Culture, not costume

Culture is what makes a person especially for minorities living in the western world. Exploring the premise and problems of cultural appropriation and its importance for these minority communities.

As a society in the age of mass globalisation, exposure to so many beautiful different cultures and identities is inevitable. However, this calls for comfortability and sometimes overstepping of boundaries. That is when issues like cultural appropriation come to light.

WHAT IS CULTURAL APPROPRIATION?

Cultural Appropriation appears when a person adopts cultural aspects that do not belong to their culture. This could be fashion, trends, speech, iconography, and more. It is especially controversial when the member does not acknowledge the origin of said aspect or if the member is a part of the dominant culture.

For example, braids originating from African culture being renamed “boxer braids” and being used as a new trendy hairstyle.

Now onto the glaring issue... THE PROBLEM? The issue with cultural appropriation? It gives an impression that one’s culture is only acceptable once it has gotten validation from the dominant culture. Ethnic minorities have been oppressed and ridiculed for decades for these features of their culture and suddenly it is the latest trend and everyone wants to be a part of it.

Most of the time, this embrace of culture is not genuine. Using different cultures is often for commercial gain and hinders people of that culture.

A musician might wear stereotypical AfricanAmerican style and speak with drops of AAVE (African-American vernacular English) to tap into the Black Gen-Z audience and put on a character. However, a black person who has the same level of talent may not gain as much as their counterpart, who is putting on this character.

Cultural Appropriation also ties into issues of assimilation and Ethnic-Fishing. So what do the two mean?

WHAT IS ASSIMILATION? Assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture adopt the values, behaviours and styles of society’s majority group or culture. This can either be a full adoption or just parts. Just like blackface, black-fishing is like a costume that you can take off. Benefitting from the appearance of looking racially ambiguous and, as Leslie Bow, PhD, says,“objectifying otherness”.

In simpler terms, it is the need of a group to fit in because they will not be accepted or thrive without fitting in.

Assimilation has been a hinderance for many minority groups for a long while. Black women having to damage their hair because natural styles are not seen as ‘professional’ in the workplace or school setting. East Asians changing their names to something western to avoid ‘confusion’. The so-called ‘civilizing process’ of Native Americans between 1790 to 1920.

WHAT IS ETHNIC-FISHING? Projecting a racial identity that is not the same as your own. The term started off with black-fishing which is characterised by using makeup, Photoshop and sometimes surgical procedures to appear black, mixed race or ethnically ambiguous. However, any ethnic minority group can be exploited in this way.

The term stems from the racist practice of blackface. It involves a white person putting on dark makeup and exaggerated features to mock those of black people in what was meant to be comedy. It is all a calculated way of stripping one of their identity and telling them that their culture is not as good as the majorities.

Taking something that has caused ridicule to said ethnic group and making it the norm without identifying the oppression and hurt behind these cultural features.

Alisha Gaines, PhD, an associate professor of English at Florida State University says “That taps into a long history in this country of people [equating] what is ‘cool’ with ‘Blackness,’ without having to deal with the consequences of being Black, like the racism and state violence,”.

Acknowledging the hurt, oppression and stories behind different cultural aspects is key to avoiding cultural appropriation. Don’t reclaim somebody else’s story as your own and try to rewrite it to fit what you think is acceptable.

Be respectful of other cultures, even if they may differ from yours, and please don’t dress up as a Native American for your summer festivals. Words and design by: Rokeya Rodney