Appropriation is NOT Appreciation

It's time to stop turning cultures into trends. Cultural appropration is NOT the same as cultural appreciation - it is wrong and I can't engage with that anymore.

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[mycultureisnotatrend]

feministdisney:

ironicprosecutor:

kawaiitank:

chotpot:

cruising-for-a-bruising:

chotpot:

ligidium:

cussandfight:

harvestxvx:

thisshitisallracist:

matrem-ursa:

My spirit name is “Drinks With Vodka”. I’m gonna fuck shit up tonight.

Oh dear, well…umm…”Drinks with Vodka” I’m kinda hoping someone calls you out tonight about your offensive costume and name. I mean it’s not like real Natives struggle with Alcoholism more than any other race…

And this is why I’m not leaving my house for all of Halloween weekend.

Your mother and I are very disappointed.

As nice as you look in red and brown, it’s pretty offensive.  That’s someone’s culture and heritage that you’re wearing.

for a second I thought she had german flags on her face

how the dicks is that offensive

that’s like saying that someone dressing in a top hat, monocle, a set of fake bad teeth, and suit, and them claiming that they’re being an englishman is offensive

which is isn’t

but uh I did think those were german flags on her face initially as well I’m glad I wasn’t the only one

RACISM AND TUMBLR….

NGL, the “dressing in a top hat, monocle, a set of fake bad teeth, and suit, and them claiming that they’re being an englishman” would probably piss me, an English person, off a great deal actually.

Guys I think you’re getting a bit too butthurt over Halloween costumes. There’s been lots of shit like this on my dash for the past few days and everyone has been labeling innocent costumes as “OMFG OFFENSIVE!!!!1”. I can’t really talk about this costume in particular since I’m not Native American (or American at all for that matter) but whenever I see someone dressing up as something that’s relevant to me (A very stereotypical Scotsman, for example) I just see the fun side of it and move on. This is just my opinion guys, so please don’t start shit because of it. You’re free to think what you want.

tl;dr

thanks for whitesplaining why everyone’s being too sensitive about cultural appropriation, geesh.

you’re free to be offended or not offended by portrayals and costuming of your own culture, but I would caution against using this as logic for why “everyone else is just acting butthurt and silly.”    Scottish people have not experienced the levels of oppression and erasure in American society that native americans have.   The stories of their struggles are completely different and so the magnitude of offensiveness in “dressing up” is also completely different.

If you’re going to have an opinion at least own up to the fact that someone might call you out on it, why throw in lines about “this is just my opinion, if you don’t like it please don’t tell me what’s the issue here”?    Free speech comes with the knowledge that you can and will be critiqued for what you say.    Even the most offhanded of words and actions have real power- which is why that logic is wrong, and why this costume is wrong.

feminist disney is on point.

[approprationisnotappreciati-blog]

Rachel Brice in Kuchi Jewelry - Why That Is Wrong

Rachel Brice is among the most famous belly dancers in the world, and her performances are always stunning, as usual. I admire this woman a lot, but there is something wrong with her showing up in Kuchi jewelry that just makes me loose a little respect for her. 

Don't know who the Kuchi's are? The Kuchi's are a nomadic Pashtun tribe from northern Afghanistan, primarily from the Ghilzai tribe. Many of them have light features, like blue/green eyes and blonde hair. The Pashtuns are believed to be the descendants of Alexander the Great's Greek army of soldiers. 

They are known for their colorful embroidered clothes and chunky jewelry (often wrongly believed to be from India). This type of costume is a favorite among belly dancers, because it allows them to exaggerate their moves when they dance. 

But why is it wrong for a non-Pashtun to wear Kuchi jewelry and clothes? 

1. Being an Afghan comes with a history of un-decided events, such as the ethnic cleansing of a group of people, war, racism, and the eradication of entire tribes of people and their cultural traditions.

For example, Afghans have had pressure on them to be more 'western' in the 60's and 70's (skirts and suits instead of traditional clothes, just google 'Afghanistan in the 60's') and now they have a pressure on them to cover their body as much as possible - a result of the Taliban regime. Even in their own homeland, it is becoming more and more rare to see Afghans in their own traditional clothes - instead, you will find most of them wearing shalwar kameez, traditional Indian/Pakistani clothes. Their culture is being ripped away. This does not grant anyone the right to appropriate what little pieces of their past they have, robbing them of their dignity. 

