The topic of cultural appropriation did not concern me until I began to learn about the concept in my Introduction to Women’s Writing class. Cultural appropriation is “a term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes or practices by one cultural group from another.” This semester I had an encounter in which a black woman accidentally at first mistook me for being full white after making the assumption that I was appropriating black culture for having braids. I am biracial and once I clarified my racial background with the woman, she shrugged off her comment and I proceeded with going about my business. That brief interaction bothered me, because I couldn’t come to terms with why the woman was so concerned with my braids. One question popped into my head: What makes it acceptable or unacceptable to adopt another culture? I felt like the woman was saying since I am half black, it was acceptable for me to have braids in my hair, but if I was full white, it was unacceptable.
Cultural appropriation has been seen in the media by high profile celebrities, on college campuses at parties, and by trends people of a different culture other than the culture they appropriate have adopted, such as hair and cultural garments that have historical significance. Such appropriation seems to emphasize racial and cultural stereotypes of various racial groups, such as Native Americans, Asians, Latinos, African Americans, etc.
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Celebrities have been some of the worst appropriators. The article, “Kim Kardashian ‘invents’ cornrows?” addresses how Kim renamed cornrows “boxer braids,” which is a hairstyle commonly used by black people. Kim received backlash for not giving acknowledgement to black culture by saying she invented the trend by renaming it. Miley Cyrus was targeted after her VMA performance of her song “We Can’t Stop,” in which people accused her of using black women as props as her backup dancers and her twerking gave her the title of “Twerk Queen” even though she doesn’t execute the dance properly and does not know where the dance derives from. Katy Perry has received numerous negative feedback about her "Dark Horse" video for her use of Egyptian cultural dynamics and her "This Is How We Do" video for its use of black stereotypes. Katy has even gotten called out for her "Unconditionally" performance at the American Music Awards for her representation of Asian women as “geishas.” According to the article, The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea, Iggy is targeted for her use of “blaccent” which is a “set of vernacular or nonstandard varieties of English spoken by African Americans.” After dropping the song “Shake It Off,” Taylor Swift received backlash for her interpretation of the black culture in her music video. These are only some of a number of celebrities out of many who have appropriated one culture or another.
This even happens on college campuses, according to the article “13 Racist College Parties That Prove ‘Dear White People’ Isn’t Exaggerating At All.” Arizona State University’s Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity had a MLK Black Party in 2013 to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Attendees at the party dressed in jerseys, served watermelon, and took photos of putting up gang signs. California State University Fullerton’s Alpha Delta Pi sorority threw a Taco Tuesday party in 2014. At this party people dressed up in “sarapes, sombreros and … gang costumes.” This has happened on many other college campuses. Ohio University launched a campaign to advocate against cultural appropriation. Ohio University students started the campaign called “We’re a culture, not a costume,” to bring awareness in standing up against dressing up as racial stereotypes.
My best advice is instead of appropriating someone else’s culture, others can appreciate the culture. There’s a distinct difference between appropriation and appreciation. The best thing people can do is educate themselves on other cultures to better understand certain cultural trends without overemphasizing specific stereotypes or taking ownership of the trend. Learn to appreciate the culture, instead of morphing the culture into something it is not.
