If there’s something I DON’T want to write about, it’s cultural appropriation. It’s a no-win topic. So why tackle it? Because it keeps bubbling up in my circle of friends and acquaintances.
In response to a New York Times article, an NPR piece stated Commentary: Cultural Appropriation Is, In Fact, Indefensible. And it’s from there that I’ll describe the phenomenon:
“Writer Maisha Z. Johnson offers an excellent starting point by describing it not only as the act of an individual, but an individual working within 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.’
“That’s why appropriation and exchange are two different things, Johnson says — there’s no power imbalance involved in an exchange. And when artists appropriate, they can profit from what they take, while the oppressed group gets nothing.”
This distinction is important, and I believe addresses Frank S. Robinson’s post about “the newest gambit of politically correct grievance agitprop.”
The phenomenon is not new, actually. According to the Washington Post, the term goes back to the 1970s or ’80s. Bo Derek’s cornrow hairstyle in the 1979 movie 10 was a REAL issue to some folks, but I’ll admit I didn’t get it.
Weekly Sift had this:
“Cultural appropriation is when somebody from a dominant culture tries to acquire fame and fortune (or just look cool) by using stuff created by a dominated culture…. Sometimes it’s done with respect and a share-the-wealth attitude. (Paul Simon didn’t just steal the South African sound, he toured with and helped popularize authentic South African bands.)” [There are some who would disagree.]
“Sometimes it’s annoying and disrespectful, but relatively harmless (like Anglos who have no idea what Cinqo de Mayo commemorates ‘celebrating’ by drinking too much tequila).
“And sometimes it results in a significant injustice, like Elvis becoming a musical icon while the black pioneers he imitated couldn’t get radio time.” Presley became a source of conflict in my own household growing up.
My father HATED Elvis, but I thought he was bringing his own rockabilly sensibilities to the mix. (Now, if you want cultural appropriation, look at Pat Boone, whose vapid Tutti Fruiti squeezed Little Richard’s version out of the marketplace.) I had none of Elvis’ music until I went to college.
I saw this article about a Portland, OR “burrito eatery being shut down after the two white women who ran it were criticized for making food from a culture that wasn’t theirs.” I believe one or both of them jokingly suggested they “stole” the recipe, which helped generate outrage. I find that was a most unfortunate outcome.
I would suggest that the denigration of a culture, especially knowingly, such as Ted Nugent’s headdress in this context could also be seen as cultural appropriation.
So I believe cultural appropriation, different from cultural exchange, exists, and it’s undesirable. But I accept I don’t always know where the line is drawn.
For ABC Wednesday
As you know, this debate is big in New Zealand, where Māori and Pasifika people are more sensitive to the issue than are Pākehā (white people), as is usually the case. But I never talk about it because it’d be a hiding to nothing: Those who see it everywhere do not take kindly to those who say, “hang on a minute…”, especially about restaurants that serve common food, but there’s more to it than just such superficial things. It wouldn’t be quite so exploitive if the person appropriating another culture at least did so respectfully, but too often they insist it’s their “right” to appropriate someone else’s culture, rather than even trying to understand the culture or the issues their appropriation raises. I think that this is definitely one of those times when more talking and less shouting, combined with actually listening, would be very helpful.
I wonder if the “drinkin’ and fist-fightin’ Irish” t-shirts sold around March 17 count as “denigration,” or if it has to be a culture that is currently defined as oppressed. (The Irish in the US ONCE were, not any more)
I say this as someone of (slightly) predominantly Irish heritage, who is always somewhat annoyed about what St. Patrick’s Day is here.
This is one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp and it horrifies me that a I might insult a culture I admire.
Some things are easy. For example, don’t wear Halloween costumes from living cultures.
But what about things like clothes, jewelry, food, certain religious practices? Am I appropriating culture if I make a less spicy aloo gobi for my European American friends (South Indian)? What about if give flowers to celebrate spring equinox (Iranian)? Wear a cheongsam (Chinese)? Am I supposed only supposed to appreciate cultures from a distance?
It’s hard because I like these things and liking cultural elements is part of how I started to really appreciate other cultures.
fillyjonk – The difference is that the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are an expression of Irish-American culture offered to the general American public. Sure enough, Irish in Ireland are puzzled by St. P’s Day in the US, they really don’t get it.
With regard to Elvis, my father also hated him but for a different reason. He felt that his movements were to sexual and as a result, I was not allowed to watch him on Ed Sullivan or go to his movies. I finally did see a lot of his movies and loved them all. I found him to be quite a nice guy, albeit losing his battle with life as a result of his stardom.
Leslie
abcw team
Ehhh I have to admit, I don’t know how to respond to this without writing a far to long comment 😉
But this is a post which come from your heart, that I feel and that makes it a very good one!
Have a ♥-filled ABC-day / -week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫
abc-w-team
http://melodymusic.nl/21-c/
This is very interesting.
Well, it is a dilemma but one that is perhaps about to be solved when we all become globalists, as many heads of state seem to be promoting. And that’s a whole other quandary.
Linear delineation is rarely clear with any cultural issues ~ Great post ~ for C ~ ^_^
Thanks for visiting and commenting on my C post for ABC ^_^
That is too sad about closing down of eatery. Never heard such things before.
Happy ABCW!
i think it’s a “no topic” topic. people will make a big deal out of nothing and avoid relevance in their lives.
On the upside, time was on Little Richard’s side; the only Pat Boone songs that get any airplay on the half a dozen remaining “oldies” stations are “Moody River” and “Speedy Gonzales” — though “Speedy” has a few issues of its own.
My father didn’t like Elvis either ! In his mind it was sounds coming from the African bushes ! But that didn’t bother me, I became an Elvis fan but only for his songs not for the man !
Wonderful post – a needed discussion. We’ve been having this very one in Canada over native culture.
This is the first time I heard the term. But, isn’t that what assimilation or acculturation is? Or do people not use those terms anymore? How about something like this: chop suey is not a traditional Chinese dish. It was something that Chinese cooks in the U.S. made up once upon a time for their American customers. So, would the cooks be appropriating American culture? Interesting.
The View from the Top of the Ladder
Much happens in the name of ‘culture’.
Still trying to figure it out!
You really gave me something to think about.
The Chinese were the only group of nationalities who had to pay a poll tax, and not allowed to bring their wives to NZ.