How Skaters Really Feel About Fashion's Appropriation of Their Culture
For many, October is an heady month: leaves change colors, boots-and-sweater conditions returns, and, of form, Halloween is celebrated. But for a lot of people Halloween can be every bit uncomfortable as it is fun. Sure, enough of witches and ghosts are summoned on All Hallows' Eve only even the spookiest of celebrations tin can be thwarted by people dressing up as "Indians" or donning an Afro with their '70s-inspire costume. For many white Americans, this might seem innocuous and difficult to understand. But these costumes impairment those in marginalized communities; making a caricature of vibrant, vital cultures that have shaped our nation. While it'south advisable to appreciate these cultures and communities, cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation are two very unlike things. Especially this yr, as the country experiences a racial reckoning it's important to learn the divergence every bit we try to make a more than inclusive earth.
What Is Cultural Appropriation?
Cribbing, merely put, is taking something and making it your own. Cultural appropriation takes the term a step further, focusing on a privileged grouping taking cultural elements from groups that are marginalized as a direct effect of colonialism, co-ordinate to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Headdresses, for example, are often seen past not-Native Americans every bit office of a "costume." But for the N American Plains tribes from which headdresses originate, headdresses (also chosen state of war bonnets) are more akin to war medals. The generalization that headdresses are worn by all Indigenous peoples is a result of years of misunderstanding and cultural theft for the benefit of non-Indigenous people — Halloween costumes are just i example of that on-going theft.
Of course, cultural cribbing isn't express solely to attire, and it's certainly not limited to one specific marginalized grouping. Gwen Stefani, for instance, has been appropriating other cultures for years, every bit noted by the Daily Dot. From her bindi-wearing days in No Doubt to her solo-act Harajuku era, many of Stefani's choices are the textbook definition of appropriation and an example of what not to exercise. Similarly, as BuzzFeed notes, the Kardashians have exhibited cultural appropriation over the years, from wearing a hijab, to donning protective braid styles created and used past Blackness women, to tanning equally a manner to make themselves look similar Blackness women (a concept called "Black-fishing"). J.K. Rowling appropriated Indigenous spiritual behavior when she wrote most "Magic In North America" for Pottermore, and Sephora came nether burn after releasing a "Witch Starter Kit" and appropriating Wicca, a spiritual practice.
Why Is Cultural Appropriation Bad?
The harm of cultural appropriation occurs when elements that agree significance in certain cultures are stripped of their meaning and treated as a passing fad. When these elements (language, clothing, food, etc.) are no longer respected or recognized every bit of import, a sort of identity vacuum is created.
Suddenly, traditional roles are stripped abroad. And, when the identity of a group is taken away or made to be trendy, cartoonish, or criminalized, or passed off as someone else'southward, members of that group are left with no choice only to assimilate.
"They take to adopt elements of the ascendant civilisation in guild to survive conditions that can make their lives more difficult if they don't," Luiza Dreasher, Banana Dean and Director, Role of Multicultural and International Inclusion, Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, writes in an article for the Inclusion Solution.
At best, appropriation can create caricatures of very real people; individual man monoliths of entire complex and unique civilizations. At worst, information technology can assist in the erasure of unabridged cultural groups. For instance, according to the History Channel thousands of Indigenous children across the United States and Canada were forced into residential or boarding schools and separated from their families, with many recorded instances of forced assimilation: beingness browbeaten for speaking their Native linguistic communication and being forced to cut their hair.
Cultural cribbing isn't just disrespectful, it is dehumanizing.
How Do I Avoid Appropriation?
So, does this hateful you can't swallow foods from other cultures, or read books by authors of other races, or (appropriately) participate in holidays that honor other cultures? Of class not! There is absolutely cypher incorrect with wanting to learn more, and at that place are many ways to respectfully appreciate a culture, race, or ethnicity different from your own.
The get-go — and probably about important — affair you can do is do empathy. Don't assume that you know ameliorate or more than someone of a different background. Acknowledge that lived experiences are equally unique equally every individual, and that not all people of a given group are going to accept the same opinion. Listen to as many various voices equally y'all can and, rather than respond, reflect on what they're proverb.
Second, consider your source of information. If you lot're reading virtually another civilization, make sure the author is from that culture. If you want to purchase artwork, jewelry or clothing of a certain cultural style, brand certain the creator is from the culture. ( And ensure you pay a off-white price for their work – no inexpensive, mass produced tchotchkes allowed!) You may have to do some research and you'll likely pay more than than what you lot're used to, but this kind of support is unparalleled in truly appreciating marginalized communities.
Finally, make sure you are sharing this newfound information with others, particularly children. Make certain the books you are reading or studying with your children, or the movies they are watching, are authentic and appropriate. If you lot read a volume or watch a motion picture that isn't authentic, talk with your kids afterwards. And remember, it's OK to say, "in the past, some people thought or did bad things to other people because they were unlike, merely we want to try to be improve now." After all, Disney'due south Peter Pan is still ane of my favorite movies, merely I really don't like the portrayal of Tiger Lily, naturally.
The difference between appropriation and appreciation tin can exist a tricky path to navigate, and it tin can feel like a constantly shifting concept equally the world continues to change so apace. Just keeping an open up, respectful, and loving perspective is the showtime pace toward understanding. And when in dubiety, exercise your inquiry.
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