General Discussion

KittyWampus

(55,894 posts)

142. Have you ever posted in a thread expressing outrage over an American doing Black Face or Red Face?

Thu Mar 6, 2014, 04:12 PM

Mar 2014

Using a Native American icon as a sports mascot?

Would you be as dismissive if someone objected to fried chicken on the menu to celebrate AA History Month?

Those are some "trivial" topics that crop up on DU and they at least get discussed to some degree or other without the vitriol displayed in this thread.

I don't support someone saying western women shouldn't belly dance, but I do support a woman voicing her opinion on western culture aping Arab women.

It's a shame the author didn't temper her wording.

DU'ers might have considered the belly dancing/exotic object stereotypes Arab women have faced in western media. And the fact so many western women imitated them…. and so much of what we think when we hear in the word "belly dance" is fantasy.

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Why I can't stand white belly dancers (re cultural appropriation) [View all] gollygee Mar 2014 OP

what a waste of time and energy. cali Mar 2014 #1

The ultimate irony is how racist this piece is. chrisa Mar 2014 #11

Sadly, not brooklynite Mar 2014 #63

Thanks for saving me the bother of writing all that. Jackpine Radical Mar 2014 #39

+1 n/t PasadenaTrudy Mar 2014 #41

I have to laugh at any idiot that doesn't understand that "Arab" is a culture, and sometimes, a MADem Mar 2014 #82

But MADem you absolutely have to see this video linked from the article in the OP Number23 Mar 2014 #150

The video is brilliant--what a cultural marriage between music and dance! nt MADem Mar 2014 #177

That's hilarious Revanchist Mar 2014 #196

Who's the artist? I love that video Number23 Mar 2014 #205

Cutty Ranks there's a link to his YouTube page if you watch the video here on YouTube EOM Revanchist Mar 2014 #208

On top of that, belly dancing isn't purely Arabian either cemaphonic Mar 2014 #156

+1,000 !!!! MADem Mar 2014 #175

seriously. magical thyme Mar 2014 #113

How about a Japanese man who plays country and western on a fiddle? Revanchist Mar 2014 #200

Hey! Gollygee is QUOTING someone for the sake of discussion. sibelian Mar 2014 #118

Pretty much Dorian Gray Mar 2014 #174

sheesh ... Trajan Mar 2014 #2

The article is shit joeglow3 Mar 2014 #3

At a glance (and I mean really rough glance), it sounds like BS. I'll have to remember 1awake Mar 2014 #4

Italian food Crunchy Frog Mar 2014 #120

Haha! Not sure I can comply with that! nt 1awake Mar 2014 #138

What right did Mozart, a German, have to write an opera Jackpine Radical Mar 2014 #124

lol, exactly my point. nt 1awake Mar 2014 #137

I was listening to this on the way into work, rapping along as well snooper2 Mar 2014 #5

Hey, I think I saw you on my drive in. Hassin Bin Sober Mar 2014 #38

I'm smart enough to have my windows blacked out snooper2 Mar 2014 #46

This is exactly what my white bourgeois self was gonna post...nt msanthrope Mar 2014 #185

Wut? chrisa Mar 2014 #6

lol. perfect. love your response. cali Mar 2014 #19

No wonder Salon loses money LittleBlue Mar 2014 #7

Cultures mix. rrneck Mar 2014 #8

I demand that you stop writing. Who gave you permission to appropriate FSogol Mar 2014 #9

ROFLMAO snooper2 Mar 2014 #14

What a load of crap. HappyMe Mar 2014 #10

All types of people enjoy hula and flamenco dancing. sufrommich Mar 2014 #12

Um... Arab women are white women. Fawke Em Mar 2014 #13

How dare she appropriate the language of another culture. CBGLuthier Mar 2014 #15

This sounds so-o-o-o Seventies. nt Eleanors38 Mar 2014 #16

I was expecting to read a Trollolololololololol somewhere in that article. penultimate Mar 2014 #17

Racist bullshit of the same sort that was used to discriminate against black and brown Bluenorthwest Mar 2014 #18

Agreed JustAnotherGen Mar 2014 #69

Some do it for a work out. Others do ballet, origins in France, Cleita Mar 2014 #20

