because they find the aesthetics appealing, but this is also something that should'nt be endorsed for multiple.
The first reason is that some of these imitations can come across as highly indecent, due to the fact that these garments or even traditional dances have a historical importance to that culture.
Meaning that only people with a certain background have the authorization to execute these dances since they have ties with these historical tribes, this is something that some celebrities have done without the recognition that they've committed to it, this will be elaborated in the next paragraph.
Mainstream media
Since the media is one of the most prominent outlets in our society, it can encourage people to do the most unacceptable things while people are not being conscious of the consequences that they will have to face afterwards.
One of the most problematic things is the fact that most celebrities have been suspected of cultural appropriation, in most cases, it’s quite evidential that they have done something that could offend specific communities or individuals that have relations with a certain culture or ethnic group. The reason why it could escalate to something catastrophic is that celebrities influence people in different ways, but the most common thing they influence people with is the fashion that they wear.
This is exactly why fashion is also becoming a political thing, since they are implementing a culture that doesn’t belong to them, which will cause controversy and outrage by the people of this group which will transition it to a political conversation. In some occasions, the celebrities are not enlightened about what might be appropriate to enforce or what could be considered acceptable, hence why they make these imbecilic mistakes regarding appropriation.
This does not only have drastic consequences for their own reputation but also the fact that they might be in an endangering position when it happens to be related to a culture or a concept that they have no connection with and this causes a lot of problems.
An exhibit of an incident that has happened in the past, an American artist wore some sort of garment for Halloween a couple of years ago, but it did cause some controversy because the garments that she wore at the time were symbolizing the “Chola” subculture which circulates in Mexico, and it showcases the admiration for their ancestors that have endured devastating cases of oppression. Most individuals who wear these clothes or makeup that resembles Chola culture are a part of this community.
It was predictable that most Mexicans were not approving of the artist's outfit for that specific reason, and unfortunately she didn’t know that it was only people with Chola backgrounds to have the entitlement to wear these outfits, and she had to face multiple accusations because of this.
But in comparison with other infamous people, she did not intentionally incorporate this exceptional garment to offend this demographic.
Unfortunately, most people did not understand how this has occurred in the first place, this is an example of why research is very essential to be more attentive of other cultures and what you should never do in the first place. She appreciated the aesthetic, which is the exact problem with cultural appropriation, when people tend to have a fascination with the idea of portraying a certain image they will take advantage of this just to benefit from it.
These celebrities will only apply it to capitalize from, because it will attract the consumers of their music or products in general, but sometimes they are not being held accountable for their actions since nobody makes a statement against them, which enables them to continuously use cultures in their music videos that they’re not supposed to use.
Cultures are not meant to be exploited for reimbursements, but instead should be respected by the historical and emotional involvement of the people who have an actual affiliation with the nationality in question, otherwise, nobody should have the exception to incorporate it into their art or general lives.
Some celebrities have been accused of appropriating a culture that when they actually have the right to showcase their identity but, in some cases, they are misunderstood.
The difference between appropriation and appreciation
Since celebrities have experimented with different cultures it has caused a lot of misconceptions in the aspect of what the distinction between appropriation and appreciation is, which is quite reasonable considering the fact that this is being showcased on mainstream television and in songs that getmany interactions from different demographics.
Appreciation basically means that you have an admiration for a particular culture that you have no connection or association with it, meaning that you like to listen to ‘folk music’ for instance or you have an interest to learn more about their history and their traditional trademarks which is very appropriate.
This should not even be seen as something offensive since they are admiring the culture and they just want to discover more about it in general.
Some celebrities visit countries to showcase their genuine appreciation for a country and to perhaps do some chartable work with corporations that offer resources for countries that are in desperate need of help. However, when someone wants to showcase their love in an exaggerated manner that other people would find unacceptable or politically incorrect, could also be seen as cultural appropriation.
The main problem that enables this is basically the fact that people cannot always recognize problematic intentions, and this will give them the benefit of the doubt, since they have no acknowledgment of what they are executing in the first place. Some of them are under the impression that they are contributing to something positive, when in reality it’s the complete opposite, due to the fact that they know nothing about the country in general and are only applying these cultural aesthetics for their own amusement, which shouldn't be tolerated and most people from those demographics will surely address when this has occured.
Another thing that has been noticeable is that most people use excuses to masquerade the fact that they have committed something unacceptable by declaring the fact that they have relationships with individuals from a different background. A reminder, this does not give you the entitlement to use remarks or characteristically defining terms about your partner's culture.
Just because someone happens to be African, Arabic or Latino does not give them the right to use terms that are only applying to those other groups.
How does this affect people from other demographics?
Could you imagine that your community has faced decades of oppression and discrimination just for someone who has colonial roots, which been responsible for multiple colonizations, suddenly incorporates everything that happens to be the embodiment of your nationality. While others are being judgmental when you showcase your identity, which is quite hypocritical, but unfortunately this occurs more often than you would realize.
When immigrants or individuals from other nations embrace their nationality and their culture, they are being judged for the way they illustrate themselves, but when a privileged person who has no historical or connections to the culture in question wears a garment which is manufactured in Africa or other continents it tends to be “trendy” or “fashionable” , whileothers are being restricted to even consider wearing their traditional garments.
Even some of the most established designers have been accountable for these issues, when a warehouse has designed a garment with a “hijab” inspired look it is deemed as something appealing or something that should be supported.
However, when an actual Islamic woman is wearing a headscarf they will immediately use discriminatory remarks towards them, but when a “sophisticated” white woman does she same thing she is being admired. Selective outrage is one of the most predominant problems when it comes to these POC demographics since they will always be profiled for their identity, but when another race does the exact same they don’t even need to notice these unacceptable and vulgar insults.
Due to the fact that they have the privilege to do whatever they want, one thing that POC people would never have. The privilege to embrace their nationality unapologetically is something that we will never witness as a reality.
How can we prevent these incidents regarding cultural appropriation?
It can be complicated to immediately comprehend the problems that are occurring, but despite the fact that you might have experienced cultural appropriation yourself or not is not the important thing and not even the main reason why I wrote this article.
The fact that other people have the permission to portray an “urban” persona without any consequences is something that deeply disturbs me, and I am determined that more people from other demographics or ethnicities resonate with that.
This is why I want to encourage people to spread awareness regarding these complex topics, since it is something that occurs regularly but sadly not everybody is informed about how it might be affecting other people or themselves. Just being aware of how these things are orchestrated is the most important thing at the end of the day, aside of that please be confessional when you are bothered by the fact that someone is disrespecting a culture and address why they should reconsider doing it.
Just don’t even invest your time in people who don’t want to have a civilized conversation about these problems, because they will acknowledge the consequences on later terms even when you've tried to warn them.
Your culture and your history is important, and it should never be underestimated under any circumstances.
Hope that enjoyed this article and I would really appreciate it if this article, or even my website could be shared on your platforms to spread these important messages, regardless I thank you dearly for the time, and thank you for reading in advance.
Kind regards,
Nathaniel