What is cultural appropriation, and how to avoid it
I think Iām going to make that previous post into a post that can be reblogged. Again, this is just one personās opinion about cultural appropriation! Donāt take my words as absolute truth. Ask different people what they think and read different stories.
What is cultural appropriation?
The phrase means literally, āone culture taking parts from another cultureā, for example, the idea of pizza spreading from Italian immigrants to become a food that people call āAmericanā. But, itās not as simple as that.
One reason cultural appropriation can be bad, is that sometimes, it has the power to make people stereotype the original culture, or, make them see a version of it that is mostly invented by people who are not from that culture, and, not actually true. It can cause people to see the other culture as āstrangeā and āexoticā, because, they only see the other culture through the eyes of the people from their own culture. This usually happens when a very powerful culture takes things from a less powerful culture, and stereotypes them or creates their own idea about them, that erases peopleās idea of the original culture.
Another reason it can be bad, is that rituals and history that have a strong meaning to the original culture, can be treated by outsiders as ājust for funā. Then, the ritual or history is treated in a way that is disrespectful and offensive, to someone who has it as a very deep part of their culture.
How to avoid cultural appropriation?
Cultural appropriation damages cultures when a dominant culture takes things from another culture without understanding them, or uses them in ways that are not how they were originally, and replaces the dominant cultureās idea of what the other culture is like. To avoid this:
Make sure that when you study other cultures, you are careful to study from original sources, from people in that culture. Donāt study by using writing about that culture that is written by outsiders. Often, it is biased and racist.
Make sure that when you study other cultures, you take time to learn a lot of details about the culture and why things are done the way that they are. Donāt learn one thing or a few things, and decide that you āknow about the cultureā. Cultures are very big and complicated. If you think a small study can tell you everything there is to know about that culture, you are treating that culture like a shallow thing. If you realise that even different areas of the United States, have their own cultures, languages, dialects, food, and inside those areas, different ethnic groups also have their own cultures (that might or might not be the same as the ones in the country that group first comes from)ā¦ then, you realise, a whole country canāt be understood by learning a few cultural rituals.
Remember that the things you learn about other cultures from TV, school, etc. are usually the stereotypes. When you start to learn about a culture seriously, ignore the things that you āthink you knowā, and learn directly from that culture.
If you want to do something from another culture, learn about what it means in that culture, and find out if there might be any reason why it would be disrespectful for you to do it. Itās not automatically disrespectful for to do something from another culture, but, itās important to learn whether there is an issue.
Just because you learn about a culture, donāt act like an expert on it. Always listen to people from that culture if they say that you have it wrong.
Donāt treat parts of other peopleās cultures as āexoticā or āso mysterious!ā Remember, they are normal to those people. Donāt make them seem like strange beings.
Donāt assume that just because someone is from a culture that you are studying, they want to hear all about how fascinating it is to you. Imagine that someone comes up to you and says, āoh, youāre American! I love hamburgers, too! Have you ever been in a movie?ā Itās really embarrassing and feels weird and insulting, right? You think, āAmerica is more complicated than thatā¦ and, just because Iām American, doesnāt mean I like stereotyped American thingsā, right? People from other cultures feel like that too. Treat them like every other person.
Again: this is the important thing! Remember that cultures are more complicated than you think they are! North American food is not just āhamburgersāā¦ and, food of other cultures is not just āsushiā or ācurryā or āriceā. Try to avoid saying things like āI like Japanese foodā. Do you know how many different things that is? Instead, say the types of food you like, like, āI like onigiri and curry udonā. (So do I ļ¼Ā“ć»Ļć»ļ½ļ¼)
In the end, treat other cultures like you would want people to treat yours. You donāt have to think āI never can do anything involved with this cultureā, but be very careful thinking you know about a culture because you learned a few things. Be respectful and humble, and always willing to learn. Donāt jump in with your ideas, listen more than you speak. Always let the person from that culture speak first.
And if someone says, āthose clothes/that word/that kind of food has an important meaning, you canāt just use it for funāā¦ then, listen and respect that.
This way, you can enjoy learning and moving beyond just the ideas in your own culture, without causing harm! I hope this helps ļ¼Ā“ć»Ļć»ļ½ļ¼
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