Part of being seen as "trendy" also makes an entire culture not only a commodity, but also something that people will (and can) tire of - therefore being disposable. That is offensive as ethnic costumes are supposed to be TIMELESS. 

2. Blindly wearing ethnic customes without knowing the significance of it, IS actually taking the significance away from the custome. Mimicing and fetishizing cultures is not acceptable. 

3. The Kuchi jewelry found in the market are often not Kuchi jewelry at all, just some crap put together to make it look more 'Kuchi' to attract customers (Kuchi jewelry is considered to be of 'high rank' and is the new trend among bellydancers). Therefore, almost anything can be labeled Kuchi, like Turkoman and Banjara jewelry etc. and someone will believe it and buy it, no matter what it's true origin may be. 

I hope this could give you guys a clear insight of the new (and unfortunately wrong) trend wave that is Kuchi costumes. 

[approprationisnotappreciati-blog]

What Does the Bindi Signify?

For a foreigner, a bindi could mean nothing. It might at the most seem to be another jewelery to enhance the beauty of the Indian woman. But did you know that even men in India wear 'tilak' on their foreheads just like women wear bindi? A bindi signifies different aspects for different individuals. Westeners could be wrong in their assumption on the significance of a bindi but sadly, not many Indians themselves know what a bindi really stands for. This is a result of following traditions blindly without knowing their actual meaning.

It is common assumption that a bindi is a mark of the married women. True, married Hindu women wear the 'red dot' or the bindi on their forehead. But, not just married women but even young girls and widows wear a bindi in India. So, what does their bindi or the 'dot' mean?

A married woman's red bindi indicates 'marriage.' Widows in India do not wear bindi normally. But they are allowed to wear a black bindi in Southern India. Their black bindi indicates their loss. However, young girls are free to wear bindi of any color. So, what does a colorful bindi mean?

Some might argue bindi is a mark of a Hindu. But, most modern Hindu women do not wear a bindi with western clothes. Does this make them any lesser Hindu?

No.

A 'bindi' on a woman's forehead or a 'tilak' on a man's forehead, in India, signifies the individual's spiritual eye. This spiritual eye is also called the 'third eye.'

This third eye in Hindus is used for spiritual sight. Through the third eye, Hindus believe to see all that, which cannot be seen through the two physical eyes.

The bindi stands for this third eye and also protects it. A bindi reminds the Hindus of the third eye or the spiritual eye and also helps them to cultivate spiritual vision.

The area between the eyebrows, the sixth chakra known as the 'agna' meaning 'command', is the seat of concealed wisdom. It is the centre point wherein all experience is gathered in total concentration. According to the tantric cult, when during meditation the latent energy ('kundalini') rises from the base of the spine towards the head, this 'agna' is the probable outlet for this potent energy. The red 'kumkum' between the eyebrows is said to retain energy in the human body and control the various levels of concentration. It is also the central point of the base of the creation itself — symbolizing auspiciousness and good fortune. 

The Hindu saints constantly meditate by focusing their energies towards the spiritual eye. It is believed that when the individual's spiritual eye opens, is when he attains true enlightenment and gets closer to God. This kind of meditation, in which, energies are directed towards the third eye is not easy. This needs practice and an ordinary individual cannot concentrate for more than 2 minutes.

Conclusion: If you wear the bindi but you don't believe in what the bindi signifies, then you're just mocking an entire culture/religion. 

Sources:

http://voices.yahoo.com/what-does-bindi-dot-signify-1717883.html (almost the entire text is copied from this page, only a few parts are added/removed)

http://hinduism.about.com/od/bindis/a/bindi.htm

[guava-spellz]

“MY TURBAN IS NOT A FASHION TREND”  by Khushboo Gulati November 2012 for Sikh Awareness Day at UCLA

Fighting the rampant appropriation of turbans as fashion statements, where non Sikh folks can adorn a turban and be deemed “fashionable” while Sikh folks who wear turbans are misinterpreted & hit with ignorance & hate for wearing a turban for their faith. 

