Cultural appropriation

1. Match two of the words in the box to the definitions.

appraisal appreciation apprehension appropriation

a) appreciation – understanding and enjoying the fact that something is valuable

b) appropriation – taking something for one’s own use, usually without
permission

2. Read the definition from Wikipedia and think of some examples of cultural
appropriation.
Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an
element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or
identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant
culture appropriate from minority cultures.
[If your students can’t come up with any examples, tell them that they will see
some later in the lesson.]

3. Watch the first part of a video [https://youtu.be/I1JCWc7s6FY] (to 01:24) and

list the examples of cultural appropriation in fashion mentioned.
• Making something a costume which doesn’t come from a genuine place.
[00:20]
• Using something from a different culture in fashion without making a proper
reference. [00:28]
• Celebrities using hairstyles from other traditions to make them seem
respectable or trendy. [00:31]
• Kaffirs (a traditional Palestinian scarf) becoming fashionable. [00:49]
• Using objects from Chinese culture as fashion accessories to make money.
[00:59]

4. Discuss the questions.

• Would you say that the examples from the video are cultural appropriation?
Why/Why not?

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 Cultural appropriation

• Cultural appropriation is often thought of as the opposite of cultural

appreciation. How would you define the difference between the two?
• What could an artist do if their art is inspired by a minority culture and they
want to appreciate it and not appropriate it?

5. Watch the second part of the video (from 01:24) and list the examples of
cultural appreciation in fashion.
• Working with the people from the culture you’re inspired by. [01:28]
• Contributing to the culture. [01:35]
• Working with models from the culture, e.g. when a garment is inspired by
Moroccan culture, North African models should be wearing it; using a
Palestinian to model a costume inspired by Palestinian culture. [01:40]
• Giving people from the culture a voice, hiring them to make garments. [02:33]
• Making sure that everyone knows the story of the design. [02:50]
• Giving credit to the members of the culture. [02:57]

6. Discuss the questions.

• How big a problem do you think cultural appropriation is, both in fashion and
other areas?
• How could artists contribute to the cultures they are inspired by?
• How can you appreciate a culture you are not a part of?

7. Complete the gaps with the correct forms of the words in brackets.
a) Oppression and exploitation of some cultures have been going on for
centuries. (EXPLOIT)
b) Objects of spiritual significance in one culture are not considered as such by
other cultures. (SIGNIFY)
c) Due to ongoing globalization some people consider all cultures their own.
(GO)
d) Members of dominant cultures or identities often show ignorance towards
minority cultures or identities. (IGNORE)

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 Cultural appropriation

e) Each culture creates its own narrative. What is acceptable for some people,
can be inappropriate for others. (NARRATE)
f) Appropriating other people’s work is very common nowadays.
(APPROPRIATE)

8. Look at the list in ex. 7 again and decide which statements best explain the
reasons behind cultural appropriation.

9. Read the scenarios and decide whether they are cultural appropriation. If
they are not, discuss in what way the behaviour is fair or unfair.
• Many people dress up as members of other cultures, e.g. for Halloween.
• In the 19th century, white actors commonly wore blackface to play the roles of
black characters.
• Although yoga is a spiritual practice in India, many people do it to be fit.
• Scarlett Johansson, who is not transgender, was supposed to play the role of
a transgender man.
• Restaurants with ‘authentic’ cuisines use recipes developed by chefs from
other cultures.
• One of the reasons Elvis Presley’s music was so popular with a white
audience (and made him a rich man) was that they had never heard this type
of music before. But Elvis drew inspiration from black music which was not in
the mainstream back then.

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