Today Im here to explain and to make sure people understand a questionable topic that is constantly misunderstood in all communities. Cultural appropriation is something that many dont understand but many do. It may be intentional at times and other know that they are doing so, but just dont care enough to stop. First, Im going to explain what this concept is. Cultural Appropriation is the adoption or use of practices of one culture by members of a different culture. For those who don’t have a clue to what this is, i’m going to explain. Cultural Appropriation is the act of adopting components of an outside, often minority, culture and that includes knowledge, practices, and symbols without understanding its original history and context and in many ways it shows a lack of disrespect for the people that are part of that culture. But, says the EverydayFeminism website, thats not the whole story. Unlike cultural exchange, in which there is a mutual interchange, appropriation refers to a dynamic in which members of
a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed and try to make it that dominants group very own. Many don’t believe in cultural appropriation being a real act but when I say there are so many examples of them there is no one that could prove this deed as untrue and an exaggeration by people of these cultures. This goes from the girls wearing quipaos, which is traditional wear for women, and chopsticks in their head with two ponytails thinking is going to be a cute outfit, to the non-people of color trying to appropriate black culture as if it was their own, to also the couples wearing sombreros and ponchos for Halloween to appear as a Mexican. These things may not be disrespectful and appropriating to you but to the people that you are doing it to, it is. There is counterarguments as to why this isn’t a thing and they use We are having fun or we should all be together as people or no culture created anything. I’m just here to prove and educate on this topic.