It is disturbing to see white bodies in turbans for this new exotic ~fashionable~ look coming down runways, on fashion sites, up for large audiences to see & feel it is ok, being completely complacent to it. 

lifestyles of brown bodies stolen, meanings stripped, reassigned & accepted #imperialism #9/11 #xenophobia #colonialmindset   

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svnoyi:

iarrrrrapirate:

I am not really sure the significance of this picture, but it looks pretty amazing.

The significance is Imperialism, Colonialism, and Genocide. This image depicts the beneficiaries of the North American Genocide mocking their victims by mimicking them through tried stereotypes that were used to dehumanize them, making the public support their deaths and turn a blind eye to their suffering. The subjects of the image have donned cheap representations of sacred culture pieces of their victims, much like how some serial killers take “trophies” from their victims.

Enough significance for you? Amazing, huh?

Also, just so iarrrrrpirate doesn't get too dizzy by receiving so many grusome and historical facts at the same time, the girl on the picture is wearing a war bonnet which only a few Native American tribes wear, not ALL. The girl is also wearing it without knowing the significance of it, or caring about what it symbolizes. Here and here are some good posts about the significance of the war bonnet and some other parts of the Native American customes specifically favorited by westeners. 

With that being said; READ. And LEARN. Education is your best tool to fight hatred.

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Pepper Ann: “Dances with Ignorance”

got this from feministdisney’s Q&A

“Pepper Ann was incredibly, well, racist, but the show “taught” her the right way/what she was doing wrong and why it was wrong, pretty well.    It would probably be pretty instructive for a lot of the people on tumblr claiming to “honor” native americans by dressing up as them etc.”

[mycultureisnotatrend]

This is amazing!

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[freeafghanistan]

That’s a Kuchi headdress and she’s wearing Kuchi jewellery and Khal (Face Markings). I think she’s wearing Ghand (Kuchi Dress) as well, but with the arms cut off and the neckline lowered. I’m honestly at a loss as to why people take aspects of Kuchi culture and then sexualise it. I wonder if any of the people, including the woman above, appropriating Kuchi culture have any knowledge of the origins of the culture they’re bastardising. The Kuchi are a nomadic peoples from Afghanistan. They’re Hanafi Muslims who adhere to strict Pashtunwali. Taking aspects of their culture which you find appealing and then “fixing” and altering other aspects is incredibly disrespectful. 

I wonder how Ghilzai Kuchis would react to the appropriation of their Centuries old culture and lifestyle. 

[approprationisnotappreciati-blog]

July 7, 2011 - Polimoda Fashion Show in Florence, Italy 

Meet the designer, Giulio Parigi:

My collection is inspired by the fusion of Afghan customs and culture of the West. In my project, I wanted to give a modern and contemporary vision of a nation that in recent years, because of the many accidents, is at the center of dark international issues.

I wanted it to be a modern vision of a cohesive group of people ready to integrate into the Western world without sacrificing their pride and their own culture with its customs and traditions.

I'm sure Parigi was well-intentioned when he designed this collection. He probably thought it would come off as a good tribute to Afghans and the Afghan culture, but it turned out to look like something we can easily relate with media's/society's portrayal, or stereotyping, if you will - of Afghans and the Afghan culture. Let me explain what I mean:

What do you think when you hear the name "Afghanistan"? Most people will immediately think about terrorists, jihad, bombings, criminals, stoning of women etc. And what does the Taliban wear? Turbans, face masks and long scarves to cover their faces - much like what the models above are wearing. And since this collection is said to be inspired by the Afghan culture, people can easily connect the words "terrorism" and "Afghans" or "Afghan culture" together like something unexchangeable. 

This collection also reminds us of "soldiers". Long boots, long jackets, face masks and men. (Yes, I know there are women in the military too, but most soldiers are men, and men in the military are considered more "natural"). This, again, reminds us of war and everything negative that comes with it when we think about Afghanistan, Afghans or the Afghan culture. There is so much more to Afghan culture than scary-looking garments, and I think many people would find it enjoyable to see something different for a change.  

PS: I know many Afghan men wear turbans, but I also know that they wear pakols, beautifully decorated vests and long, loose-fitting clothes. I also know for a fact that the average Afghan man does NOT wear a face mask.