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Sample B: Ariel Peete
Student
Cultural Appropriation May 4, 2016
English IV/ 3 Period
Ms. Roland
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation has been a hot topic lately, especially on social media. There has
been a substantial amount of people who have spoken on the topic, including celebrities. Many
debates have occurred on social media because more and more people have drawn attention to
the issues. Cultural appropriation has been around for many centuries now, but it seems as
though people are becoming annoyed by others’ misrepresentations of their culture. Cultural
appropriation of Black, Native, and Hispanic cultures has been taking place a lot in today’s
society therefore, action has to be taken to eliminate cultural appropriation because it is a social
justice issue.
Author Susan Scafidi defines cultural appropriation as “taking intellectual property,
traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else’s culture without
permission” (Nittle). In the United States, the main victims of cultural appropriation are the
minority groups or POC, in which people of a dominant culture “borrow” from the minority
groups. This is a major problem within the communities of POC because whites or people of a
dominant culture usually reap the benefits. Also, when someone “borrows” in this sense it is
typically exploitative towards the POC as the originators do not receive the credit that they
should be getting (Nittle). As a result, the minorities get the negative image of not having the
ability to be innovative or expressive. Meanwhile, the dominant group receives the opportunity
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to capitalize and profit off of the culture that was appropriated without giving credit where it was due.
A lot of black culture has been appropriated for many years now. For example, many
white artists have imitated a black style and copied the musical sound of black artists (Sehgal). Many people have said that white musicians emulate the identities of black to feel “transgressive” (Sehgal). Black culture is very popular and globally influential. Hip Hop is one part of black culture that has become from its “identification with race” (Sehgal). The roots of hip hop have been blurred because people of other ethnicities have copied the sound without really knowing or recognizing its history within black culture. To add on, the styles of blacks, such as cultural hairstyles, clothing, and other features have been copied, renamed, and used to not only colonize off of but to exploit the black community. To illustrate, afros and cornrows have recently been worn on white women because they consider it “edgy”, yet these women get praised for it meanwhile, the originators of these styles are casually oppressed by wearing their own cultural styles.
Another example of cultural appropriation is the use of Native Americans’ clothing and
“creating your own version” to “normalize it”. There are various white designers who take designs from Native clothing and describe it as “tribal” or “modernized” (Johnson). As the dominant culture, people buy into the notion that whites are the originators. As a result, when Natives wear their clothing as it should be worn it is perceived as “uncivilized” (Johnson). This is the deeper issue since their culture is being used in a way to uphold the standards of white people rather than to show appreciation to Native culture.
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Many companies have profited by appropriating Latin American culture. For instance, Urban Outfitters has made their own version of what Colombians call Mochila bags. The well known shoe VANs also appropriated Latin American culture since the shoe idea came from Guatemala, and its original name is Guate Weave Authentic. Let’s not forget about Carolina K. who is making a fortune by selling Cholita skirts (Reichard). All these examples prove that Latino culture has been appropriated seeing that the original designs were taken without consent and without any form of credit or acknowledgment to the Latin American communities. Some kind of action needs to be executed in order to prevent cultural appropriation. Doing research to obtain knowledge about the history, origin, or roots of something is very important. Representation is everything, and no one wants his or her culture to be misrepresented or it will come off as offensive. Simply asking other people to get their opinion can help as well (Blagrove). Do not assume everyone will be okay with something being taken from their culture; the outcome of doing such thing will not be good or effective towards either parties. Being diverse could potentially help avoid cultural appropriation as it shows the recognition of many other ethnic groups who are invested in appreciating and recognizing a specific culture. Focusing on one specific group of people to “represent” another culture can emphasize the idea of one culture or ethnic group being superior to others. Social justice is the equality of justice in conditions of privilege, opportunities, rights, and wealth; therefore, cultural appropriation is a social justice issue because it reveals that the dominant culture or whites have more privileges than the others. A number of people would call this white privilege. Over the years, many white people have appropriated the cultures of oppressed minority groups without stating their influence or acknowledging the original culture.
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In consequence, it provokes further oppression upon the oppressed group. Social media has shined a significant amount of light on the issue of cultural appropriation. There has been a large amount of people who have verbalized their perceptions on this important matter. Action needs to be taken to prevent the appropriation of Black, Native, and Hispanic cultures, which has been seen a lot in society because it is an important social justice concern.
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Works Cited Blagrove, Kadia. “Your Guide to Avoiding Cultural Appropriation.” Huffington Post. Huffington Post, 30 Aug. 2015. Web 18 Apr. 2016. Johnson, Maisha. “7 Ways of ‘Honoring’ Other Cultures That Are Really Just Cultural Appropriation.” Everyday Feminism. Everyday Feminism, Apr. 2016. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. Nittle, Nadra. “What is Cultural Appropriation and Why Is It Wrong.” About News. Race Relations, 22 Jun. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. Reichard, Raquel. “11 Times Companies Have Appropriated Latin American Culture.” Latina. Latina, 24 Jun.2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. Sehgal, Parul. “Is Cultural Appropriation Always Wrong?” New York Times. New York Times, 29 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.