What is Cultural Appropriation and Why Is It Problematic?
Cultural appropriation is a controversial and often misunderstood topic that has been the subject of discussion and debate for several years. It refers to the act of taking elements from one culture and using them in another culture without proper understanding, respect, or permission.
On the surface, cultural appropriation seems harmless as it involves borrowing elements of another culture such as clothing, music, and art. However, cultural appropriation can go beyond fashion and aesthetics and take on a more significant meaning when it involves religious or spiritual practices, symbols, and artifacts that hold deep meaning and significance in specific cultures.
Cultural appropriation can be problematic for several reasons. Firstly, it can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and reinforce power imbalances between dominant and marginalized cultures. When people from dominant cultures borrow from marginalized cultures, they often take elements that are taboo or stigmatized in their own culture but then appropriate them without any appreciation, understanding, or respect for their origins and significance in the other culture. This can lead to further marginalization and oppression of already stigmatized groups and result in cultural erasure.
Secondly, the financial exploitation of marginalized cultures is also a significant issue that comes with cultural appropriation. Many designers, musicians, and artists who appropriate elements from other cultures use their creations to make money without giving credit or compensation to the originators of these elements. This is especially problematic for indigenous people, whose cultural artifacts and knowledge have been taken without permission, and often without compensation or recognition.
Thirdly, cultural appropriation can be hurtful to people who belong to the culture being borrowed from. For example, when people wear sacred symbols or artifacts from a culture without any understanding of their significance, it can be offensive to the people who hold those symbols sacred.
In conclusion, cultural appropriation is problematic because it reinforces power imbalances, perpetuates harmful stereotypes, financially exploits marginalized cultures, and can be hurtful to people belonging to the culture being borrowed from. As individuals, it is crucial for us to examine our own actions and understand the impact that cultural appropriation can have on marginalized communities. We need to respect the roots and origins of the cultural elements that we are ‘borrowing’ from, seek permission and understanding from the communities we are learning from and ensure that credit and compensation is given where it is due. We can appreciate, learn, and grow from other cultures without appropriating what is not ours.
