Someone explain cultural Appropriation to me.

How do you racially/culturally appropriate cartoon characters? What?

 

I personally tend to view Cultural appropriation in direct contrast and conflict with multiculturalism.

The two cannot co-exist because you're essentially advocating for racial segregation of culture when you advocate for cultural appropriation and in a twisted sense of irony you're so anti-racism that you've become a racist.

 

Why does Tumblr attract such extremities?

There's a few ideas and theories, but nothing absolute. Still, it's a fascinating study...

 

I don't understand the concept at all.

So, if I want to go to a native american reserve and learn about their ways and try stuff that they do, I'm racist? If I go to my Spanish friend's house and want to learn how they did their cooking, I'm racist? If I want to wear a Leaderhosen because I think it's a cool looking outfit, I'm racist?

What the hell went wrong with society to think that it's racist to try out other cultures? I'm not saying if you mock them, or something, just trying out some of the clothes they wear or food they cook. I'm with you on this one. Explain to me how this is racist because I might as well be a xenophobic bastard if my curiosity towards other cultures makes me racist.

 

Cultural appropriation is not a good thing. It's not just enjoying each other's cultures, as it's not done on an equal basis.

However, this does not justify any of what happened. In any way. One person does not embody oppression. One person cannot know everything. Putting this much pressure on people to be perfect and "unproblematic" (which no one is) is extremely elitist.

 

Could you explain the difference. Between just enjoying each other culture and culture appropiation. Which are the dos and donts? I would like an example.

 

Contrived bollocks.

 

iirc Cultural appropriation is when someone from one culture takes or imitates something from another culture, but does it incorrectly, so it can seem to be mocking the culture the thing is taken from.

Personally I don't understand finding this weird.

also, iirc, the whole suicide thing relating to Steve Universe was because the fan artist had misrepresented and stereotyped characters (though I don't know how true this is) and the community way way way overreacted.

 

Oh well , i understand the mockery part, in other words is not what you wear but how you wear it... I think racist people dont deserve to wear stuff from races they hate.

 

An example that someone used to explain it to me was comparing Anglo-American people wearing Native American headdresses as a fashion accessory, to a Native American person wearing an American medal of honour as a fashion accessory.

Personally I couldn't give a shit about people wearing medals of honour as fashion accessories, because I find the idea of making certain items of clothing restricted and nigh on holy to be stupid, thus I find cultural appropriation to be a load of bollocks.

 

I believe the act of accepting two contradicting ideas is called 'doublethink'. The phrase was coined by George Orwell the man who wrote the novel 1984, for anyone who wasn't aware.

Like you Simple Thoughts, I find it absurd that those people who believe cultural appropriation is a thing are the same ones who claim multiculturalism is great. The two ideas don't mix, that is unless what you want is segregation which would theoretically be the result of mixing the two. Segregation which ironically is also something that the same SJW's are combatting. :eusa_doh:

A thought I had which I find curious is. If you apply the same logic to genders, then wouldn't drag queens be considered misogynistic? Because aren't they appropriating women?

I's basically just a case of radical cultural marxists keyboardwarriors trying to find a way to be offended. Honestly why can't people just take things with a grain of salt, it's not like anyone is gonna die because their culture is appropriated. The whole things is just ludicrous.

 

I had to Google Zamii and her artwork. I didn't think the art was bad at all. I think what she did was more about paying attention to cultural differences as opposed to "appropriate it" or whatever the hell that even means. Tumblr is a community I really want nothing to do with. I really want to hear the opinions of people actually offended by that art and hear for myself just what is so bad about it. Something like this just affirms my opinion that Tumblr is way too PC for me.

 

I don't think you guys understand what you're talking about. Cultural appropriation is a term used to describe the concept that dominant members in a society are able to take and appropriate things that they like from subordinate groups in society without the negative aspects associated with a subordinate group using/doing that thing. So for example, a white person wearing a native american ceremonial headdress might be seen as chic, whereas a native american person wearing it would usually be shamed or seen as primitive for wearing it. Obviously this is a nuanced problem.

