Cultural appropriation is annoying because it is basically taking a small facet of a different people's culture and using it as a costume or some form of temporary entertainment, as if that small facet is representative of the whole culture. These seemingly harmless, "it's all in good fun!" acts are not how cultures get brought together, as you pose. This is how stereotypes are created and perpetuated. This is how sexualized geishas might be at the forefront of people's minds when they think Japanese culture (see: Katy Perry). Then comes around the fetishization of Asian women as quiet and demure and submissive. This is how teardrop tattoos, dressing in a certain way and hanging out in a certain kind of neighborhood becomes associated with Latinos. Then comes the criminalization of Latinos, which you should know is a real thing.
But Katy Perry and Lana del Ray and Miley Cyrus and a bunch of other people can dress a certain way, act a certain way all in good fun while claiming they are appreciating a culture when in fact, they are only playing off of systematically ingrained stereotypes of people and benefiting from it while the actual people they claim to respect have to work to make sure they don't fall into those stereotypes. Those white people have white privilege, which allows them to wear others' culture as a costume and take it off any damn time they want under the guise that they are appreciative and respectful.
It comes down to: Who has the power?
It's white people. Not just in the US, not just in Europe. Everywhere.
Here is a quote I think explains it well:
"cultural appropriation is about an exploitive power dynamic, whereas not all forms of cultural sycretism are. We see cultural syncretism everywhere in our mainstream culture because the US is an immigrant country and we really do meld a lot more than we give ourselves credit for. The power dynamic lies in the fact that the genuinely syncretic and layered culture of the mainstream is dominated by whites. That broad river of culture is considered -- consciously by POC and unconsciously by whites -- to be the home ground and domain of whites, even though everyone has contributed to it.
So when a new cultural item is added to that mainstream, it is done by whites deliberately, and in a manner that doesn't acknowledge its debt to any subculture or alternate culture. That mainstream is powerful because it is the mainstream and because it is the homeground of the white power-majority. Likewise, whites are powerful because they are white and because they control the powerful mainstream, both. It's true cultural synergy."
Btw, your comments sounded like "why can't we all get along and love each other and just appreciate each other's backgrounds, this is how art changes and cultures come together."
It's because of white people and their white privilege, systematic and institutionalized racism.
But Katy Perry and Lana del Ray and Miley Cyrus and a bunch of other people can dress a certain way, act a certain way all in good fun while claiming they are appreciating a culture when in fact, they are only playing off of systematically ingrained stereotypes of people and benefiting from it while the actual people they claim to respect have to work to make sure they don't fall into those stereotypes. Those white people have white privilege, which allows them to wear others' culture as a costume and take it off any damn time they want under the guise that they are appreciative and respectful.
It comes down to: Who has the power?
It's white people. Not just in the US, not just in Europe. Everywhere.
Here is a quote I think explains it well:
"cultural appropriation is about an exploitive power dynamic, whereas not all forms of cultural sycretism are. We see cultural syncretism everywhere in our mainstream culture because the US is an immigrant country and we really do meld a lot more than we give ourselves credit for. The power dynamic lies in the fact that the genuinely syncretic and layered culture of the mainstream is dominated by whites. That broad river of culture is considered -- consciously by POC and unconsciously by whites -- to be the home ground and domain of whites, even though everyone has contributed to it.
So when a new cultural item is added to that mainstream, it is done by whites deliberately, and in a manner that doesn't acknowledge its debt to any subculture or alternate culture. That mainstream is powerful because it is the mainstream and because it is the homeground of the white power-majority. Likewise, whites are powerful because they are white and because they control the powerful mainstream, both. It's true cultural synergy."
http://clairelight.typepad.com/seelight/2009/01/defining-cultural-appropriation.html
Btw, your comments sounded like "why can't we all get along and love each other and just appreciate each other's backgrounds, this is how art changes and cultures come together."
It's because of white people and their white privilege, systematic and institutionalized racism.
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