Cultural Appropriation: Not A Myth, By James O. Young

1158 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cultural appropriation effects on individuals

Cultural Appropriation: Not a Myth
Cultural appropriation is one of the most controversial and talked about issues in current social conversation. Almost everyone seems to have thoughts on it, but many find it difficult to give concise arguments about what specific acts constitute appropriation, and which ones do not. Partly, this is because many people who have a voice in determining what is generally considered cultural appropriation are not the ones being appropriated. This is also why there is a social argument about whether cultural appropriation is real or even problematic. It is impossible to truly grasp the seriousness and expansiveness of cultural appropriation when your culture is not getting appropriated. However, when one takes …show more content…

James O. Young published a piece in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism entitled “Profound Offense and Cultural Appropriation” in which he breaks cultural appropriation into three categories: subject appropriation, object appropriation, and content appropriation. Understanding these three categories can break down the different types of appropriation as well as help people learn what is and is not appropriation. Subject appropriation refers to when an outsider to the appropriated culture represents members or forms of that culture. An example of this kind of appropriation could be an upper-class white author writing a novel about the hardships of growing up in a poor, black neighborhood. Because the author does not have a background in this culture, they are appropriating it by making it the subject of money …show more content…

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

Show More
Related

  • Instant Karma The Commercialization Of Asian Indian Culture Summary

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cultural appropriation, as described in Sabeen Sandhu’s article “Instant Karma: The Commercialization of Asian Indian Culture,” is not new. Rather, it is the latest iteration in a long history of Western imperialism and exploitation of other cultures and societies. Using a primarily a symbolic interactionist lens, in her article Sandhu highlights two fundamental aspects of appropriation that differentiate the phenomenon from appreciation: the focus solely on one facet of a symbol and commercialization.

    Read More

  • Article Analysis: How The World Loved The Swastika

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation: Problematic Halloween Costumes

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cultural appropriation has been a controversial subject of debate for decades; hence it is not something “new” as society likes to think. The issue of cultural appropriation seems to have recently emerged in the 21st century because technology has allowed information to be more widespread and easily accessed. The borrowing of cultural elements of minority cultures, particularly black culture and indigenous culture, (hairstyles, music, fashion, art, etc.) by fashion labels and designers, celebrities, and the dominant culture often elicits unforgiving backlash from liberals. For example, Kylie Jenner has frequently been called out by the black community for continuously

    Read More

  • Native American Ethos Pathos Logos

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    As people, like myself, who aren’t oppressed for their skin color, culture, or religion, it’s hard to sometimes understand what it feels like to have someone appropriate their livelihood, more specifically, someone who is appropriating someone else’s culture. I imagine it, on a much smaller scale, to be like doing a group project, but one is doing all the work and the others take all the credit. The result would be one not receiving any of the rewards. People would call them “creative” and “hard-working”, when in reality, they just showed up and didn’t contribute anything at all. Amy Stretten’s “Appropriating Native American Imagery Honors No One” provides a multitude of resources that go along with her main point of why appropriating the Native

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation Essay

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation: Oppression or Appreciation?

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this paper I’m going to show how African Americans have used hip hop and black hair are two ways in which African Americans embrace their culture and fight oppression. However, as we have reviewed in many classes, oppression is not easily escaped. So in this paper, I’m going to show how cultural appropriation is used as a way of oppressing black culture. So this paper is an expansion of what we have learned in the class.

    Read More

  • The Black Hair Movement

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    The natural hair movement has provided a shift in history for black women to free themselves from the oppression of the dominant white society and increase their self-acceptance. This shift in the perception of black hair has allowed black women to appreciate the complexities of their identities, and their pride in being black. Although black women are often ridiculed for their puffs and locs, many women seem to be invincible to society’s negative connotation to the natural woman’s hair. With this negative perception comes the concept of cultural appropriation because non-black individuals have begun to appropriate themselves with black culture through tanning methods to achieve darker skin and obtaining natural hairstyles such as bantu knots, afros, cornrows, baby hair, and more because society views it as “high fashion.” Hairstyles that have been deeply rooted within African culture are now being deemed as highly attractive because of the white skin color of those who wear them and attempt to mimic these hairstyles as if they are the original creators.

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation Of African American Culture

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Percival Everett's The Appropriation Of Cultures

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    Percival Everett’s “The Appropriation of Cultures” (2004), demonstrates the power of a symbol and the meanings that it can carry. In the story, Daniel Barkley is a highly accomplished African American man who graduated from Brown and frequently plays guitar near the campus of The University of South Carolina. From the beginning of the story, Barkley exposes a distinct independent personality that isn’t afraid to break stereotypes or labels. The first scene describes an instance in a bar where white fraternity boys were challenging Barkley to play ‘Dixie’ for them. Instead of refusing, like most would have done, he instead begins to play and take ownership of the song. Later in the story, Barkley decides to purchase a truck with a giant confederate flag decal in the back. Despite the strange stares and confusion

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation and Its Effects On Other Cultures

    3733 Words  | 8 Pages

    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".

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation By Lionel Shriver

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    Novelist, Lionel Shriver, in her speech “I hope the concept of cultural appropriation is a passing fad”, examines the relationship between fiction and cultural appropriation. Shriver’s purpose is both to urge fiction writers to employ different perspectives in order to create compelling writing and criticize those who lambast writers on the grounds of cultural appropriation. Shriver does this using a forthright tone with her audience of writers and employs a satiric tone when addressing her naysayers. Shriver begins by comparing herself as “a renowned iconoclast” to a great white shark (1). This comparison vilifies Shriver.

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation A Child's Face Black For Halloween

    1253 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.”

    Read More

  • Appropriation of Images in Art

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Today, appropriation is a necessary part of artmaking in our high-speed visual and information-based society. Some people feel that appropriation is not necessary in art. I feel that this idea is ridiculous.

    Read More

  • Essay On Cultural Imperialism

    1756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Western countries have been suspected of using their position and power to cultivate cultures around the world through the use of media. These cultures are inspired by western cultures and are a powerful way to gain and maintain dominance especially in third world countries. This essay is aimed at arguing a case against global cultural imperialism. Key areas taken into cognizance in this work are, firstly the definition of key terms used in this essay. Secondly, this essay focusses on the demerits of global cultural imperialism though media use namely, erosion of the youth’s indigenous cultures, the use of media to portray western cultures as superior relative to other cultures, contamination of indigenous cultures through the unruly content found in western media productions, western cultures and living standards as shown though the media promotes brain drain in less developed countries, western produced products promoted on global media present unfair competition to local products and how global cultural imperialism is being used to spread western propaganda hence misleading the youth. Lastly this essay concludes with a conclusion.

    Read More

  • Multicultural Culture Essay

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    In todays society there are many different cultures that individuals identify with. Culture is very important to many people and is something that helps define who we are. When different cultures are respected and appreciated it is a beautiful thing, it can bring individuals in society closer to one another. Ideally this understanding of one another’s cultures can lead to multiculturalism. 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

    Read More

More about Cultural Appropriation: Not A Myth, By James O. Young

Open Document