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Debate on cultural appropriation
The effects of cultural appropriation
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Recommended: Debate on cultural appropriation
Do you like halloween? Do you wish it happens more than once a year? Well, fear not my friend, that’s why costume parties exist! So go ahead and dress up like a robot, alien or even better, a black person… Oh, what’s that? You got beaten up because black people can’t take a joke? You dressed like a robot with no robots batting an eye, so why can’t they be good sports like them? I think you need to know about two things: Microwaves aren’t humans, and cultural appropriation. We’ll focus on the latter for now. Cultural appropriation (usually) happens when members of a dominant culture adopt some cultural elements of an oppressed culture. To put it simply: it’s the act of embodying a cultural stereotype while not belonging to that certain culture. …show more content…
More often than not when partaking a cultural style you represent an exaggerated or a negative version of a certain stereotype. Historically, stereotypes have been used to justify racism and discrimination against subordinated groups. For example, a couple hundred years ago black men and black women were considered dumb, subservient, brutal, and likened to children needing guidance in order to justify slavery. By dehumanizing them, people were able to justify oppressing them. Hair has always been an essential component in black culture, black hair requires upkeep in order for it to grow and remain healthy, so black women has always done their hair, it’s just a part of their identity, braids, locks, twists, cornrows and so on. Corn rows are a very functional way of keeping black textured hair unknotted and neat, while still having style. So you can see why hair is such a big part of hip-hop and rap culture, two styles of music which african-american communities created in order to affirm their identity and their voices. In the early 2000’s we saw many R&B stars wearing cornrows, like Alicia Keys, Beyonce, R Kelly & many more. As hip-hop became more and more popular and integrated into pop culture, black culture did as
The black culture is the minority culture in this instance and in most cases, it is dominated by the white culture which has imposed its ideas on them (Stuckey, 2013). When two different cultures come together, different types of cultural appropriations occur. These include transculturation, cultural dominance, and cultural exploitation. The appropriation between the white and black cultures, resulting in the African American culture, is defined by cultural dominance and exploitation.
Black women have been the essence of style, originality all while receiving nothing but bad response from critics who secretly envy them. Natural hair tends to be another widespread trend. I think that some do the natural so they can connect with their African roots while I think others just like the look, or maybe it’s easier. No matter what grade of hair society has one marked term for black hair which is “nappy”. Besides pertaining to actions, the word ghetto is used to describe just about every aspect of a black girl's life. "Girl your hair look ghetto" and "You talk/sound ghetto" are two common phrases used around school. Colored hair, weaves, extensions, dyes and relaxers/perms are all things black girls have encountered. If your hair looks "too" nice, it's assumed that you're wearing weave or that you've gotten a fresh
Wood (2017) stated cultural appropriation as a term that refers to elements used by specific social group or culture, but the elements don't belong to their social or cultural setup. The adoption of the components is often unavoidable when different cultures stay or come together. These culture appropriations may include language, fashion, food, symbols, tradition, symbols and cultural songs. These elements when passed to another cultural context, the meaning may be reduced or completely assume a different purpose. The concept can have a negative implication or political reflection where the dominant group uses it privileges to normalize the oppressed cultural elements at the end the oppressed group is historically excluded.
“The hairstyle was worn by warriors in Kenya, and a hairstyle of ancient Kemet and Nubia. However, in Jamaica, in post slavery and Eurocentric culture, the Hairstyle was deemed in the early years as “Dreadful”- ergo the term dreadlocks. The hairstyle went from what was adorned by the higher-status to criminals and slaves. This is mostly caused by the oppression and ignorance of people that don’t have the knowledge of the Rastas. The Bible states that people are not supposed to put sharp objects on their heads, so razors, scissors and the like were not acceptable by their interpretation of said book. The last, and main reason is just that: the mane- of a lion. The dread-wearers wanted to mirror the traits of a lion, so they use the dreads as their “mane” (Grant,
Cultural appropriation is a group taking something from another culture in order to adopt it as their own. Cultural appropriation has roots in colonials, racism and the dehumanization of people around the round. These acts are not necessarily violent, but manage to manifest tis ways into mod...
