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Debate on cultural appropriation
Culture appropriation affects society
Positives and negatives of cultural appropriation
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Cultural appropriation is a sociological concept which views the adoption or of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon. It has a negative connotation because cultural appropriation also refers to a particular 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. In Sunita Puri’s article “Cultural Identity vs. Ethnic Fashions”, she divulges in the topic of cultural appropriation, and uses ethnic and pathetic appeals to establish her credibility as an Indian American who can speak on behalf of her people to convince non-Indians to stop using the Bindi as a fashion statement. She brings forth personal experiences and examples from pop-culture and explains why appropriation is offensive. …show more content…
Puri begins the article by using ethnic and emotional appeals in order to establish herself as an expert in the culture of the South Asian people, which qualifies her to open her case on the negative appropriation of the Bindi.
She describes her Indian-Punjabi-American background and her experiences when trying to identify with multiple cultures. She recalls an experience where someone told her that the Bindi was an easy way to assert her identity and be fashionable. He then pulls up an image of pop icons who sported the Bindi at a recent award show. She explains that she wears the Bindi to demonstrate her faithfulness and loyalty to her culture and religion, not to imitate insensitive celebrities. The use of the Bindi in pop culture is a prime example of removing something traditional out of context and popularizing it
elsewhere. Puri furthermore brings forth personal examples of the detrimental effect of cultural appropriation on the Indian society. On a trip to Delhi, she had a hard time finding a traditional red Bindi; she only found colorful, sparkly ones similar to those worn by celebrities in the West. This proves her point that the Bindi no longer symbolizes the Hindu religion; it is a fashion trend made for export and sent around the world. Bindi wearing people who are ignorant of the Indian culture are the reason why this innately sacred article has been transformed into an accessory that seems convenient for Indian Americans to unite their identities in a socially acceptable way. To sum up, removing cultural and traditional elements out of context and appropriating them elsewhere is an ultimate form of disrespect. In the case of the Bindi, the South Asian culture was reduced to its physical appeal. The Indian culture is rich and beautiful but it should not be taken out of context and exploited.
In “The Meaning of Adornment,” a sub-chapter within “Distinction and Display in the Visiting Scene,” Meneley explains how important adornment (fashion) is for Zabidi women. The women made sure that they publicly dress too impressed because they know that their families and themselves will be judged (Meneley 1996: 109). Zabidi women become the active participators when they dress appropriately to their culture to ensure their families’
Cultural appropriation has been a controversial subject of debate for decades; hence it is not something “new” as society likes to think. The issue of cultural appropriation seems to have recently emerged in the 21st century because technology has allowed information to be more widespread and easily accessed. The borrowing of cultural elements of minority cultures, particularly black culture and indigenous culture, (hairstyles, music, fashion, art, etc.) by fashion labels and designers, celebrities, and the dominant culture often elicits unforgiving backlash from liberals. For example, Kylie Jenner has frequently been called out by the black community for continuously
Have you ever taken offense when you saw someone dressed in traditional garments from your culture? In America, this happens quite often. Some people may not recognize it and some refuse to acknowledge that it even exists. Cultural appropriation is a situation in which a dominant culture steals aspects of a minority culture’s, such as hair, clothing styles, and music.
Cultural appropriation is commonly misused and misunderstood as cultural misappropriation, where elements of a culture are taken for means of ridiculing. Cultural appropriation has racial implications that are interpreted as inappropriate. Some equate cultural appropriation with stealing because the culture being appropriated is often distorted and corrupt resulting in the culture being seen as inferior. While that may be true is some cases, if someone who borrows elements from another culture is mindful of its significance, then appropriation can potentially be progressive. Cultures can have to ability to learn from one another, contributing to the progress of the world. This issue is continuously seen in the music industry. The most recent
Culture is the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Cultural appropriation, the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of another culture, has become extremely overused and has lost all meaning in our society. What started out reasonably (i.e. to prevent racism) has morphed into selfishness and complete idiocy (i.e. preventing the usage of inventions like canoes).[7] Cultural appropriation had a low, steady amount of attention until late 2013, when the topic exploded.[4] Eradication of cultural appropriation is impossible and even if it was possible, it would be detrimental to our civilization.
Cultural appropriation can be defined as “using something of someone else’s without permission”. There have been many recent additions to the issue of modern civilization taking another culture or religion items and reclaiming the original meaning of it, such as portraying them as a fashion statement. The article emphasises on Native American cultural items being used in an unfavorable way that misrepresents the original meaning. Many designers and professionals have been using traditional garments that is viewed as insensitive by the Native American community.
