Cultural appropriation - is it ethically wrong?

[Second Summer]

"Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of another culture.[1] Cultural appropriation is seen by some[2] as controversial, notably when elements of a minority culture are used by members of the cultural majority; this is seen as wrongfully oppressing the minority culture or stripping it of its group identity and intellectual property rights.[3][4][5][6] This view of cultural appropriation is sometimes termed "cultural misappropriation".[3][6]" (Wikipedia article)

If CA is wrong, then it would seem that:

• the British fondness for tee is wrong
• non-black people shouldn't wear dreadlocks
• I shouldn't eat foods from minority cultures ("ethnic foods")
  
• I shouldn't listen to minority culture music, or play their instruments ("ethnic music")

And so on.

It would seem the result of a general acceptance of the idea that CA is wrong would be more static majority cultures, and that cultural elements could only travel from majority cultures to the minority cultures. Am I right?

 

[AeryFairy]

It's a bit more complex than that.

For example, eating foods from other cultures is fine. It becomes an issue when there's an overall societal trend of people not from that culture taking that style of food and selling it as their own (at much higher prices usually), calling themselves an expert in it, and generally getting all kinds of recognition for their 'inspired take' on something which they took from another culture in the first place.

People without afro-textured hair wearing dreadlocks may seem like a trivial thing to care about. But again, it's about the overall trend - black people wear dreadlocks, and they are asked if their hair is dirty, told that they look unprofessional (the hairstyle is banned in a lot of workplaces), and so on. White people do it, and they are praised for bold fashion choices - and white hair does not even naturally loc up like afro-textured hair does.

I think the best way I've seen it put is this:

You have a test at school. You work really hard, spend all your time studying, and go to sit the exam. The person behind you, who didn't study at all, copies your exam word for word. You get an F, they get an A. You complain, you get told you are being overdramatic and what happened is totally fine.

 

[beancounter]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with adoption of other cultures unless real harm can be shown to have occurred by the adoption.

Unless there is a copywrite or some other form of legal protection, harm can be hard to prove.

 

[Mischief]

Drinking tea, eating ethnic foods, listening to ethnic music - none of that is cultural appropriation.

Taking over ethnic music, food, etc. and selling it and profiting from it is a different matter.

The former is appreciation; the latter is appropriation.

It's the difference between traveling to a foreign land and sampling the food and culture, and invading that land, seizing their stuff, and selling it.

 

[KLS52]

So does that mean that restaurants that specialize in ethnic food should only be owned and operated by someone of the same ethnicity/culture?

 

[beancounter]

So does that mean that restaurants that specialize in ethnic food should only be owned and operated by someone of the same ethnicity/culture?

This is interesting for me because my mother's friend ran a shop that sold African art and crafts. She is white, and there were a lot of complaints about a white person profiting from black art. (Her husband is black). The uproar became so bad that she decided to close down.

 

[KLS52]

It kind of sounds like that is what this thread is saying and I am genuinely curious. I kind of get it...I just never thought of it in this way.

 

[Mischief]

So does that mean that restaurants that specialize in ethnic food should only be owned and operated by someone of the same ethnicity/culture?

I don't know that "should" comes into it. I think that, at best, you probably need to recognize that what you're going to get is a watered-down, non-authentic experience. Of course, many people prefer that. I know that when I go to a restaurant in the local "Chinatown", the food that the Chinese customers are ordering and eating isn't what's on the English language menu.

As someone who grew up on real German food at home, it's been decades since I even ventured into a "German" restaurant in the States, since all my food experiences at "German" restaurants were even less than mediocre.

IMO, white rappers are ridiculous, and white guys trying to talk "ghetto" are pathetic.

Have you ever heard a white person or group able to sing a slave spiritual in a way as to send shivers up and down your spine? I haven't, but I do get goosebumps when the choir of an African American congregation does it.

And yes, I totally understand black musicians being upset when, after decades and decades of marginalization, someone like Elvis comes along and appropriates and whitewashes aspects of music grown and nurtured by the African American community and ignored/despised by whites until a white performer adopts and adapts them.

 

[Spang]

If CA is wrong, then it would seem that:

• the British fondness for tee is wrong
• non-black people shouldn't wear dreadlocks
• I shouldn't eat foods from minority cultures ("ethnic foods")
  
• I shouldn't listen to minority culture music, or play their instruments ("ethnic music")

Enjoying ethnic food or ethnic music is not cultural appropriation, however it is problematic to enjoy, say, Mexican food whilst considering Mexicans, and Latinos in general, to be sub-human, or enjoying hip-hop music whilst remaining silent when the state murders unarmed Black people.