I've done belly dancing too. bravenak Mar 2014 #145

No doubt. Look at all the the people around the world who do Latin dancing. Cleita Mar 2014 #148

It's like music. bravenak Mar 2014 #154

You studied with Debbie Allen? Lucky you. She is the best. n/t Cleita Mar 2014 #157

She never taught my class. :( bravenak Mar 2014 #158

This should make the top 5 stupid posts of the day. hobbit709 Mar 2014 #21

Easily. Iggo Mar 2014 #35

For me the best answer is to rec posts like this to The Greatest Page... cherokeeprogressive Mar 2014 #48

Maybe the year Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #95

So, Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle shoulda just stuck with Le Taz Hot Mar 2014 #22

Complete nonsense. MerryBlooms Mar 2014 #23

If there was more mixing of cultures, there might be less racism, few wars, etc. OregonBlue Mar 2014 #24

I'm thinking this one has searched for years... TreasonousBastard Mar 2014 #25

Especially the horny men. They are all rapists you know if you don't cover up, hunch Cleita Mar 2014 #29

+1 n/t lumberjack_jeff Mar 2014 #58

This thread deserves the obligatory... randome Mar 2014 #26

How about a video instead? kentauros Mar 2014 #193

Well that's a bummer:( polly7 Mar 2014 #27

Try this polka: kentauros Mar 2014 #194

An Issue Of Authenticity >>> Using American Indian Art For Example KittyWampus Mar 2014 #28

This is like people getting upset with Molly Cypress for twerking Bok_Tukalo Mar 2014 #30

MOLLY CYPRESS????!c!!!!???? kwassa Mar 2014 #168

Good catch. bravenak Mar 2014 #178

well, you know. kwassa Mar 2014 #181

They told me! bravenak Mar 2014 #182

Molly Cypress has a lot to answer for. Whoever she is. kwassa Mar 2014 #184

Yes. Molly Cypress bad. bravenak Mar 2014 #186

Wow - that is quite... 3catwoman3 Mar 2014 #31

ridiculous, racist, garbage. bunnies Mar 2014 #32

Fuck racial purity. Iggo Mar 2014 #33

silly article jollyreaper2112 Mar 2014 #34

I like your response gollygee Mar 2014 #71

This exactly what german rappers were told in the 1980s and early 90s. DetlefK Mar 2014 #36

How about Asians playing violin treestar Mar 2014 #37

Violins is never the answer. Orrex Mar 2014 #55

You are just saying that My Good Babushka Mar 2014 #72

You weren't supposed to see that. Orrex Mar 2014 #86

There should be no violins on TV! treestar Mar 2014 #91

Racist and hateful and ludicrous. nt Demo_Chris Mar 2014 #40

This is the kind of horseshit story... TroglodyteScholar Mar 2014 #42

Your post is insensitive to people without skin. Orrex Mar 2014 #50

You got me TroglodyteScholar Mar 2014 #52

You've just been "ribbed for her pleasure!" appal_jack Mar 2014 #88

Rubbish n/t PasadenaTrudy Mar 2014 #43

Let's call out this OP for what it's actually complaining about: Orrex Mar 2014 #44

Guess that means my daily yoga session is out... just racist cultural appropriation riderinthestorm Mar 2014 #45

So white women can't dance????? Autumn Mar 2014 #47

Well, maybe just some... temporary311 Mar 2014 #64

That dancing is a crime, no matter the color of your skin. Autumn Mar 2014 #65

Your first link is a very interesting read. nt sufrommich Mar 2014 #49

It is. It opens a discussion on... TreasonousBastard Mar 2014 #80

Yeah,I get the feeling a lot of posters didn't read sufrommich Mar 2014 #81

It sounds to me gollygee Mar 2014 #83

I used to work with a white woman who was sufrommich Mar 2014 #90

I read the first one. Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #104

That's not what the article was about though. It was about sufrommich Mar 2014 #109

