4 ms·
Funny how cultural appropriation works sometimes
by haunter 7y ago
Funny how cultural appropriation works sometimes
- rhn_mk1 7y agoThat's why I don't understand why it's used as a negative term. It's entirely up to the subject culture how it reacts.
- lawlessone 7y agoThere are differences though. A person learning a Cree language to use it is going to get a different reaction than a person wearing an faux Indian headdress at a party.
- rhn_mk1 7y agoIt's still up to the culture how they treat different ways of honoring it. As an example I've seen personally: someone learning German to use it is going to be treated very similarly to someone wearing a dirndl for fun.
- wbl 7y agoTakeo Ishi is one of the big yodelers. Rest assured he is not an ethnic German. As someone who has learnt German to use it, I have never encountered what you describe, except that one never tries German outside of Germany.
- rhn_mk1 7y agoI'm not sure what you've encountered, but I meant that Germans don't care, and wearing traditional dress to a party is not going to shock them much. If anything, it may provoke them to join the party. Therefore, there's nothing inherent about negative reactions from a person of an in-group when someone from the out-group is trying out some of their customs.
- why-oh-why 7y agoThis is not cultural appropriation, this is "cultural integration" Instead of comin' over and being "the american" (what all people are called in Asia), he actually made an effort to integrate. There's no appropriation here. He's what all expats should strive to be.
- devnonymous 7y agoThat word you used, I don't think you know what it means. Appropriation is when you take something (often by deceit, lies or force) and (this is the important part) call it your own. Had he for instance learned Terenggaun food, clothing, habits, or any part of the culture, returned to the UK and announced all of it as something he came up with, that would be cultural appropriation. OTOH, what he has done -- given himself up to it ("I'm more Malay than English.") would be described, as why-oh-why points out, cultural integration.
- simonh 7y agoCultural appropriation really doesn't mean claiming you came up with something. It's a fairly broad term but a recurring issue is when a cultural element is used in ways incompatible with or insulting to it's original meaning. So for example a head dress or garment meant to signify ritual purity becoming a common thing to wear while getting drunk at frat parties.