Cultural appropriation
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2008-07-11T23:02:13Z
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{{Expert-subject|sociology}}
'''Cultural appropriation''' is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It denotes [[acculturation]] or [[Cultural assimilation|assimilation]], but often connotes a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture.[http://www.nysun.com/article/25979][http://www.msu.edu/~hypatia/White_People.htm] It can include the introduction of forms of dress or personal adornment, [[music]] and [[art]], [[religion]], [[language]], or social behavior. These elements, once removed from their [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] cultural contexts, may take on meanings that are significantly divergent from, or merely less nuanced than, those they originally held. Or, they may be stripped of meaning altogether.
==Overview==
The term ''[[Cultural Appropriation]]'' can have a negative connotation. It generally is applied when the subject culture is a minority culture or somehow subordinate in social, political, economic, or military status to the appropriating culture; or, when there are other issues involved, such as a history of [[ethnic]] or [[Race (classification of human beings)|racial]] conflict between the two groups.
To many, the term implies that culture can actually be "stolen" through cultural diffusion.
Cultural and racial theorist, [[George Lipsitz]], outlined this concept of cultural appropriation in his seminal term "strategic anti-essentialism". Strategic anti-essentialism is defined as the calculated use of a cultural form, outside of your own, to define yourself or your group. Strategic anti-essentialism can be seen both in minority cultures and majority cultures, and are not confined to only the appropriation of the other. For example, the American band [[Redbone]], comprised of founding members of Mexican heritage, essentialized their group as belonging to the Native American tradition, and are known for their famous songs in support of the American Indian Movement "We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee" and "Custer Had It Coming". However, as Lipsitz argues, when the majority culture attempts to strategically anti-essentialize themselves by appropriating a minority culture, they must take great care to recognize the specific socio-historical circumstances and significance of these cultural forms so as not the perpetuate the already existing, majority vs. minority, unequal power relations.
Cultural appropriation may be defined differently in different cultures. While academics in a country such as the [[United States]], where racial dynamics had been a cause of cultural segmentation, may see many instances of intercultural communication as cultural appropriation, other countries may identify such communication as a [[melting pot]] effect.
Cultural appropriation has also been seen as a site of resistance to dominant society when members of a marginalized group take and alter aspects of dominant culture to assert their agency and resistance. This is exemplified in the novel ''[[Crick Crack, Monkey]]'' by [[Merle Hodge]] when those who are colonized appropriate the culture of the colonizers. Another historical example were the [[Mod (lifestyle)|Mods]] in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] in the 1960s, working class youth who appropriated and exaggerated the highly tailored clothing of the upper middle class. Objections have been raised to such political cultural appropriation, citing [[class warfare]] and [[identity politics]].
==History==
The history of almost every society that comes into contact with other societies is filled with examples of what may be described as "cultural appropriation", often learning from other cultures, taking parts that are useful, aesthetic, or agreeable, and incorporating them into their own. For instance, it is arguable that the [[Islam]]ic civilization "appropriated" the cultural and intellectual heritage of the Greco-Roman civilization during the [[Islamic Golden Age]]. They then used this knowledge, combined with their own talents, to become the unquestionable world leaders in the [[natural sciences]], [[mathematics]], [[social sciences]], [[engineering]], [[arts]], and [[philosophy]] from the time of the [[Hegira]] in ~622 CE, at least until the [[Fall of Baghdad]] to the [[Mongols]] in approximately ~1280 CE{{Fact|date=May 2008}} and were arguably more powerful than [[the West]] until perhaps the beginning of [[Modernity]] with the [[Peace of Westphalia]] in 1648 CE.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} During this time of Islamic ascendancy, Greco-Roman works, cast off by the few civilized remnants of the [[Roman Empire]], were translated into [[Arabic]], and made part of Islamic civilization, which rose to a level of greatness comparable to the days of the Romans themselves.