You said it better than I could. nt cinnabonbon Mar 2014 #153

Yes, it's far more sensible. sibelian Mar 2014 #119

Some people just like to dance Bettie Mar 2014 #51

Is this The Onion? nt valerief Mar 2014 #53

Poor white people. bigwillq Mar 2014 #54

What do you mean, "anymore"? N.T. Donald Ian Rankin Mar 2014 #192

Do I have to toss my Bob Marley CD out the truck window? lumberjack_jeff Mar 2014 #56

Glad I'm too much of a clutz to dance! get the red out Mar 2014 #57

Judgements based on skin color AgingAmerican Mar 2014 #59

Drive-by ill-conceived nonsense post tkmorris Mar 2014 #60

So I suppose my half-Mexican/half-German wife opiate69 Mar 2014 #61

Yeah! And blacks should stop fucking with Shakespeare, already! WorseBeforeBetter Mar 2014 #62

I have no time for real racism. proudretiredvet Mar 2014 #66

Then who owns Shakespeare? Here's a link which has video of a Palestinian production Bluenorthwest Mar 2014 #67

I learned to clog.. 3catwoman3 Mar 2014 #68

And don't get me started on Yo-Yo Ma cthulu2016 Mar 2014 #70

My daughter believes this shit. One of her college prof's brainwashed her. Xithras Mar 2014 #73

Oh my . . . JustAnotherGen Mar 2014 #93

Yeah, I brought up white rappers. Xithras Mar 2014 #122

Can you get... 3catwoman3 Mar 2014 #164

She must be really pissed off about Neanderthals mixing and mingling their Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #101

I think a lot of young lefties accrue beliefs like a stamp collection. sibelian Mar 2014 #126

She was onto something about skycrapers though...probably the same can be said about rockets :P penultimate Mar 2014 #163

... sibelian Mar 2014 #166

Wow, unanimous! gollygee Mar 2014 #74

it's a ridiculous concern. to be consistent than you must also believe cali Mar 2014 #87

Well the concept of cultural appropriation gollygee Mar 2014 #96

and don't eat the apples Beringia Mar 2014 #75

And that, beloved sisters and brothers, is why we can't have nice things. Zorra Mar 2014 #76

gollygee - I've had a chance to take a deep dive on the article JustAnotherGen Mar 2014 #77

I had to go take my daughter to a doctor visit gollygee Mar 2014 #78

... Zorra Mar 2014 #79

Nice! kentauros Mar 2014 #198

Thanks. Zorra Mar 2014 #206

You're welcome! Niyaz is one of my favorite bands :) kentauros Mar 2014 #207

This is just payback for Christianity ripping off Plato. mathematic Mar 2014 #84

Mmmm, hummus gollygee Mar 2014 #85

my chiropractor reccomended belly dance for my spine. i stretched 1/2" taller after six months, and bettyellen Mar 2014 #89

As long as... Adrahil Mar 2014 #92

That is a fucking stupid thing to get upset about Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #94

Wow . . . Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #97

I was astonished at how popular breakdancing was among urban Turkish youth cemaphonic Mar 2014 #161

OK. Fair enough. I promise sincerely that I will never, ever, belly-dance (nt) Nye Bevan Mar 2014 #98

ROFL gollygee Mar 2014 #99

So when I went to a Hindu wedding a couple years ago tammywammy Mar 2014 #100

Golly Gee? Blue Owl Mar 2014 #102

So now I can't belly dance, get a pitbull, open doors, smoke, read SI, eat olive garden The Straight Story Mar 2014 #103

Oh, noes. Da doors!!! BainsBane Mar 2014 #141

This is definitely one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read here... whathehell Mar 2014 #105

I used to belly dance. Sweet Freedom Mar 2014 #106

"Dancing for my own enjoyment." Orrex Mar 2014 #116

If the issue of cultural approbation was mentioned in regards to other cultures/artforms KittyWampus Mar 2014 #121

More than ridiculous, its racist. nt riderinthestorm Mar 2014 #127

Which, of course, is a bit ironic in light of history. Xithras Mar 2014 #130

The Arab community I've been around find bad dancers to be offensive. Put on a costume, shake it up uppityperson Mar 2014 #173

Texas /nt Sweet Freedom Mar 2014 #188

WA here uppityperson Mar 2014 #190

I made pork carnitas for dinner last night. ForgoTheConsequence Mar 2014 #107

I guess all of us of European descent have to go back to using Roman numerals? arcane1 Mar 2014 #108

