What is Cultural Appropriation?
It is hard being a minority in America. The struggle for identity is a common thread amongst minority communities in this country and that issue is constantly exasperated by the white washed media. According to Susan Scafidi, cultural appropriation is “taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else's culture without permission.” (Scafidi) I would add that using those artifacts to make a profit is what separates cultural appreciation from cultural appropriation. Main stream media (including but not limited to books, magazines, television and music) is over populated with European-Americans poaching the fashions, hair styles, and mannerisms of people of …show more content…
It is expected that at times cultural groups will influence each other. If a person grows up in a primarily black or Hispanic neighborhood, they are going to adopt some of the behaviors and tastes as the people around them. Cultural appropriation is an entirely different situation. It has little to do with one’s exposure to and familiarity with different cultures. Instead, “cultural appropriation typically involves members of a dominant group exploiting the culture of less privileged groups; often with little understanding of the latter’s history, experience and traditions.” (Nittle) Many people find the outrage surrounding this topic to be an overreaction, but how can it be? The observance of traditionally ethnic behaviors by non-ethnic people with blatant disregard to the significance of those behaviors leaves a bad taste in the mouth of every person of color. Generations of minorities have watched their music, fashions, and vernacular (which were once labeled as ghetto, trashy, and uncivilized) be used by European-Americans to raise their notoriety in the main stream media. The only difference is, when the dominant race took part in the “urban” behaviors they were labeled as edgy trend setters. Why is “black music” …show more content…
Since you seemed genuinely confused when people called you out on it, let me provide you with a brief history of blackface. In the early 1920s actors in the north used stage make up to darken their skin to portray black characters. As you can imagine, they were not painting African American in a flattering light; but instead were using the stage as a way to mock and disrespect black culture. For many people in the north this was their only exposure to how Afro Americans lived, so naturally they believed everything they saw. It is because of shows like these that many of the stereotypes associated with Black culture exist today. So by going in blackface, you are metaphorically spitting in the face of every activist that marched/protested/was imprisoned for attempting to prove to America that they were ordinary people who deserved the same rights as their European American peers. Please keep that in mind when you are selecting this year’s
It is hard being a minority in America. The struggle for identity is a common thread amongst minority communities in this country and that issue is constantly exasperated by the white washed media. According to Susan Scafidi, cultural appropriation is “taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else's culture without permission.” (Scafidi) I would add that using those artifacts to make a profit is what separates cultural appreciation from cultural appropriation. Main stream media (including but not limited to books, magazines, television and music) is over populated with European-Americans poaching the fashions, hair styles, and mannerisms of people of …show more content…
It is expected that at times cultural groups will influence each other. If a person grows up in a primarily black or Hispanic neighborhood, they are going to adopt some of the behaviors and tastes as the people around them. Cultural appropriation is an entirely different situation. It has little to do with one’s exposure to and familiarity with different cultures. Instead, “cultural appropriation typically involves members of a dominant group exploiting the culture of less privileged groups; often with little understanding of the latter’s history, experience and traditions.” (Nittle) Many people find the outrage surrounding this topic to be an overreaction, but how can it be? The observance of traditionally ethnic behaviors by non-ethnic people with blatant disregard to the significance of those behaviors leaves a bad taste in the mouth of every person of color. Generations of minorities have watched their music, fashions, and vernacular (which were once labeled as ghetto, trashy, and uncivilized) be used by European-Americans to raise their notoriety in the main stream media. The only difference is, when the dominant race took part in the “urban” behaviors they were labeled as edgy trend setters. Why is “black music” …show more content…
Since you seemed genuinely confused when people called you out on it, let me provide you with a brief history of blackface. In the early 1920s actors in the north used stage make up to darken their skin to portray black characters. As you can imagine, they were not painting African American in a flattering light; but instead were using the stage as a way to mock and disrespect black culture. For many people in the north this was their only exposure to how Afro Americans lived, so naturally they believed everything they saw. It is because of shows like these that many of the stereotypes associated with Black culture exist today. So by going in blackface, you are metaphorically spitting in the face of every activist that marched/protested/was imprisoned for attempting to prove to America that they were ordinary people who deserved the same rights as their European American peers. Please keep that in mind when you are selecting this year’s