To talk about cultural appropriation, we must first define what culture is, what it means to appropriate, and what it means to culturally appropriate. Now, culture is often defined as being the beliefs, knowledge, and symbolic themes of a group of people through language religion, music, social habits, general customs, etc. It is most often used as a noun, an object, something we have as opposed to something we do. Keeping this in mind, I think an appropriate, succinct definition would be that culture is the collective intellectual property of a group of people.
To appropriate is to take possession of something for your own use, usually without the permission of the owner.
Cultural appropriation is the act of a dominant culture taking aspects
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Culture, on the other hand, is adapting and dynamic. (We can label culture as static if you view it at a specific time period, but it's nature is transient). It changes over time as the environment changes, as one group meets another, and as things challenge the status quo. These changes can be massive or nuanced, can involve entire aspects of a culture being added or disappearing, and, when meeting with a different culture, can possibly be partially or entirely assimilated with each other. (This doesn't lead to an erasure of either culture, but an expansion of …show more content…
The current cultures of today have specific boundaries that separate them from others, and the groups that these cultures have persisted in should have ownership.
My first counter is that human history shows the different groups of people and culture have been interacting with eachother for quite some time. Cultures are influencing eachother, having an active affect on eachother. Do these groups, who have shaped aspects of the original culture, becoming an active participant in the group, be considered as also having collective ownership over it?
Another counter is that these boundaries are arbitrary. For example, How many ways can you split up American culture? How many sub sets can you make, and how many within those, and so? Where do you start with the sets, what line of difference do you choose? Theoretically, you could get to the point where there is the individual, the culture unto themselves, for each individual carries with them their own unique set of symbols and meanings that they apply to the world based on their experiences, which is what culture
Culture is expressed through a variety of different ways, from clothing styles to lifestyles to faithful traditions. It can also have a deep impact on the viewpoints of those around you, whether negatively or positively. No matter how a person goes about their everyday life, they can rise above the expectations of their culture to change the world around them. Culture does not have to be the basis of every thought, word, or deed of a person.
Rogers from defines cultural appropriation “as the use of a culture’s symbols, artifacts, genres, rituals, or technologies by members of another culture” then it divides cultural appropriation into four different categories which is cultural exchange, cultural dominance, cultural exploitation, and cultural transculturation. Then it includes how other people define cultural appropriation. I would like to use this article to help my reader understand not only what cultural appropriation is and how it is bad but other people’s point of views and how they see it.
In the article “What is Cultural Appropriation and Why is it Wrong? By Nadra Kareem Nittle and article “The Difference between Cultural Exchange and Cultural Appropriation” by Jarune Uwujaren. It talks about how cultural appropriation and about people wearing and using other cultural things such as the style of the clothes. It is usually known as borrowing but now it is not just borrowing since people who wear things/ objects with meaning and significance from other cultures do not even know the meaning. However, in cultural exchange it is much different when someone uses or does something that other cultures do for example, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the U.S, but it is the Latinos that live in the U.S who are celebrating and they are proud
One is bound to influence the other. Take New York’s music scene for example, it is a melting pot for all types of cultures and all thrive off of on another. But for one culture to take something from that culture and put it off as their own that is wrong. This is why cultural appropriation is a different problem all within itself. Cultural appropriation has next to nothing to do with someone’s exposure to different cultures. Cultural appropriation has more to do with the fact that someone from a privilege background or lifestyle exploiting someone’s culture from a less than privileged background hence Iggy Azalea, Katy Perry, Elvis Presley, and Miley Cyrus. This is more than often done through ethnic and racial means all while having little to no understanding of the history, experience, or
Culture, what is it exactly? Many people believe that your culture defines who you are as a person, as well as in society. When in retrospect, culture is something that you have no control over. You are brought up in a certain way that your family has been brought up for generations. No amount of schooling or experience, can help shape or control who you really are as a person. Sure, in your lifetime you can see extraordinary things that might change your view or opinion on certain subjects, but overall, your culture is what defines you. For many people, it is strange and weird to see something out of the ordinary when it comes to doing thing different. For example, what some might consider to be an insult, others might see it as common courtesy. What type of foods that might be deemed as foul and disgusting in one culture, might be seen as an everyday source of nutrition for another. Culture is a part of who we are, and what we believe in, even if sometimes it seems a little crazy. I believe that is comes down to two main things when dealing with culture. One is how you were raised in this world. Two, your religious side or background, and three how it all ties you together as the person you are.
