Alright hereâs the deal. Using bits and pieces of AAVE isnât cultural appropriation. It just isnât. First of all, AAVE speakers regularly come into contact with non-AAVE speakers and AAVE leaks its way into mainstream English use. To imply that they donât is ridiculous. Thatâs the first problem here.
The second problem here is that âappropriationâ is used entirely wrongly and entirely too often on this site. Cultural appropriation should only be used to refer to when one group (usually white people) CLAIMS the creation of another group as its own. Thatâs it. If it doesnât fit that definition, it isnât appropriation. And hereâs why!
The third problem, and the reason people need to stop fucking using âappropriationâ as a term so loosely on this site is because it allows us to ignore instances of racism by calling them something else- a more technical, academic seeming term. So
If you use another cultureâs speaking pattern as a joke, that isnât cultural appropriation. Thatâs being a racist. Youâre literally making a joke about how other people talk. Thatâs racism. Not appropriation. RACISM. We have a word for that already.
If you use another cultureâs sacred symbology or something like that, it isnât appropriation. Itâs being clueless at best and thoughtless/insensitive at worst. It isnât appropriation. The basic problem there is not theft of another cultureâs items: the basic problem is not participating in a culture on that cultureâs terms.
If you use another culture as a prop or a joke, that isnât appropriation. Itâs racism. Youâre pointing at a group and laughing. Thatâs just racism. Letâs not call it something else. Miley Cyrus isnât appropriating black culture. Sheâs making fun of it. Thatâs racism. Easy.
If you use another cultureâs symbology inaccurately, again that isnât appropriation. Itâs being thoughtless and inconsiderate but it isnât appropriation.
If it isnât one group claiming it created something it isnât, then it isnât appropriation.
There are several problems with insisting that white people participating in AAVE even in small portions is appropriation. 1- it lets white people off the hook for instances of actual racism by calling it something else, something which seems less intentional than it really is. 2- it assumes that white people already have a frame of reference for everything and should never have to refer to other cultures for ideas/concepts. That second idea is fucked up because:
It assumes that white/mainstream/Western culture understands everything already. Thatâs literally just colonialism wrapped up in a nice liberal package people can use to pat themselves on the back.
It ignores the fact that white culture (using that loosely, but Iâm sure most people understand what I mean by this) actually doesnât have a way to express everything. For example, âââ game strongâ says more than just âyou ââ look[s] good.â There is no approximation in standard English. Standard English is not a perfect, all-encompassing language.
TLDR: use of AAVE in bits and pieces is not appropriation, and outside of tumblr I know very few black people who actually consider it to be appropriation. If you use it poorly, youâre just misinformed and will probably be laughed at. If you mock it, youâre just a racist. Stop calling every single instance of two cultures interacting âappropriationâ because it allows us to ignore the fact that many times when people on here use it, we are referring to instances of racism and letting the racism itself go unaddressed by not calling it what it is. I only know a few black people ON tumblr who consider use of AAVE phrases to be appropriative or racist, and quite frankly I think that view 1- is simplistic and makes no sense and 2- would be laughed off by most black people who hadnât been steeped in that narrative.
