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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation Cultural appropriation doesn't mean appropriating thi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation Cultural appropriation doesn't mean appropriating things from another culture. It's an actual term with a specific meaning. It means specifically misrepresenting a cultural practice in order to make another culture look inferior. E.g. if you take something that isn't actually anything like what the Egyptians ate and tell everyone how terrible it is, then that would be cultural appropriation. Making bread the way the Egyptians made it would not be cultural appropriation, nor would selling it.

emiliobumachar 6y ago
The link you posted opens with "Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity." I read the top summary and the overview section, and it still looks to me that yes, it does mean appropriating things from another culture. Any subtlety I'm missing? Would you take a shot at summarizing the definition you hold?
schrijver 6y ago
The term has a broader meaning than you make it seem. According to the link you posted yourself, cultural appropriation appears “[when] cultural elements are copied from a minority culture by members of a dominant culture [and] these elements are used outside of their original cultural context”. In most cases, those appropriating other cultures actually love whatever they appropriate. That’s why they copied it in the first place. A lot of the flack for cultural appropriation comes not from that it ridicules other cultures, but rather that the artists/entrepreneurs/etc with visibility tend to be those from the dominant culture. They can profit from the ‘cool’ factor of appropriating other cultures, whereas for those from minorities that are being appropriated it is hard to find a spotlight. Of course the kind of cultural appropriation that you describe also exists, i.e. wearing a native american headdress to a party or something like this. But that would be a subset and is not the generally used definition.
- Alex3917 6y ago
  I guess to me using something outside of its original context is just a subset of misrepresentation, in the sense that the value of the practice in question isn't being accurately portrayed.

emiliobumachar 6y ago

The link you posted opens with "Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity." I read the top summary and the overview section, and it still looks to me that yes, it does mean appropriating things from another culture. Any subtlety I'm missing? Would you take a shot at summarizing the definition you hold?

schrijver 6y ago

The term has a broader meaning than you make it seem. According to the link you posted yourself, cultural appropriation appears “[when] cultural elements are copied from a minority culture by members of a dominant culture [and] these elements are used outside of their original cultural context”. In most cases, those appropriating other cultures actually love whatever they appropriate. That’s why they copied it in the first place. A lot of the flack for cultural appropriation comes not from that it ridicules other cultures, but rather that the artists/entrepreneurs/etc with visibility tend to be those from the dominant culture. They can profit from the ‘cool’ factor of appropriating other cultures, whereas for those from minorities that are being appropriated it is hard to find a spotlight. Of course the kind of cultural appropriation that you describe also exists, i.e. wearing a native american headdress to a party or something like this. But that would be a subset and is not the generally used definition.

Alex3917 6y ago
I guess to me using something outside of its original context is just a subset of misrepresentation, in the sense that the value of the practice in question isn't being accurately portrayed.