 

[Poppy]

I think of cultural appropriation as using religious or sacred symbols, dress or artifacts in a completely irreverent/money-making way - like a designer making mini skirts out of Tibetan monk robes or smashing handmade pottery to make pieces for fashion jewelry. And while I'm not sure that CA is always unethical, I think it's a shame when we devalue things that are meaningful, especially in this throw-away society where so little seems important. I practice Zen meditation. I can't tell you how often I roll my eyes when I hear things such as "relax, get your Zen on" or "Karma's a *****" as people have no idea what the words mean outside of their pop culture definition.

Fortunately for me, most cultures seem to like to share their cuisine.

 

[beancounter]

It would seem that dreadlocks did not originate with African Americans or their ancestors...

Dreadlocks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

'Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 3600 years to the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe's earliest civilizations centred in Crete (modern Greece).[4] Frescoes discovered on the Aegean island of Thera(modern Santorini, Greece), depict individuals with braided hair styled in long dreadlocks.[3][4]

In ancient Egypt examples of Egyptians wearing locked hairstyles and wigs have appeared on bas-reliefs, statuary and other artifacts.[6] Mummified remains of ancient Egyptians with locked wigs, have also been recovered from archaeological sites.[7]"

Also one persons opinion from a blog.
The hair-raising truth? Dreadlocks don't belong to one 'culture' | Coffee House

 

[AeryFairy]

It would seem that dreadlocks did not originate with African Americans or their ancestors...

[...]

In ancient Egypt examples of Egyptians wearing locked hairstyles and wigs have appeared on bas-reliefs, statuary and other artifacts.[6] Mummified remains of ancient Egyptians with locked wigs, have also been recovered from archaeological sites.[7]"

Egypt's in Africa.

 

[Second Summer]

Egypt's in Africa.

Yes, but ancient Egyptians probably didn't feature extensively among the ancestors of African Americans. It's a thorny subject, I know ...

 

[beancounter]

Egypt's in Africa.

The topic is cultural appropriation, not geographical appropriation.

I think it would be a hard sell to say that Egyptians are part of black culture.

 

[AeryFairy]

The topic is cultural appropriation, not geographical appropriation.

I think it would be a hard sell to say that Egyptians are part of black culture.

The racial alignment of ancient Egyptians is, academically, a widely debated subject, but it's not exactly a 'hard sell' to say that they were a black society - there's a whole widely researched hypothesis around it (Black Egyptian hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

 

[Val]

Honestly, i've taken so much from Haiotz people (Armenian), that some things in my character are already armenian. I've been aquainted with their culture (especially food and music) since my childhood. And i see nothing wrong in even copying their style, because it is good for me and my health. Not nesessary to say that my dishes are often a haiotz-style. They are real experts in spices!

 

[Freesia]

It is not considered cultural appropriation to listen to other ethnic groups music or eat other ethnic group's foods.. it is more to do with dress... traditional dress is actually an important thing which people outside a culture cannot understand the significance of... so that is a good reason to steer clear of it.

 

[Freesia]

Like we have Maori people here, not once have i considered getting a Maori tattoo, even though I am NZ born.. though I will participate in Maori dance if invited I would not wear a flax skirt without being invited to do so, because it is not "my" skirt and not my culture.. I would have thought that would be a simple enough idea.

 

[Freesia]

Also it is often the way it is done. I often see pop stars who are not of my culture, wearing my traditional costume and dancing in "sexy" ways, gyrating their hips etc, and doing suggestive movements, sexualising my traditional dress for their sleazy capitalist pop marketing and i do not like it... very disappointing when I see it.

i feel annoyed enough at them wearing it as it is but with such disrespect it makes it even worse.

 

[Freesia]

As for dreadlocks and braids, a lot of it is to do with the fact that white people are more likely to "get away with" having dreadlocks,

but African American people can get not hired, or fired from their job, sent home from school etc..

There is even a recent event of a white celebrity mocking an African American actresss's dreads when she went to an awards ceremony with them.. so it is a widespread thing.

even though they have a hair type that needs a lot of care, and dreadlocking is one method of keeping African hair, braiding is another.. natural hair can receive harassment from both inside African American culture and also outside too....

not the same for white people who are just looking for a nice hairstyle that makes them happy... it is a whole different ball park.