Cultural appropriation is a recent norm that has now become common place in society. Due to the globalisation of media and the free access to information via television, public broadcasting, and the internet, different aspects from worldly cultures have now been used in fashion trends, music and film. By ‘adopting’ these aspects, it is
n his paper, “From Cultural Exchange to Transculturation: A Review and Reconceptualization of Cultural Appropriation” Richard A. Rogers defines cultural appropriation as being, “inescapably intertwined with cultural politics. It is involved in the assimilation and exploitation of marginalized and colonized cultures and in the survival of sub orientated cultures and their resistance to dominant cultures” (Rodgers 474). To put it simply cultural appropriation usually is when the majority race, white, try to adapt some form of a minority culture and often turning it into a sort of trend. This can happen to a variety of races in a multitude of ways, the use of Japanese kimonos, cornrows that are associated with the black community turning into
Appropriation — The act of borrowing, stealing, or taking over others’ works, images, words, meanings one’s own ends. Cultural appropriation is the process of borrowing and changing the meaning of commodities, cultural products, slogans, images, or elements of fashion by putting them into a new context or in juxtaposition with new elements. Appropriation is one of the primary forms of oppositional production and reading, when, for instance, viewers take cultural products and reedit, rewrite, or change them, or change their meaning or use.
There have been many instances where I am stopped and commented on what I’m wearing. Depending on a single item of clothing, I am either a “certified hippie”, “lesbian”, or “law student”. This has brought me to raise an important social question: How have fashion and advertising built identity stereotypes? Stereotyping can have a strong and negative impact on a person, especially younger generations that are now at an influential stage in their mental development. By subjecting them to these stereotypes based on what they wear, they may begin to think of and see themselves as society claims, rather than who they are or aspire to be. By conducting further research on stereotyping in fashion designs through their advertisements, the aim of this research is to understand the history and social ideas behind fashion. By thoroughly understanding the problem, a solution would be easier to reach. In order to gain further insight on the matter, two practitioners have been selected: Dr. Rebecca Arnold and Dr. Roman Meinhold.
Often the object that is taken away from the minority culture is only made popular, when it is worn or re-created by someone who is a part of the dominant race. Cultural appropriation can be seen throughout the media and popular culture; making it common and hard to distinguish. In the fashion, music, dance, and art industries, minority artists do not often receive the credit they deserve for their work, which is a form of cultural appropriation . In the United States, the two groups who most often experience cultural appropriation are Native Americans and Blacks. Reasons for this begin with the founding of America, a country built on settler colonialism that stripped them of their land land, enslaved them, stole their art, and forced them to assimilate into the European culture. Cultural appropriation in music, popular culture, and fashion happens today because the white dominant culture continues to embrace stereotypes rooted in white American’s power and position in the world through
It has long been understood that a person’s fashion choices affect how they are perceived, and we live in a culture where we are encouraged to admire and acquire through inspirational imagery of prominent personalities. Instead, Style and fashion should mirror one's own character and self-worth. We should stand out from a crowd with a unique style and not be a person who follows popular trends slavishly.
Westernization has the power to bring about many positive as well as negative changes in a society. In the case of India, it’s culture has been negatively affected through the adoption of western centric ideologies, which have led to a rapid loss of rich Indian culture. Some notable effects of westernization in India are its adoption of a parliamentary system, and the acceptance and incorporation of western technologies and clothing into their lives. Clothing in India, with the exception of traditional vestments such as the Dhoti, Kurta, and Indian Sari, has never been about the aesthetically pleasing look of clothes. Up until the modern era, Indians had clothes recycled from older, more worn clothes.
Every country and tribe have their own culture, the differences can be seen through their religious and clothing habit. For example, women living in Muslim countries or practicing the religion of Islam with are required to cover themselves in hijab, a scarf that covers the head and neck, leaving their face uncovered. However, some people may see this as “weird” or even (stereotype)symbolizes them as terrorists, due to the rise of ISIS. This is all because people tend to see their own culture as the superior and standard one in the world. This is why cultural relativism is important. It refers to the idea that the values, knowledge, and behaviour of people must be understood within their own cultural context. The essay will explain that, why
It is not possible to ignore the fact that fashion plays an overwhelming part of everyone’s life all over the world, when some of the leading women, Michelle Obama for example, is looked over for their choice of fashion. Many a times fashion is labeled as fickle and irrelevant even when we know that it evokes a mood just like music, art or architecture do. Due to the wide range of human and social aspects within its ambit, it is also a topic of scholarly study by sociologists, psychologists and anthropologists.