Cultural Appropriation: The Common Misuses
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Did you know that you could possibly be participating in the act of cultural appropriation without even knowing it? Cultural appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of an element or elements of a marginalized group by members of a more dominant society.
The main problem with cultural appropriation comes from dominant groups “borrowing” from marginalized groups who have faced oppression or who have been stigmatized for their cultural practice throughout history.
In today’s society, cultural appropriation is another one of those things that isn’t perceived to be outright disgusting behavior, but should be. Many people commit this rather inappropriate act because they are ignorant to its impact and how it makes people in certain cultures feel.
Common acts of cultural appropriation that you may recognize include a white person wearing braids or dreads in their hair and a black or white person getting tribal symbols as tattoos on their body.
The example of the braids in a white person’s hair would be classified as cultural appropriation in fashion because that act is using elements of a non-dominant culture (black) in a way that does not respect its original meaning or give credit to its source.
There are companies and schools that prohibit natural hairstyles such as braids, cornrows, locks, etc. That’s right, there are black people who have been ultimately fired from their jobs for simply wearing braids. Meanwhile, famous public figures and fashion models such as Kylie Jenner (white) get praised for wearing braids. The relevant observation is that one group of people is being penalized by institutions for wearing natural hairstyles while the other is referred to as “stylish” for adopting that same hairstyle and wearing it.
The example of a black or white person getting tribal tattoos is classified as culture appropriation, as well, but only if the person getting the tattoos does not understand the meaning of the tattoo they have chosen, and they only got it for the looks.
Those tribal symbols originated from the Máori Tribe of New Zealand and have huge cultural significance and family meaning. It’s inappropriate to just wear these symbols just because they “look good.” It’s a huge sign of disrespect. Disregarding or failing to credit the original value or values of these elements that minority groups have created is outright wrong.
Both of these examples are wrong and are forms of disrespect toward minority groups and cultures, and even though our society gives us permission to do and act in whatever way we please, as Christians and educated people we have to make ourselves more aware of these types of things and work toward fixing them as we have with other relevant issues.
“I’m just showing appreciation for the culture” is a statement commonly used by people accused of committing cultural appropriation, but I’m here to say that it’s great that you find another group’s culture beautiful, but in order to show you truly love it, you need to respect it and understand it thoroughly.