Cultural Appropriation, What It Means, & How To Avoid It

Cultural appropriation exists, you are not borrowing anything.

Imagine being oppressed for following your tradition and culture, but then seeing a privileged
individual take the same tradition you were looked down upon for and make it a trend that the
society openly accepts. That right there is cultural exploitation and appropriation.

To the ones still confused on what the word truly means, the author of Who Owns Culture?
Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law  described it as follows:

“Taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from

someone else's culture without permission. This can include unauthorized use of another culture's
dance, dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc. It's
most likely to be harmful when the source community is a minority group that has been
oppressed or exploited in other ways or when the object of appropriation is particularly sensitive,
e.g. sacred objects.”

Cultural appropriation highlights the imbalance of power between those who are in power and
those who have been marginalized in the past. Dressing up as a minority for Halloween might
seem like a creative idea to some dominant groups, but their ignorance shines through this as
they are mostly unaware of the roots and culture of the “costume” they have put on.

Being Asian myself, I have witnessed many members of the dominant group, especially in the
recent years, take sacred things from my culture and make it the new “trendy, tumblr-fashion.” 

“Some people think it’s a costume,” Omaima Khan—a Pakistani college student, shakes her
head as she swipes through pictures of models from a runway show dressed in traditional clothes
from her culture.

Her face contorts in disappointment at what she sees: Vanessa Hudgens, Iggy Azalea, Gwen
Stefani, and some privileged models with face paint and headdresses that originate from a world
they are so immensely unfamiliar with.

“It’s not a Halloween costume,” Khan almost laughs, “It’s our tradition and our culture…the
ones that wear it who are ethnically allowed, they shouldn’t be made fun of. But the ones that
aren’t, they shouldn’t be praised for it.”

The way Khan as well as some minority groups react to cultural appropriation is justified, for it
is infuriating to see someone else being praised for “glorifying” your culture and traditions when
in reality, they are blissfully oblivious to the origin of it and ignorantly exploiting it as well. 

The problem with cultural appropriation is that art, fashion and music forms that originated from
minority groups come to be associated with the members of the dominant group. Because of this,
the disadvantaged group will continue to face negative stereotypes while the dominant group will
be praised as innovative. 
However, one way cultural appropriation can be turned into appreciation is via research and
knowledge. Before you try to imitate a culture and its traditions, learn about it.

In my years of living as a part of the minority group, I have seen both cultural appropriation and
appreciation, and even had the fulfilling opportunity to educate someone in my personal life.

“So I’m wearing a traditional Indian outfit,” Meghan McPeek smooths her hands over her lap
and points to the green and golden embroidered top when I inquire about her clothes. “The first
time I wore it was for a celebration called Diwali,” she informs me further, “Also known as the
festival of lights.”

McPeek—originally of the Irish/Italian descent, has been dating my older brother for about seven
years. Needless to say, she has become a part of our family like no other. Yet most importantly,
the reason she feels as included is because she has asked all the right questions to learn about our
culture.

“I went to India about four and half years ago with my family and I learned about the culture and
of different customs and it makes me very appreciative and respectful of the culture,” she speaks
while my brother ties a red thread around her wrist.

“What is he tying on you?” I ask, disregarding my knowledge of the answer.

“He is tying on a ‘puja,’ it’s a blessed yarn and it’s similar to what other cultures have…basically
it’s for good luck and prosperity and I wear mine every day.”

And she is not exaggerating for, I have seen her ask my mother to tie on a new one as the old
yarn starts to tear away.

“Even though I didn’t grow up with this culture, I feel immersed in it,” she says showing me her
newly tied puja. “I feel like I am a part of their culture too.”

There is no disadvantage in asking people of the culture the “whys” and “hows” of it. And trust
me, nothing makes us happier than when people actually want to learn about our culture instead
of misinterpreting it. 

“Have good intentions behind it and if you do the research and educate yourself and truly
understand what you’re wearing or what you’re doing,” McPeek says as she shares parting notes
on how to avoid appropriation. “Really understand what your actions are and understand the
meaning without being offensive before truly bringing the ideas of the culture into your life.”

There are a lot of ways to correctly honor, respect, and appreciate other cultures and presenting
yourself as a humble guest is where it begins. If it’s done righteously, it will only lead to a
conscious and accepting society and that is all we can hope for in the future.