Cultural Appropriation
A dear friend is foster mother to a child who is transgendered and "of
questionable ethnicity" in other words her ethnicity is not very
obvious to the eye. A West African Dance Group teacher invited her to join the group and
participate in performances. While we were at her dress rehearsal, a
"white" woman passing by in the park told the much younger female
with her , "see, that is cultural appropriation..." she went on and
on loud enough for the foster mother to hear it. A Friend who is originally from Nigeria
was supportive and among other things asked, "... this is an American issue? Why? What is American culture if not a mixture of all who come
here?This is not exactly the dance of my mother, but, that is not my
mother...these women who dance do not have to know where their
mothers mothers come from to understand the dance and be a part of
it...." he went on to talk about the evolution and African Diaspora, compassion, etc..
His perspective shed new light on the concept of Appropriation. His
wife added that it was a concept based in anger. She wanted to know
where the anger came from in the woman who passed by to insult a girl
who is dancing.
I would like to hear thoughts about Cultural Appropriation (C.A.) here. Is being immersed in a culture and documenting, then being influenced by the culture in a way that is visible C.A.? If so, why is that considered negative? Is C.A. an American/western issue? Where does it start and end , is the position of the self titled "culture police" any more righteous? or is is based on prejudging as often as not?
when a culture invites an individual in, is the
onlooker judging it as C.A. right in doing so?
If a woman from Muslim culture takes on more American dress is she
appropriating? When my friend escaped genital mutilation and came to
the States dressed in American clothing, was she appropriating? Is Yoga practice
appropriating? does that include Yoga studied in India by a non
Indian invited by a Guru to eventually become a teacher? Does it
matter that most Gurus want Yoga to spread beyond India? ...Is it
really that offensive to have a themed party? for example,
a Japanese youth group had a "50's Elvis American" party.
What about those of us who do not know our
cultural history as in the case of the Foster child (nameless to
protect her)? I think there is a fine line between blatant appropriation and influence and inspiration. Personally i don't think a style of music or spirituality belongs to just one people as music is an expressive art and spirit is inclusive...any thoughts?
questionable ethnicity" in other words her ethnicity is not very
obvious to the eye. A West African Dance Group teacher invited her to join the group and
participate in performances. While we were at her dress rehearsal, a
"white" woman passing by in the park told the much younger female
with her , "see, that is cultural appropriation..." she went on and
on loud enough for the foster mother to hear it. A Friend who is originally from Nigeria
was supportive and among other things asked, "... this is an American issue? Why? What is American culture if not a mixture of all who come
here?This is not exactly the dance of my mother, but, that is not my
mother...these women who dance do not have to know where their
mothers mothers come from to understand the dance and be a part of
it...." he went on to talk about the evolution and African Diaspora, compassion, etc..
His perspective shed new light on the concept of Appropriation. His
wife added that it was a concept based in anger. She wanted to know
where the anger came from in the woman who passed by to insult a girl
who is dancing.
I would like to hear thoughts about Cultural Appropriation (C.A.) here. Is being immersed in a culture and documenting, then being influenced by the culture in a way that is visible C.A.? If so, why is that considered negative? Is C.A. an American/western issue? Where does it start and end , is the position of the self titled "culture police" any more righteous? or is is based on prejudging as often as not?
when a culture invites an individual in, is the
onlooker judging it as C.A. right in doing so?
If a woman from Muslim culture takes on more American dress is she
appropriating? When my friend escaped genital mutilation and came to
the States dressed in American clothing, was she appropriating? Is Yoga practice
appropriating? does that include Yoga studied in India by a non
Indian invited by a Guru to eventually become a teacher? Does it
matter that most Gurus want Yoga to spread beyond India? ...Is it
really that offensive to have a themed party? for example,
a Japanese youth group had a "50's Elvis American" party.
What about those of us who do not know our
cultural history as in the case of the Foster child (nameless to
protect her)? I think there is a fine line between blatant appropriation and influence and inspiration. Personally i don't think a style of music or spirituality belongs to just one people as music is an expressive art and spirit is inclusive...any thoughts?