Thinking about cultural appropriation
Reading Martha Rosler’s essay ‘In, Around and Afterthoughts’ prompted me to think about cultural appropriation. http://everydayarchive.org/awt/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/rosler-martha_in-around-afterthoughts.pdf
This is a difficult one. While some examples of cultural appropriation such as white people blacking up or white girls dressing up as Native American princesses are completely beyond the pale, others, like the universal adoption of the western suit and tie, are normal and acceptable. In a diverse society it is natural to expect there to be some crossover between cultures and for fashions to be unstable. We borrow words, recipes and music from other cultures constantly. The problem arises when people try to act out belonging to another culture in a way that comes over as pseud, false, judgmental, negative, stereotyping or even exploitative.
“The ‘We’re a culture, not a costume’ campaign run in America was a fantastic way of trying to tackle the issue of cultural appropriation during this time of year (Halloween). Needless to say, the tag line “You wear the costume for one night. I wear the stigma for life” is one that needs to be adopted here. “
The Independent Friday 30 October 2015
Chris Whittle 