Eventually, the West came to recognize the value of the works that it had discarded, and retranslated many of the great Greco-Roman works back from the [[Arabic]] into the [[Romance languages]]; the West also incorporated the great Islamic works of [[chemistry]], [[biology]], [[anatomy]] and [[physiology]], [[astronomy]], [[physics]] written by Arab scientists. Some notable Western appropriations from the Islamic world include works from famous scholars such as [[Avicenna]] (medicine), [[Rhazes]] (medicine, pathology, pharmacy), [[Geber]] (father of chemistry), [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (father of the scientific method, optics), [[Al-Khwarizmi]] (al-gorithms, al-gebra, mathematics), and [[Ibn Khaldun]] (history, sociology). Through this process of cultural appropriation, the work of the Greco-Roman civilizations was preserved and expanded upon by the Islamic civilization, whose works were in turn appropriated by the Western civilization, who also expanded upon them; all participants in this chain of appropriation built the world we live in today, along with all the other civilizations of the Earth.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}{{dubious}}
==Support==
Justin Britt-Gibson's article for the ''Washington Post'' looked at the appropriation of his African-American culture as a sign of progress:
<blockquote>Throngs of [[dreadlocks|dreadlocked]] Italians were smoking joints, drinking beer, grooving to the rhythms of [[Bob Marley]], [[Steel Pulse]] and other [[reggae]] icons. Most striking was how comfortable these Italians seemed in their appropriated shoes, adopting a foreign culture and somehow making it theirs. The scene reinforced my sense of how far we've come since the days when people dressed, talked and celebrated only that which sprang from their own background. For the first time in my life, I was fully aware of the spiritual concept that we're all simply one.
That sense hasn't left me. Everywhere I look, I see young people -- such as my two younger brothers, a Japanese-anime-obsessed 11-year-old and a pastel-Polo-sporting 21-year-old -- adopting styles, hobbies and attitudes from outside the culture in which they were raised. Last month in a Los Angeles barbershop, I was waiting to get my trademark Afro cut when I noticed a brother in his late teens sitting, eyes closed, as the barber clipped his hair into a "'frohawk", the punk-inspired African American adaptation of the mohawk. Asked why he chose the look, the guy, without looking up, shrugged, "Something different." Immediately, I understood. Minutes later, his "different" cut became my new look.<ref name="RacePost">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602691.html Race Isn't a Factor When My Generation Chooses Friends.]</ref></blockquote>
==Examples==
A common sort of cultural appropriation is the adoption of the [[iconography]] of another culture. Obvious examples include [[tattoos]] of [[Hindu]] [[Deity|gods]], [[Polynesia]]n [[Tribe|tribal]] iconography, [[Chinese character]]s, or [[Celtic art|Celtic bands]] worn by people who have no interest in, or understanding of, their cultural significance. When these [[Cultural artifact|artifacts]] are regarded as objects that merely "look [[cool]]", or when they are [[Mass production|mass produced]] cheaply as [[consumer]] [[kitsch]], people who venerate and wish to preserve their indigenous cultural traditions may be offended. In [[Australia]], [[Australian Aboriginal|Aboriginal]] [[Australian Aboriginal art|artists]] have discussed an [http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/artcrime/newstead.pdf 'authenticity brand'] to ensure consumers are aware of artworks claiming false Aboriginal significance [http://www.eniar.org/news/art-dot.html]. The movement for such a measure has gained momentum after the 1999 conviction of John O'Loughlin for fraud, for the sale of works described as Aboriginal but painted by non-indigenous artists [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3246474.stm].
Looking back in history, some of the most hotly debated cases of cultural appropriation occur in places where cultural exchange is the highest, such as along the trade routes in southwestern [[Asia]] and southeastern [[Europe]]. For instance, some scholars of the [[Ottoman empire]] and [[ancient Egypt]] argue that Ottoman and Egyptian architectural traditions have long been falsely claimed and praised as Persian or Arab, [http://archnet.org/library/documents/one-document.tcl?document_id=8983] and [[Greco-Roman]], innovations, respectively{{Fact|date=October 2007}}.
A more subtle example is brass band music ([[trubaci]]). While this kind of music is almost exclusively performed by [[Romani]] people, who may not consider themselves [[Serbs]], many people of Serbian origin will consider this to be their own style.
On the other hand, when the middle-class [[Slovenia]]n band [[Pankrti]] adopted the style of [[London]] [[punk music]] rooted in unemployment and other issues specific to the [[United Kingdom|UK]], it was seen in [[Yugoslavia]] as the spread of British culture and its adaptation to the local setting.
In some cases, groups may agree that a particular tradition has been culturally appropriated, but disagree as to which group is the authentic heir to the tradition, and which is the appropriator. For example, in the ongoing dispute between [[Greece]] and [[F.Y.R.O.M.]], each side has accused the other of falsely appropriating the cultural legacy of [[Macedon]] and [[Alexander the Great]].