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...
“Cultural appropriation refers to picking and choosing elements of a culture by a member of another culture without permission” (O’Reilly). For example, white people steal certain parts of African American culture. They exploit it, misuse it, and whitewash it. “Exploiting a culture deprives the culture of the credit they rightfully
Culture Appropriation is the idea of taking one’s culture and adjusting it to another culture, and has brought about many debates for years. One specific ongoing debate is if writers have the right to write about other cultures without being classified as culturally appropriating their culture. Five articles have argued their standpoint and what they believe is the correct way to interpret culture appropriation: “Who Gets to Write What” by Kaitlyn Greenidge, “Dangerous Ideas” by Kenzie Allen, “Commentary: Cultural Appropriation Is, In Fact, Indefensible” by K. Tempest Bradford, “In Defense of Cultural Appropriation” by Kenan Malik, and “You can’t steal a culture: In defense of Culture Appropriation” by John McWhorter. While all the participants
Culture has been defined numerous ways throughout history. Throughout chapter three of, You May Ask Yourself, by Dalton Conley, the term “culture” is defined and supported numerous times by various groups of people. One may say that culture can be defined as a set of beliefs (excluding instinctual ones), traditions, and practices; however not all groups of people believe culture has the same set of values.
Cultural Appropriation and Its Effects On Other Cultures This past Halloween I dressed up as a China Doll; in my black traditional Asian dress, white painted face, rosy pink cheeks, black eyeliner, and my hair held up in a bun with chopsticks. I originally thought that this costume would be rather attractive and fun. However, I began to question myself after a young lady approached me and asked, "Are you suppose to be an Asian person? " I immediately replied, "No, I am a beautiful China Doll".
Within the United States there is a huge diversity of cultures. Culture is many different things, it is a tradition, it is the values and beliefs passed down from generation to generation, and culture is the identity of any country. Culture helps to identify one cultural group from the other. Although we may live in the same country,city, or state we still differ from one another by the way we dress, our beliefs, language, traditions, music, art, food, religion, and politics.
Cultural appropriation is a sociological concept which views the adoption or of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon. It has a negative connotation because cultural appropriation also refers to a particular power dynamic in which members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group. In Sunita Puri’s article “Cultural Identity vs. Ethnic Fashions”, she divulges in the topic of cultural appropriation, and uses ethnic and pathetic appeals to establish her credibility as an Indian American who can speak on behalf of her people to convince non-Indians to stop using the Bindi as a fashion statement. She brings forth personal experiences and examples from pop-culture and explains why appropriation is offensive.
Cultural Appropriation: “Cultural appropriation is the adoption of elements of one culture by members of a different cultural group, especially if the adoption is of an oppressed people's cultural elements by members of the dominant culture” - Eden Caceda[1]
If the appreciation for different cultures is not done correctly, it can seem to be cultural appropriation. Any piece of a culture can be stolen, mocked, and disrespected, from music, clothing, food, etc. As a society with such a vast amount of cultures, it is important to know the difference between multiculturalism and cultural appropriation. We can unknowingly steal or disrespect another culture all while thinking we are appreciating the culture.
Before I begin this endeavor of exploring various cultures and their diverse components and differences, particularly that which concerns the culture I most indentify with and that which I wish to explore a bit further, I must first define briefly what culture mean. Culture is the set of ideas, behaviors, attitudes, and traditions that exist within large groups of people. These ideas, behaviors, religious beliefs, or the lack thereof, and governing methodology are transferred from generation to generation and are usually resistant to change as time elapse.