"...Cultural appropriation could be a whole debate on its own and given how the term is thrown around a lot these days..."
"When I think about cultural appropriation, I thought about that one incident where an American girl wore a cheongsam as a prom dress and posted these pictures on Twitter, including a picture where she was doing a praying gesture. However, when she posted those pictures, she did not expect an uproar and was accused of cultural appropriation. One twitter user even said that ‘my culture is not your goddamn prom dress’ since the dress is a traditional Chinese garment. Additionally, she was also accused of being racist by doing the praying gesture with the outfit that she was wearing. Though she clarified that it was a reference to a Youtuber instead of mocking the culture. Her response to the incident was that she was simply showing appreciation for the culture and there was. Some people who supported her claim were actually Chinese, even saying that there was nothing wrong with her wearing the cheongsam to prom, saying ‘if a foreign woman wears a cheongsam and thinks she looks pretty, then why shouldn’t she wear it?’.
Given that the definition of cultural appropriation is having a usually dominant culture taking traditions from another culture (often from an ethnic minority group) out of context, it is understandable that it may be seen as the girl appropriating the culture by wearing the cheongsam to the prom. Especially when some people have viewed her actions as reducing the cheongsam into ‘exotic’ fashion, essentially removing the traditional meaning behind it. However, the people who seem to be most offended and called her out on cultural appropriation are usually Asian Americans yet the people who grew up locally in those Asian countries do not. The latter reaction may be seen as unexpected as people would have imagined they would think it would be offensive to their culture. But this is where I realized something: the people who called the girl out on cultural appropriation were usually people who lived in a place where the majority of the population is Caucasian. The latter group were from a population that is predominantly Chinese, including me. This is perhaps because the former group live in a place where racism and discrimination are more prevalent and have also gone through similar experiences subjected to them by the dominant culture while the others have not. In fact, people from the latter group often praise people who wear garments or participate in those activities because more often, their actions are not seen as offensive but rather appreciative and happy that their culture is being welcomed, shared, and enjoyed by someone apart from their culture.
As a person who is born and raised in Hong Kong, I was never stigmatized or discriminated against because of my culture or ethnicity. Cultural appropriation has always been a confusing topic for me as people who are often called out for it also seem to appreciate the culture rather than making fun of it. This raises another question. When do we exactly call out on someone appropriating someone else’s culture? When is it considered cultural appreciation? Given the ‘prom dress’ situation, it could be said that the lines between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation are easily blurred since it may be seen as one or the other. However, what I think separates the cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation are the intention of the person.
For example, a couple years ago, a mother helped her young daughter set up a Japanese styled tea party, posting a picture of her wearing traditional geisha makeup, a kimono with a Japanese tea set in the background. A person on social media criticized the child for culturally appropriating, seemingly using ‘yellowface’ through the geisha makeup while a Japanese user told them that it was not because of the amount of effort of trying to portray Japanese culture accurately and based on the photo, saw both mother and daughter appreciating the culture. Based on those two incidents, the thing they had in common is that neither one of them intended to mock those respective cultures. Instead, they wanted to show appreciation by the only way they know how: by wearing the clothing of that culture and/ or doing activities that are symbolic and meaningful to that culture. Respecting and understanding it without making fun of said culture.
Cultural appropriation could be a whole debate on its own and given how the term is thrown around a lot these days, the word ‘cultural appropriation’ in my opinion, is being misused quite often. Especially when people are trying to show their appreciation towards a specific culture because it seems that nowadays, it is assumed that culture is exclusive to and practiced by a specific group of people. If anyone, particularly people from a dominant culture, incorporates elements from these cultures to their own style or lifestyle, it is seen as cultural appropriation. But I think that culture is meant to be shared, through the way that the individual knows how like wearing garments or participating in certain activities from that culture. The more we stigmatize sharing cultural elements only creates more distance from each other. Though how it is shown, executed as well as the intention of the person is important as well. If it is negatively stereotyping and make fun of it, then that’s cultural appropriation and racist. However, if it is appreciating the beauty and understanding the object’s significance and historical importance to that culture, it is cultural appreciation. Cultural appropriation is dependent on a person’s intention as well as the viewer’s perspective which is heavily influenced by their cultural and environmental background. I understand that since I grew up in a predominantly Chinese population, I might not be the best person to talk about this topic, but my thoughts on cultural appropriation based on what I know would be it not necessarily a good or bad thing. Cultural appropriation is just taking elements from a culture out of context. At worst, it is racist, insensitive, and sacrilegious. At best, it is a good way to connect with people and for you to experience other cultures for yourself."
Written by A Tired Cornflake from HK
Illustrated by @dearmacherie
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