Cultural appropriation has been quietly plaguing society for centuries and it is only recently that society as a whole has become more aware of the repercussions and the importance of individual responsibilities in preventing cultural appropriation. There is an ambiguous line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Progress in society would be hindered if we did not inter-exchange ideas, fashion, and culture; but it is how it is exchanged, and presented, and the profits involved made during this cultural exchange that is essential in understanding the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. But what is cultural appropriation? In our tutorials, we learned that it is cultural appropriation is when members of a dominant group take without acknowledgment of the cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical manner. Thus, the action of culturally appropriating a culture reinforces the power imbalance betwee
n the different cultures in question. As humans, according to Bauman, a Polish sociologist, and philosopher, once those who have identified as producers create objects for consumption, there is then a motivation developed to possess as many objects as they can in their lifetime (Bauman, 2008). By this want to make a profit and to acquire as many processions as we can can, we will find the good, bad, and ugly behaviors to achieve this desire, even if it means reinforcing the concept of cultural appropriation instead of the ethical ways of culturally appreciating and giving credit to the oppressed minority group. East Asian countries have been both the appropriators and the appropriated cultures but for the sake of this essay, the focus will be on the appropriation of different East Asian cultures such as the Japanese, Chinese, and South Korean cultures in the Western fashion industry. And what the producerÂ’s and the consumerÂ’s responsibilities will be questioned and answered in this piece.