A Power Imbalance

[blockquote type=”left, center, right”]Inside cultural appropriation[/blockquote]

STORY BY TEENA THACH

[dropcap]K[/dropcap]hloe Kardashian purchases a giant decorative headdress that matches her black summer jumpsuit. Her niece’s birthday is coming up, and the theme this year is Kidchella, named after the popular California music and arts festival, Coachella.

She is dressed as a Native American. But is she interested in celebrating Native American culture and traditions, or the way the headdress compliments her outfit?

She isn’t making fun of Native Americans — just simply showing how cute she looks in this costume. What is the harm in that?

This dilemma is the perfect example of an aspect that has become normalized in today’s attitudes toward cultural traditions.

Cultural appropriation is a term not often heard in daily conversations and sometimes misunderstood by those who aren’t aware of it.

[blockquote type=”left”]Cultural appropriation is defined as the theft of icons, rituals, adoption and behavior from one culture or subculture by another[/blockquote]

Paco Sanchez, a Western senior, has seen cultural appropriation in practice plenty of times during Halloween, but was surprised to see all the repetitive cultural costumes at the 2014 Freaknight electronic music festival in Seattle.

“There were headdresses, stereotypical Mexicans with sombreros and even ninjas,” Sanchez says. “It’s like people just like to change the original purpose, and cultural meaning of things, just to make [them] as cool as they want [them] to be.”

Sanchez grew up in Chelan, Washington and says his town’s demographics are around 50 percent Mexican and 50 percent Caucasian.

“Over there in Chelan, people get it, but other places that don’t have a diverse population might not,” Sanchez says. “[I] can’t say that individuals are at fault, but it’s the whole system, and society doesn’t talk about it. We need to talk as a whole.”

Cultural appropriation is defined as the theft of icons, rituals, adoption and behavior from one culture or subculture by another, according to the book “Unsettling America” by Wendell Berry. The book explains that the concept is generally applied when the subject culture is a minority culture or somehow a subordinate to the approaching culture in social, political, economic or military status.

The book also discusses appropriating activities being commercialized by objects and traditions of marginalized cultures that are seen by the dominant culture as exotic and desirable, which can translate to making money. People then become identical, rather than individuals with celebrated differences. Once a diverse cultural identity is stripped away, the only culture left to identify with is the dominant one.

Due to ignorance to other peoples’ experiences, people tend to think that they [can] take bits and pieces of others’ culture, and celebrate them in whatever way they think it is, says Glenn Tsunokai, Western sociology professor.

Tsunokai tends to focus his class on multiculturalism and touches on issues such as race and ethnicity, social stratification, interracial dating and hate groups.

“During lectures when we talk about the Native American experience, we bring up the designers that make clothing that resembles Native American traditions, and the use of mascots” Tsunokai says.

Through his online class discussions Tsunokai says some issues are touchier than others.

“It can be an uncomfortable discussion for people to have, and many people get really defensive out of dismissive intent or demeanor,” Tsunokai says. “The topic on mascots seems to touch a nerve when many people think that it isn’t that important of an issue.”

Cultural appropriation often happens when people lack a real understanding of why the original culture takes part in certain activities, or people are unaware of the meaning behind the group’s significant practices or beliefs.

[pullquote cite=”Glenn Tsunokai, Western sociology professor” type=”left”]“We need to start these conversations in elementary school, because that is when you initiate the boundaries that you’ll have during adulthood” [/pullquote]

U.S. history has been influenced by imperialism, oppression, capitalism and Westernization — in other words ethnocentrism, or judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture according to the dictionary definition.

Today, some people still feel uncomfortable discussing certain aspects of American history, particularly colonization.

“There is a dominant belief that we are all one of the same that we all want to fit in, integrate and be assimilated,” Tsunokai says. “For some, their experience of being here is their generation being removed. Perhaps, to assimilate to others, they must not speak their language in order to fit in.”

When there is a certain group that believes others have to assimilate to fit in. it takes away from the notion that we can be a diverse and multicultural society, Tsunokai says.

Media has also influenced how some people portray culture, often turning original definitions into insignificant ones.

“Pharrell Williams is wearing a headdress on a magazine cover and because he is such an icon who makes lots of money it makes it OK,” Sanchez says. “Iggy Azalea is Australian but raps in an accent that isn’t hers, but because the radio keeps repeating her songs, it also makes it seem like this is OK, when it is not.”

Even Victoria’s Secret model Karlie Kloss’s creative choices have sparked ongoing discussion, after Kloss wore a floor-length headdress in the company’s 2012 fashion show. Then there’s No Doubt’s 2012 “Looking Hot” music video, which was later pulled from the air for appropriating Native American attire.

From Cinco de Mayo to St. Patrick’s Day, some holidays also add to skewed beliefs about how certain cultures celebrate their heritages.

“It is like people use Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to get drunk. It really isn’t celebrated in Mexico,” Sanchez says. “Americans make it how they want, change it up and then celebrate it.”

While people are free to do and wear whatever they want, using another culture to entertain can be considered an example of privilege, defined as a special right, advantage or immunity granted to a particular person or group of people.

“I think individuals who are often [appropriating] have the privilege and power to do it, and don’t have a lot of contact with diversity,” Tsunaki says. They normalize [it] and live in this bubble we call cultural encapsulation.”

If I think I’m honoring that person, or thing, that is how I would perceive it, Tsunaki says.

Appreciating the beauty in other cultures is an example of cultural exchange, but it is important to maintain mutual equality.

“It really all depends on the situation and how you address it,” Sanchez says. “Exchanging culture needs to be done in a respectable way, understanding traditions and ways of life without trying to change it or make it their own.”

People can use the Internet to educate themselves and research a variety of cultural topics.

“We need to start these conversations in elementary school, because that is when you initiate the boundaries that you’ll have during adulthood,” Tsunokai says. “If you start the kids young, you can really influence them for a lifetime.”

We have the ability to understand that pointing out cultural appropriation isn’t always personal — it is just a way to call attention to power imbalances that remain between those in power and those that have been historically marginalized. In order to learn, people must challenge themselves and be aware about what culture has become.

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