General Discussion

LWolf

(46,179 posts)

121. Good question.

Fri Dec 26, 2014, 11:05 AM

Dec 2014

I think there are multiple answers, some of which depend on the individual.

When my white mom sported a big afro in the 70s, which required extensive chemical and other help, and which looked, frankly, absolutely ridiculous on her, it was her attempt to express that whatever culture she was appropriating by doing so should be appreciated and accepted by the mainstream. She may have been misguided; she may not really have understood the ramifications; but it certainly wasn't with racist intent.

When my students have adopted slang and fashions sported by their favorite black rap artists, they've done so with no understanding of history or culture at all; just the adolescent need to be "different" from an adult generation while being "like" their peers and whomever their peers are "following."

And if they happen to be following Katy Perry, I don't think the larger issues would ever occur to them.

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Five things white people should know about cultural appropriation [View all] gollygee Dec 2014 OP

Thanks for posting this. Eom elfin Dec 2014 #1

Because America really has no inherent culture, it is made up of immigrants after all, they have to borrow Fred Sanders Dec 2014 #2

America does have an inherent culture, and it mostly comes from England. kwassa Dec 2014 #118

"here first." Tsiyu Dec 2014 #169

You are right, to a degree. kwassa Dec 2014 #170

Criticism of the concept (just to add to the conversation) wyldwolf Dec 2014 #3

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #127

Culture is something that can only be shared, never stolen ("Appropriated") Taitertots Dec 2014 #4

Oh, I've got a few more!!! MADem Dec 2014 #5

I've lived in a very diverse areas my entire adult life... Kalidurga Dec 2014 #6

Damn Skippy! MrScorpio Dec 2014 #7

... napkinz Dec 2014 #46

He shoots, he scores! Major Hogwash Dec 2014 #86

This is a baseball fan in Cleveland oberliner Dec 2014 #99

Yeah? gollygee Dec 2014 #107

Was just providing the context for the photo oberliner Dec 2014 #111

This is not appropriation..... blackspade Dec 2014 #113

~THIS!~ yuiyoshida Dec 2014 #131

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #8

Fine line between 'do whatever you want' and grossly insulting people. ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #9

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #10

What immediately comes to mind ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #11

Post removed Post removed Dec 2014 #12

Long nail is a silly example. ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #14

Post removed Post removed Dec 2014 #16

Hmmm ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #17

Post removed Post removed Dec 2014 #19

Go to hell? ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #20

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #21

I see. ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #22

MIRT has thankfully been busy BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #23

At least he's kicking the thread ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #24

True BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #25

Heh! ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #32

Must have been a nervous reaction. Major Hogwash Dec 2014 #88

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #26

Good. ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #27

She won't need to alert. jen63 Dec 2014 #29

Yes, and whathehell Dec 2014 #79

Blackface was a kind of mockery and very offensive. whathehell Dec 2014 #80

Blackface isn't over gollygee Dec 2014 #102

And to illustrate from just last year BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #106

Where does blackface still appear?..I saw a clip of it in Australian TV a few years ago whathehell Dec 2014 #110

google "black pete netherlands". christmas tradition that is now elehhhhna Dec 2014 #143

In Iran for Now Ruz they have a similar character. MADem Dec 2014 #144

how old is that tradition, just curious elehhhhna Dec 2014 #158

Well, it has a Zoroastrian bent--6th Century, thereabouts. MADem Dec 2014 #164

Okay. nt whathehell Dec 2014 #165

Open-minded cultures and people have a long history of celebrating other cultures bhikkhu Dec 2014 #13

What needs to be read and understood by those who just don't 'get' it...... marble falls Dec 2014 #15

by this defintion, we gals should be offended by drag queens Skittles Dec 2014 #85

Not at all. marble falls Dec 2014 #97

So blues based metal is an insult? blackspade Dec 2014 #114

. helpmetohelpyou Dec 2014 #18

But we white people have to be true to our own cultural ethos, which is ... dawg Dec 2014 #28