Hey, I'm not Italian. I have no right to Roman numerals. cthulu2016 Mar 2014 #111

Me either, but I figure if my ancestors were conquered by Rome, then it's OK. arcane1 Mar 2014 #112

Appropriate of ancient Italian culture, possibly... sibelian Mar 2014 #123

Racist drivel. Vashta Nerada Mar 2014 #110

I think Arab Women have more pressing issues to worry about. sabrina 1 Mar 2014 #114

"I guess we should ask them"- the author of the article is ARABIC KittyWampus Mar 2014 #128

Where is the line to be drawn, exactly? Orrex Mar 2014 #134

The line can be drawn at Respect. An Arab woman voices her opinion regarding stereotypes KittyWampus Mar 2014 #140

Respect is often in the eye of the beholder Orrex Mar 2014 #143

She speaks for the entire Arab World, really? I notice you do not want to talk about the gross sabrina 1 Mar 2014 #139

Have you ever posted in a thread expressing outrage over an American doing Black Face or Red Face? KittyWampus Mar 2014 #142

What a load of crap! lunatica Mar 2014 #115

Now I feel bad about eating tacos last week. Orrex Mar 2014 #117

Tacos, that's nothing. I had gefilte fish a few weeks back. Autumn Mar 2014 #125

Play That Funky Music, White Boy! edbermac Mar 2014 #129

cultures blend all the time DonCoquixote Mar 2014 #131

Cultural appropriation... TeeYiYi Mar 2014 #132

And darn those Asian classical musicians, too! Lizzie Poppet Mar 2014 #133

OMG! This is the funniest thing I've read in a long time! joeybee12 Mar 2014 #135

We have a huge association of belly dancers in Eugene, Oregon of both white and brown women. Nika Mar 2014 #136

Racist, presumptuous as hell, and stupid. Waiting For Everyman Mar 2014 #144

So white people shouldn't learn karate, play lacrosse, practice tai chi? LiberalEsto Mar 2014 #146

No. But golf is OK. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #162

Only if you're Scottish! friendly_iconoclast Mar 2014 #191

Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool... n/t Mugu Mar 2014 #147

Well, it's nice that you have hobbies Warren DeMontague Mar 2014 #149

Cultural appropriation is every bit as important and real as white privilege (and the two... Shandris Mar 2014 #151

There is probably some core culture The Straight Story Mar 2014 #167

this gals sounds racist Skittles Mar 2014 #152

Because he's Chinese, Yo Yo Ma has to stop playing the cello, a European invention The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #155

Some of the best European classical music musicians are Asian. n/ t Cleita Mar 2014 #159

My point exactly. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #160

I think no one should do anything, ever. Warren DeMontague Mar 2014 #165

Hey! I was about to say that! sibelian Mar 2014 #195

See, but I pre-empted you from doing it Warren DeMontague Mar 2014 #197

"the pristine, clear void of nothingness, the wu wei of actionless action" sibelian Mar 2014 #199

Heyyyyy, man. Warren DeMontague Mar 2014 #202

Did you see Morocco's take on it? uppityperson Mar 2014 #169

if we did this a majority of the world will literally starve to death NuttyFluffers Mar 2014 #170

So, no one can dance the samba outside of Brazil or the tango unless they are from Argentina? Beacool Mar 2014 #171

I'm sorry, but honestly, this whole kerfuffle is just.....well, kinda dumb, TBH. AverageJoe90 Mar 2014 #172

Disgusting Puzzledtraveller Mar 2014 #176

That was the worst article Salon ever published The Second Stone Mar 2014 #179

Imitation is a form of flattery. bravenak Mar 2014 #180

what a total wasteland of electrons Niceguy1 Mar 2014 #183

Personally, lonestarnot Mar 2014 #187

I took belly dance lessons about a decade ago, and I loved it. liberal_at_heart Mar 2014 #189

I'm just a fan for watching it, kentauros Mar 2014 #201

Maybe she try and explain that to Chick Corea whistler162 Mar 2014 #203

Is this an Onion piece? JoeyT Mar 2014 #204