In general, it's just good to be aware of the meanings of certain things and of how one has privilege inherent to one's own circumstances from the very nature of their birth. A cisgendered man might never understand what it's like to not have to worry about harassment to the same degree that a woman might, but he can be cognizant of this fact and not to harass women. That's not to say that all men have things better than all women, because there are individual differences that can account for differential treatment, like men of colour vs white women, or class differences and disability, and so many other factors.

Multiculturalism and cultural appropriation can definitely coexist, just as how homophobia and acceptance can exist simultaneously, or how inclusion and exclusion can exist. Here are examples of the latter two:

1." I accept that you're gay, as long as you don't make any moves on me."
2. Historically, chinese women immigrants to Canada were limited in an attempt to restrict the settling ability of male chinese workers because it was thought that chinese men couldn't possibly marry native or white women. Chinese women were seen as immoral prostitutes who shouldn't desiccate the good nature of white settler Canada. However, low wages and miscegenation, if we want to use that kind of language, occurred and so chinese men settled anyways. Policies changed and chinese women were then able to immigrate to Canada but only because it was thought that they would be able to limit the couplings of white women and chinese men. In that light, you can see how processes of inclusion can still speak to exclusive attitudes. Obviously this isn't said without academic backing and appropriate research.

Tumblr is notorious for basically being a place where people take things to extremes and most only half-understand what they're talking about but believe they fully understand it and don't make an attempt to question their own actions or further their own learning or understanding of things, so it's really unrelated to the concept of cultural appropriation in a macro sense.

 

Cultural appropriation is one of those made up things popularized by a society that loves to get offended about everything.

 

Apart from things like American companies trying to copyright yoga rituals (literally taking as property and denying access to an ancient tradition), I usually find claims of cultural appropriation quite tenuous.

I also think it's an off-putting buzzword. Wearing native American headdress without respecting the relevant cultural attachments is seriously offensive because of the importance that headdress has to a people as a traditional symbol of status and pride. Misappropriating culturally significant items or customs is certainly a problem because of the disrespect it implies, but I think the vagueness of the term "cultural appropriation" risks leading to a lot of political correctness for its own sake; using elements of another culture is not problematic by virtue of those elements being used by a different culture. It poses a problem when the people of the culture that created those items or customs feel justifiably offended by their misuse. Imitating a Japanese tea ceremony is in no way disrespectful if it's not a mockery. I don't think designating cultural appropriate an invariably evil thing when customs are adopted by other culture is reasonable at all. A civil dialogue to encourage respectful cultural exchange and to clarify which things are off the table or not (like native American headdress) is definitely more desirable.

And regarding the use of the word appropriation, I think it's an odd word to use. Culture is not a finite resource. It can't be appropriated, that is, stolen, in the same way land or specific items can be.

 

It's a load of bullshit used to make our world even shittier. Culture appropriation is essentially a way of segregating people after we have fought for so fucking long to abolish segregation. It just makes me feel sick in all honesty.

 

You're gonna have to repeat example 2 back to me.

Also when you talk about the native american headdress ( since this is the second time it was brought up ) If I saw anyone native or otherwise wandering around with that thing on their head I'd personally think they were stupid because it looks ridiculous. That being said, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it one way or another. ( Edit: I neglected to bring up the fact that I'm not saying I'd think less of someone for wearing one especially given that it does have a significance to native american people, but rather that I don't like the look of it on an individual level and so I'd keep my trap shut and just let people do their thing. )

All of these ideas like Cultural Appropriate and Microagressions are hinged upon an assumption of intention.

You have to make assumptions about what a person intended with their words or outfit. This I find to be stupid because it leads to the issue of you seeing a white person wearing a native headdress and you Assume they must be doing it to insult people, or if a white person says "Where are you from?" to someone of a minority group and you get offended by that 'microagression' you are only getting offended because you've assumed that they've assumed the person is foreign and different when in reality the question could just as easily just be an attempt at small talk. It's a pretty common question to ask someone you've just met.

 

I think it's a load of rubbish. Although it does make me wonder, could I wear a kilt despite having no connection to Scotland, or would that be offensive?