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #38

You are claiming "Reverse Racism"?? ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #40

If a white person said they were offended by a black person in a Viking costume ... dawg Dec 2014 #41

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #47

OMG. My precious Nordic culture has been defiled. dawg Dec 2014 #49

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #50

Vikings didn't have horned helmets. blackspade Dec 2014 #115

Indeed, you are correct. dawg Dec 2014 #116

And you definitely didn't want a horn on the side of the helmet that would dirct the strike... blackspade Dec 2014 #120

The ignorant will appropriate any culture item or style hootinholler Dec 2014 #30

I think that's "Tilted" Kilt, Hoot. dawg Dec 2014 #35

You're correct, my memory is faulty hootinholler Dec 2014 #56

I suspect gladium et scutum Dec 2014 #65

Probably so hootinholler Dec 2014 #68

Good point. marble falls Dec 2014 #74

Plus the fact that so many black artists often don't get the credit--or the financial tblue37 Dec 2014 #31

Post removed Post removed Dec 2014 #34

I thought you were finished here? ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #36

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #42

I can understand why some people in some minority cultures don't like it. aikoaiko Dec 2014 #33

Someone actually stole specific riffs and songs? dawg Dec 2014 #37

Yes that's what I was thinking of. aikoaiko Dec 2014 #39

Nicely done! Tom Ripley Dec 2014 #66

In those cases, though, it's not someone stealing from "a culture", it's someone stealing hughee99 Dec 2014 #43

It's not about 'stealing' as it is disrespect. ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #44

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #48

What's interesting to add BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #55

That is interesting ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #62

Very true description BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #63

And even the early Blues was a sort of cultural melding between racial groups. cemaphonic Dec 2014 #93

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #101

I remember when "Holiday" by Madonna came out. It was only played on the black/R&B stations Number23 Dec 2014 #71

Yup and I might even add BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #98

No matter what you do you'll offend someone, so do whatever you want. ZombieHorde Dec 2014 #45

Your response offends me. Dr. Strange Dec 2014 #64

Nooooooooo! ZombieHorde Dec 2014 #95

Post removed Post removed Dec 2014 #105

Agree. lumberjack_jeff Dec 2014 #133

Funny! nt ZombieHorde Dec 2014 #162

Go around the world.... RandySF Dec 2014 #51

Culture doesn't "belong" to anyone. True Blue Door Dec 2014 #52

I guess that IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY is out the window, then. JEFF9K Dec 2014 #53

Try reading the article. ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #54

I DID read the article ... JEFF9K Dec 2014 #57

Oh dear ismnotwasm Dec 2014 #60

My grandson in mostly Native America and white but there is a black ancestor. He saw my genealogy jwirr Dec 2014 #58

Okay. So, what's the upshot? Iggy Azalea should only sing "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport"? Comrade Grumpy Dec 2014 #59

Yes. She is only allowed to rap the classics of Rolf Harris. kwassa Dec 2014 #69

Kwassa, you know that Rolf Harris is in some MAJOR deep caca, don't you?? Number23 Dec 2014 #73

I do indeed. kwassa Dec 2014 #75

Apparently he played with his didgeridoo in A minor (nt) Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #125

Here are the results of the alert on your post: CaliforniaPeggy Dec 2014 #148

I was juror #2 and voted to hide the post: played with it in "A minor." John1956PA Dec 2014 #149

OK, and that is your right. CaliforniaPeggy Dec 2014 #150

OMG STOP IT Skittles Dec 2014 #83

I like Valerie June. Comrade Grumpy Dec 2014 #61

sarah palin made a point of wearing a Star of David during several Cerridwen Dec 2014 #67

Palin is a Zionist Boreal Dec 2014 #155

What about it movies and on TV madville Dec 2014 #70

I've got a malibu's most wanted tale... rppper Dec 2014 #141

K&R There are a slew of interesting articles in the side nav of this piece that are great reads too Number23 Dec 2014 #72