[[African American culture]] historically has been the subject of aggressive cultural appropriation, especially elements of its [[African American music|music]], dance, [[slang]], dress, and demeanor. (See [[blackface]].) For example, artists such as [[Eminem]], a white American who adopted a traditionally [[African American]] music and style, may be perceived this way.
Another prominent example of cultural appropriation is the use of real or imaginary elements of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] culture by [[North America]]n [[summer camp]]s, by organizations such as the [[Boy Scouts of America]], or by [[New age]] spiritual leaders (see [[Plastic shaman]]s). Many summer camps, and many age-segregated groups of campers within summer camps, are named after real Native American tribes ([[Mohawk nation|Mohawk]], [[Seminole]], etc.); [[tipi]]s are common at summer camps (even at an enormous distance from the [[Great Plains]]); and rituals often evoke Native American culture, using phrases like "the [[Great Spirit]]", for example. The Boy Scout [[honor society]] is called the [[Order of the Arrow]].
In some cases, a culture usually viewed as the target of cultural appropriation can become the agent of appropriation. For example, the government of [[Ghana]] has been accused of cultural appropriation in adopting the Caribbean holiday of [[Emancipation Day]] and marketing it to African American tourists as an "African festival".<ref>Jennifer Hasty, "Rites of Passage, Routes of Redemption: Emancipation Tourism and the Wealth of Culture", ''Africa Today'', Volume 49, Number 3, Fall 2002, pp. 47-76. Indiana University Press. [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/africa_today/v049/49.3hasty.pdf PDF] available on subscription site muse.jhu.edu.</ref>.
A [[bindi (decoration)|bindi]] dot when worn as a decorative item by a non-[[Hindu]] woman could be considered cultural appropriation,<ref>Salil Tripathi, [http://www.saliltripathi.com/articles/20Sept1999NewStatesman.html Hindus and Kubrick], ''The New Statesman'', [[20 September]] [[1999]]. Accessed online [[23 November]] [[2006]].</ref> along with the use of [[henna]] in [[mehndi]] as a decoration outside traditional ceremonies.
The [[metrosexual]] fashion is often seen as{{Who|date=July 2007}} a form of cultural appropriation of [[Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures|gay culture]] by [[heterosexuality|straight]] men. This view is parodied in the [[South Park]] episode "[[South Park is Gay!]]"
Controversy has arisen concerning the usage of the [[leprechaun]] mascot by the [[Boston Celtics]] basketball club and the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish]] football team. Some people of [[Ireland|Irish]] ancestry see the usage as an example of cultural appropriation and even racism. Leprechauns appear in many [[Celtic mythology|Celtic mythological]] motifs, and the reduction of this mythological figure to a set of stereotypes and clichés may be perceived as offensive. [http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/1906/29/][http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/news/2006/03/23/Viewpoint/fighting.Irish.Not.A.Racist.Moniker-1713482.shtml] A common term amongst the Irish for someone who appropriates or misrepresents Irish culture is ''[[Plastic Paddy]]''.<ref> {{cite journal| last =Arrowsmith| first =Aidan| authorlink =| coauthors =| title =Plastic Paddy: Negotiating Identity in Second-generation 'Irish-English' Writing| journal =Irish Studies Review| volume =8| issue =1| pages =35–43| publisher =Routledge| date =April 1, 2000| url =| doi =10.1080/09670880050005093| id =| accessdate = }}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Acculturation]]
*[[Blackface]]
*[[Christianization]]
*[[Cultural assimilation]]
*[[Cultural appropriation in western music]]
*[[Cleveland Indians]]
*[[Cultural diversity]]
*[[Cultural imperialism]]
*[[NAFPS]]
*[[Plastic Paddy]]
*[[Plastic shaman]]
*[[Recuperation (sociology)]]
*[[Wigger]]
==Notes and references==
<references />
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*''Reckless Borrowing or Appropriate Cultural Sharing?'' by [[Jaqui James]]
==External links==
*[http://www.utpjournals.com/product/utq/681/cultural31.html Review of ''Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation'' from the 'University of Toronto Quarterly']
*[http://modelminority.com/article138.html Model Minority: Chinese Tattoos / Year of the Dragon / Commodifying Buddhism]
*[http://www.oiprc.ox.ac.uk/EJWP1199.pdf Intellectual Property in the Dreamtime]
*[http://www.aics.org/war.html Declaration Of War Against Exploiters Of Lakota Spirituality]
[[Category:Culture terms]]
[[Category:Anthropology]]