Let’s talk about Cultural Appropriation
So the topic of cultural appropriation has been rampantly discussed of late and I’d like to give my two cents on it as a woman of colour.
Let’s start with what exactly is deemed as cultural appropriation. So, if someone who is not of African descent decides to wear their hair in dreadlocks, that’s cultural appropriation as they aren’t a part of this rich history and meaning behind dreadlocks. This is completely understandable.
However, when a non-Indian model decides to wear Indian traditional clothing, in Malaysia, that is deemed as cultural appropriation. This begs the question, where do we draw the line? It’s one thing to call out someone when you feel they are invalidating your culture or using it as a form of entertainment but another to berate them for celebrating the richness and beauty of your culture.
Would I then not be allowed to don a traditional outfit of another culture in fear of appropriating their culture? When Jason Derulo sang about Jalebis, does that count as him culturally appropriating Indians? When Rihanna wore a Lord Ganesh pendant on her bare chest, did that not count as cultural appropriation? When Lewis Hamilton wore a strange version of a Turkish garb, did that not count as cultural appropriation? From my observation, people of colour culturally appropriate all the time but are not called out on it, and that is completely unfair.
If you’ve watched the show “Grown-ish” you’d see a character, Vivek, who is supposedly of Indian origin but fits in with the Black kids. When he dons a wave-cap, he is called out for cultural appropriation but he is genuinely baffled as he felt like he belonged amongst them and was celebrating the beauty and understanding of their culture. His friends respectfully called him out on it and educated him as to why they were offended. When someone doesn’t mean to offend you or your culture, perhaps the best way forwards is to educate instead of berate or humiliate.
In my home country, Malaysia, we live in a multicultural community with a variety of interesting and fun cultures. If we were always calling out someone for cultural appropriation, I doubt we could carry on without racism in our midst.
How would we embrace each other, and live racism-free if we never try to understand each other and decide to segment ourselves from each other? The human race was meant to be a friendly and united community. However, in my humble opinion, our snowflake generation has divided us further.
Everyone’s culture is unique and to be respected. We are all different, but in order to appreciate our differences and what makes us unique, perhaps if someone tries to understand or be a part one and another’s cultures, we might be a stronger community. If you see someone messing with your culture, maybe instead of calling them out on it, try and make them understand what offended you and how they could respect your culture better rather than making them feel guilty and humiliating them for something they most likely NEVER REALISED. Let’s all try to be nicer, for the sake of humanity.
P.S. These are solely my thoughts and opinions, so do respect them. I acknowledge that you may have differing opinions and that is your right but do understand that I am writing only to inspire thoughts from multiple perspectives.