We’re Not Asking You To Give Up Yoga Pants: Identifying Religious Symbolism in Daily Life

Before answering this question, I believe it essential to establish what cultural appropriation means. Cultural Appropriation as Susan Scafidi defines it is the “taking— from a culture that is not one’s own—of intellectual property, cultural expressions or artifacts, history, and ways of knowledge.” Cultural appropriation involves the taking by a majority group from minority groups, the treasured aspects of their heritage for their own consumer fulfillment, while simultaneously silencing these individuals within the respective societies. While this definition might seem simple, the reality is, “culture” is difficult to define. Especially, in the modern world, where the commodification of culture is a common occurrence, it is hard to see when cultural appropriation is occurring. The challenge partly emerges because, proving authorship and authenticity of cultural products is difficult due to the hybridization and the constant borrowing and sharing that occurs between cultures. So it is difficult to draw the line between cultural appreciation, cultural exchange, and cultural appropriation. Before claiming something is culturally inappropriate, one has to belong to a cultural group and determine what is appropriate and inappropriate. Since even defining, what a cultural group is difficult, as cultures often inter-lap and cultural practices “develop from an amalgam of influences, it becomes difficult to assign these to one group over another.” What is problematic with trying to show appropriation with products and goods is the fact that in most cases the “authorship can not be traced.” Almost any thing can fall under the array of appropriation, since everyone blends, merges, and synthesis aspects of different cultures. Hence making...

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...Hitler appropriated by turning it into a symbol of the Nazi Party. Ancient origins of the symbol thus are no longer acknowledged or appreciated, as it is now associated with the holocaust, despite its existence in many indigenous cultures around the world prior. For instance, “in china it has been found on statues of Buddha; it was central to religious beliefs of the Jains.” Therefore, the preservation of cultural is important especially when that said culture is at a risk of being diminished because of borrowing for simple sake of consumption, or to follow a fad.

Bibliography:

Scafidi, Susan. Who Owns Culture? : Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2005.

Ziff, Bruce H., and Pratima V. Rao. Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1997.