I am amazed by how many in this thread don't understand culture or how it works. kwassa Dec 2014 #119

I concur (nt) Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #126

I don't really find corn rows attractive... NaturalHigh Dec 2014 #76

Only if you entirely ignore history and context gollygee Dec 2014 #77

Yes, corn rows are so historically significant. NaturalHigh Dec 2014 #87

There is history and relevance to how African American women wear their hair and why gollygee Dec 2014 #89

This whole thread has been absolutely revolting. And I don't mean you for starting it Number23 Dec 2014 #90

I'm not sure why this pushes buttons like it does gollygee Dec 2014 #92

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #103

It has to do with our whole society gollygee Dec 2014 #104

I find it's not the corn rows I find offensive - hedgehog Dec 2014 #140

The writer is very vague when it comes to defining cultural theft Vattel Dec 2014 #78

I'm calling BS on it too Skittles Dec 2014 #81

of course Skittles Dec 2014 #84

I'm split on this. chrisa Dec 2014 #82

If you're not white, you shouldn't ever play a guitar I guess... cherokeeprogressive Dec 2014 #91

Except that the earliest forms came from the mother continent BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #134

The banjo came here from Africa too. arcane1 Dec 2014 #142

And believe it or not BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #151

... Zorra Dec 2014 #94

Then there are those who "appropriate" the Jews. Behind the Aegis Dec 2014 #96

Sorry, no oberliner Dec 2014 #100

Such a revealing thread rbrnmw Dec 2014 #108

I was first made aware of "cultural appropriation" about 25 years ago Orrex Dec 2014 #109

Excellent analysis, Orrex, right on point. kwassa Dec 2014 #117

Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2014 #128

As an anthropologist I have an issue with the concept of 'cultural appropriation' blackspade Dec 2014 #112

Good question. LWolf Dec 2014 #121

As an aside on the cornrows... BumRushDaShow Dec 2014 #122

Cultural appropriation doesn't work both ways; that is in the definition. kwassa Dec 2014 #152

Not to belabor the point but.... blackspade Dec 2014 #163

Hurray for common sense underahedgerow Dec 2014 #166

Does this concept only apply only to manners of dress and speech, or is food and architecture and Marr Dec 2014 #123

"Elvis wasn't the first to steal black music" Nye Bevan Dec 2014 #124

Elvis himself admitted that wyldwolf Dec 2014 #130

Elvis didn't steal first, but he still stole it. kwassa Dec 2014 #135

There is only one thing we need to know about this silly concept LittleBlue Dec 2014 #129

Actually, you're wrong. This is not a new concept, has been around for decades. kwassa Dec 2014 #137

The conecpt may have been around for decades... Ace Rothstein Dec 2014 #138

+1. LittleBlue Dec 2014 #139

No, it is a real and true phenomenon, and you don't wish to acknowledge it. kwassa Dec 2014 #146

I'm aware of what its proponents think it is LittleBlue Dec 2014 #153

So, being deeply in debt makes you smart? kwassa Dec 2014 #154

I give a fuck, and so do many others. kwassa Dec 2014 #145

+2 d_b Dec 2014 #147

Sorry d_b Dec 2014 #132

"cultural appropriation" shanti Dec 2014 #136

So if one culture does something LincolnsLeftHand Dec 2014 #156

Try reading the article or the thread or something. n/t gollygee Dec 2014 #157

The thread (at least some posts) LincolnsLeftHand Dec 2014 #159

Yes, Ayn Rand, it is your legal right to do a great number of irresponsible things. n/t gollygee Dec 2014 #160

Now I get that other post malaise Dec 2014 #161

African Americans have been more successful than any oppressed minority in history ... redgreenandblue Dec 2014 #167

All races must keep to their specifically designated racial activities! Kurska Dec 2014 #168