Have you ever taken offense when you saw someone dressed in traditional garments from your culture? In America, this happens quite often. Some people may not recognize it and some refuse to acknowledge that it even exists. Cultural appropriation is a situation in which a dominant culture steals aspects of a minority culture’s, such as hair, clothing styles, and music.
Fordham University Law Professor Susan Scafidi defines cultural appropriation as “Taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else’s culture without permission. This can include unauthorized use of another culture’s dance, dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious
With a new wave of music, art, and design redefining the melting pot of diversity in America, contemporary cultural appropriation is taking the national limelight in the generation of millennials. Cultural appropriation originated from a scholarly exposition on colonialism in the 1970s-1980s, yet the term is still being widely used by the culture cops of today. So what is cultural appropriation? Culture is the customs, arts, and achievements of a nation, race, or ethnicity whereas appropriation is the action of acquiring something for one’s own use without the owner’s consent. Because of America’s increasingly globalized nature, it strengthened cultural singularity resulting in cultural appropriation as the everyday norm.
Cultural appropriation often times can be described 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. Many times, certain situations like painting your child’s face black for halloween is not appropriating but, it is. Now why exactly does cultural appropriation happen? One of the leading causes for cultural appropriation is how profitable it is. Objects and traditions of the “other” cultures are seen by dominant culture as the “exotic other.”
Almost 250 years of slavery and anti-blackness within the United States has created a divide in what type of hair is acceptable. According to Cynthia L. Robinson, “Black hair texture is graded” (Robinson 2011). Precisely, this means that a Black woman has either good hair or bad hair. Good hair has a resemblance of European hair texture, meaning straight and wavy curls. Good hair also diminishes the look of African ancestry. Bad is the complete opposite. The texture is kinky, coiled, and thick, giving the appearance of short hair (Robinson 2011). Hair that bears a resemblance to Eurocentric beauty standards is more beautiful and makes the individual with that hair type more beautiful as well (Robinson
Imagine having the flexibility of wearing your hair loose and flowing. . .maybe pulled back in a simple rubber band, or allowing your long locks to swing expressively in front of your face. It's a natural feeling and style, that epitomizes your love for individualism, they are your Dreadlocks. The art of dreadlocks can be traced back to the Ancient Caribbean islands such as Jamaica where they were fine tuned to perfection by Rastafarians. Here at Syracuse University, students give a new meaning to what it is like to be a part of the dreadlock society without having to be a Rastafarian, a black radicalist, or politically correct. In fact, being able to be different and sculpt the hair away from the average trends on campus creates this off beat group--The Dreadlocks Society.
Katy Perry dons them in her music video for “This Is How We Do” and the Kardashians popularized the new style of “boxer braids” which are, in reality, cornrows that date back to ancient Africa. Braiding one’s hair into cornrows is, in itself, not technically cultural appropriation, but when these celebrities make money off of the style or rebrand the style and claim it as their own, that is appropriation, especially when cornrows and other black hairstyles are seen as unprofessional in when black people wear them, but high fashion when white celebrities do the same
Cultural appropriation is a term vaguely known, in a society it’s so commonly done. It devalues the significance of a cultural aspect for the purpose of aesthetics. Many cultures are willing to globally share some of their components, but it must be known that not all of them will. These decisions must be respected by the people of other cultures, so everyone feels equal. Cultural appropriation is a real concept, and must be understood, acknowledge, and taught to those who don’t know this, so everyone in every culture feels valued.
For example Kylie Jenner has posted an image of herself with cornrows. Using black hairstyles, like braids and cornrows is a huge no to other cultures for the reason of “...getting your hair done in cornrows or an afro is disrespectful to black women who have been discriminated against for years (even fired from their jobs!) for wearing their hair in these ways. Black men and women originally invented these styles because it was the best way to take care of their hair…” (hellogiggles.com).
Cultural appropriation is the act of a dominant culture taking aspects