Cultural appropriation systemically incorrect, often hypocritical

Today’s world is rife with cultural appropriation. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, the Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.” As a white person, I know I’m not the most targeted of people to have my culture appropriated. But, this doesn’t keep me from believing, unlike some others, that cultural appropriation is real and can be hurtful. 

White people are the most common race to appropriate culture; one rarely sees a black person wearing an offensive mariachi or Pocahontas costume on Halloween. Because of this, one may be led to think that it is white people who do not believe that cultural appropriation can be hurtful. A survey was conducted to see if this was the truth. People were given scenarios and asked to identify which ones they felt were cultural appropriation: a white person with dreadlocks, a white girl dressed as Moana, Urban Outfitters’ Navajo clothing line, a white person listening to Latin music, a white person with Asian or tribal tattoos and Katy Perry’s “geisha-style” performance. They were also asked to identify their race. 

The results were unexpected.  The scenario most often deemed as cultural appropriation was Katy Perry’s geisha performance, with 26% of people saying it was appropriation, followed by the Navajo clothing line with 25%. A white person listening to Latin music was determined to be the most acceptable with only 6% of votes being against it. It seems that this is where the battle between appropriation and appreciation takes place.  

One might expect different races to jump up at their own defense, but this was not the trend for many. For example, none of the people who identified as Asian in the survey said that a white person getting Asian tattoos or Katy Perry’s geisha performance was cultural appropriation. In fact, over half of the people who identified as Asian claimed that all the scenarios were acceptable. 

It’s clear that cultural appropriation is a problem. The fact that national corporations and personalities, such as Urban Outfitters and Katy Perry, feel it’s okay to use figures from another culture to make a profit is proof of this. And they aren’t the only ones doing it. Pharrell Williams, Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber have taken a beating from people calling their hairstyles and magazine covers cultural appropriation. And they all made money from it one way or another.  

The root of cultural appropriation is the lack of cultural appreciation. No one can wear blackface and say they respect black people. The only way to stop cultural appropriation is by educating people about different cultures in a way that does not make them seem entirely other. Someone might learn about Japan’s culture and what a geisha is, but if they are told that it was all in the past on the other side of the world, they will only see a geisha as a creative costume to show off their newfound Japanese knowledge (if you were wondering, today there are between 2,000 and 1,000 geisha in Japan and it is not uncommon for there to be some in large cities in the US, such as Saeko Ohno who lives and works in New York). So, instead of getting upset when someone appropriates culture, teach them to appreciate it.