Can white Hindus wear saris?
Yes.
no
YES. For the love of Jesus stop white knighting.
From a historical website about the history of Saris, from a person WHO MAKES THEM FOR A LIVING
“Visitors seduced by the vibrancy and mythology of saris can shop for one to take home. Unlike other traditional garments in some cultures, the sari isn’t reserved for people of one nationality or set of beliefs. “I don’t think it’s disrespectful for Westerners to wear a sari,” says Chishti. “It’s more of an honor.” There is nothing wrong with sewing a dazzling one into a skirt or displaying it like art on a wall, says Sethi.“
Website 2 - a website dedicated to asking “is wearing them disrepectful?”
Is it disrespectful to wear a sari? No, not at all. Based on any occasion, as a daily wear, when you are not Indian and irrespective of religion, it is never disrespectful to wear a sari. In fact, it enhances the situation particularly if you are attending an Indian wedding. In cases where a theme is already set and hosts do expect certain culture, check with hosts before wearing.
Website 3 - Google’s Arts and Culture website, dedicate to educating people about different things around the globe concerning art and culture
5. The sari is easy to wear – and can be worn by anyone Wearing a sari is more akin to making a sandwich or sending an email than making a soufflé or launching a rocket. It has the appearance and reputation of being difficult to wear, but ask any one of the millions of women who wear one every day – it’s not. The sari transcends socio-economic divisions and is seen as an egalitarian garment...It can’t speak on behalf of all India but 95% of our survey suggested that {people from India} are open to anyone wearing saris.
(sari vs saree for reference sake is just a matter of preference for spelling).
Literally the only people fake outraged by this (I call it fake outrage because people only get “mad” about it when they see people online but totally forget aobut it in everyday life otherwise) are white girls on twitter, tumblr, and other social medias believing they are “coming in and saving the day on behalf of people from India”. STOP THE WHITE KNIGHTING.
For starters, Saris have over 100 different ways to wear them. To buy them traditionally tends to be very rare and expensive because of how hard it is to make these garments. Second, they’re becoming more common in areas close to India, like Sri Lanka.
Also, also, according to Hinduism reincarnation beliefs, we have the ability to reincarnate into any person on this Earth, so any skin color. Some people wear them to show their pride in Hinduism. Some wear it to honor India ancestors. Some wear it just because it is a beautiful piece of fabric.
Like anything, wear it with respect. Wear it with pride.
Reminding people again that you cannot steal what is freely given. It's not appropriation if someone within the culture is like "here ya go, try this!". I get that wearing stuff like a sari feels like you're an impostor but the way to deal with that is to just do the thing that makes you uncomfortable.
I used to live in a city with a large Desi population, and loved going into the local shops to see the gorgeous clothing (and to buy silk fabric and ready-made trim!). I showed interest in a lehenga choli set and the ladies working there were. Thrilled. I ended up spending well over an hour trying on different ones because they were just bringing them over one after another, narrowing down the style and colors that would be flattering on me, showing me how to wear it properly.
I wore the one I chose to a convention, and encountered an Indian woman running a henna booth and selling some jewelry. At first I felt kind of embarrassed, like an imposter. (Should I (Latinx) be wearing this?) But she was also thrilled to see someone wearing clothing from her culture, and just... gave me a maang tikka, because it went so well with the outfit. (I ended up purchasing the necklace that went with it, so maybe it was a shrewd business move, ahaha)
It’s the same with kimono, people from Japan are so excited to see an American properly wearing one, even ‘just’ a yukata.
Appropriation is stealing cultural designs and motifs for your mass-produced fast fashion, taking money away from their artisans and devaluing their product. Appropriation is trying to divorce clothing from its cultural roots.
So long as it is common clothing (not sacred or having a special meaning), and as long as it is worn with respect (preferably sourced directly from the culture it comes from), we should be enjoying the beauty of other cultures by wearing it on our bodies. Sharing is not appropriation!
It’s important to recognize problematic appropriation but that does not mean we need to segregate every aspect of culture into neat racial categories
