Introduction

What do the Kardashians, Elvis Presley, and Marc Jacobs all have in common? These public figures have all been accused of cultural appropriation, a term that has been thrown around all across the internet in the past decade. Instances of one person using elements of a culture they aren’t a part of are common nowadays with a shortening social distance between people and cultures. Do all of them constitute appropriation or are there other things at play? On this webpage, we discuss our definition of the term “cultural appropriation” and its contexts. 

Definition

We define cultural appropriation as the act of a dominant group exercising their privilege to exploit cultural elements from a marginalized group. We assert that the dominant group then uses the marginalized group’s culture for their benefit, while the marginalized culture is in turn discriminated against or ignored, despite creating those practices (see Empire).

Timeline of the Term

Despite the prevalence of cultural appropriation in the onset of colonialism (see Colonialism), the term “cultural appropriation” was only recently used by academic scholars within the last century. In 1976, British art historian Kenneth Coutts-Smith introduced the idea of cultural colonialism, in which a dominant group steals and exploits a marginalized group’s culture. This idea was further expanded in 1979 by British sociologist Dick Hebdige in his work “Subculture: The Meaning of Style,” in which he talks about how white people in Great Britain borrow cultural symbols from marginalized groups for their fashion style, which they then use to reinforce their identity. Then, in 1980, scholars gave a proper name to the act of stealing and exploiting the culture of marginalized groups: cultural appropriation.

After the idea of cultural appropriation had been introduced, modern cases of cultural appropriation skyrocketed—or rather, we now know how to properly label what is culturally inappropriate with the right terminology. The majority of cultural appropriation cases are dominated by pop culture, which is now more globally publicized amid the 21st century. 

Instances of cultural appropriation in pop culture range from Gwen Stefani wearing a traditional Indian gem in a live performance to Karlie Kloss wearing a full Native American headdress in a fashion show. Compared to when cultural appropriation was only defined as the act of a dominant group stealing and exploiting a marginalized group’s culture, we now define cultural appropriation as the act of a dominant group exercising their privilege to exploit cultural elements from a marginalized group, in which the dominant group reaps benefits while the marginalized group is discriminated against—celebrities and their culturally insensitive fashion choices not being an exception.

Culture not costume – The Catalyst
Artwork depicting the harm of using others’ culture as elements of costume.

Discussion

The differing definitions of cultural appropriation across spectrums of academia, social media, activism, and the general public create diverse connotations for its severity and consequence. In particular, we find that within more accessible spaces such as on social media and in widely used dictionaries, the definition of the term is discussed on an individual level that ignores the systemic structures that build the foundation for the term’s existence. On the other hand, within academic texts and activist communities like journals or certain blogs and websites, the definition of the term is usually more nuanced and emphasizes the power imbalances that create the circumstance of appropriation to occur, but often the definitions are harder to understand and less accessible for public usage. There is also dissent among varying groups about what should be considered cultural appropriation in the first place (compared to ideas such as cultural appreciation or cultural exchange), or even if it matters whether certain individual actions are or are not considered appropriate. Publicly accessible spaces such as social media and dictionaries tend to focus more on certain instances of cultural appropriation—stressing an individual criminal act—while academia and traditionally “reputable” activist spaces focus more on the structural consequences of appropriative acts as a whole. [2]

“Some question the concept of cultural appropriation altogether, saying culture cannot be owned and is inherently malleable… However, others say the practice is a symptom of deeply rooted colonialism and white supremacy.”

CQ Researcher

In Institutions

In dictionaries such as the Oxford English Dictionary and Dictionary.com, the definitions of cultural appropriation are “the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society” [16] and “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture,” respectively. [7] The use of words and phrases such as, “without showing that you understand or respect the culture,” “unacknowledged,” and “inappropriate” imply that it is an individual person’s crime and that the consequences of it stop at the individual level. Moreover, systemic problems are glossed over by referencing marginalized cultures as “[culture]s] that [are] not your own,” or calling the privileged group the “more dominant people or society.” These definitions are the ones people look toward the most, as they are accessible to the public and widely known sources. However, it may be for this very reason that the definitions lack a depth of analysis that links appropriation to other forms of bigotry that stem from the same racist institutions. Large, old institutions aim to present an easy-to-understand definition to the public and do not care whether or not they address systemic issues as these big institutions likely have the same systemic issues themselves. Ultimately, the message they send to the public is that cultural appropriation is not something that occurs on a systemic level, but is an individual responsibility. 

An example of this is the definition of cultural appropriation given by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in this video. [6]

The video’s definition of cultural appropriation emphasizes individual responsibility much more than systemic cause by defining appropriation as thus: “when someone takes elements from a culture not their own and remakes and reduces it into a meaningless pop-cultural item.” This description, by its use of the word “someone,” frames the onus of the act onto a singular person. The act becomes one isolated from any potential systems that causes one form of “taking” to be more or less harmful than other forms.

In Popular Culture

Social media has a similar problem of emphasizing individual responsibility. An example of this is an Instagram post from @queersextherapy and @healingisimperfect which states that “cultural appropriation is: stealing another group’s fashion, food, vocabulary, etc. without credit…[then] abandoning it when the next trend rolls around.” [14] This definition falls short because it describes appropriation as a trend that an individual follows rather than a structural problem of society. Further, we see this in the many Instagram posts, tweets, and blog posts that reference singular instances of cultural appropriation. For instance, in “A Fashion Designer and an Activist Talk Cultural Appropriation,” the author specifically names Marine Serre as an offender of appropriating Islamic imagery. [18] It is not necessarily a bad thing to call out people for culturally appropriating, but as social media can be a huge platform with lots of influence, it is equally important to recognize how simply pointing fingers at individual people all the time diminishes the real problem. Isolating and individualizing these instances can blur the material harm of appropriation, which is widening an imbalance of power between marginalized and privileged groups. However, it uses more colloquial language compared to all of the other sources, which helps broaden the audience that can understand what the term means. This is compounded by the fact that social media has an even larger audience potential because people on social media don’t need to be explicitly searching for a definition to find one.

For example, in this episode, Monica gets cornrows, which earns the visible disapproval of her boyfriend and peers. While enjoying her “new hairstyle,” her boyfriend expresses his hatred for her hair and tells her to get rid of the cornrows. [10] Cornrows hold great cultural significance for African-Americans as they used this as a symbol of resistance during slavery. Therefore, Monica wearing cornrows is considered cultural appropriation because it uses a part of African-American culture without being mindful of its history and significance.

Since this topic is broadcasted on a TV show with such a widespread audience, viewers from across the world are able to contextualize the episode’s simple message about hair appropriation. However, the message may be too simple: Monica’s friends tell her to take out the cornrows but do not discuss the reasons why she should not wear them. For millions of viewers across the world, “Friends” simply shows an example of cultural appropriation but does not discuss its meaning or implications. While a simple lesson can be learned from the clip, the full context of the issue is not shown at all.
This is another depiction of a similar instance of cultural appropriation.

In Activist Communities

Finally, in academia but also in activist communities in particular, we see emphasis placed less on individual responsibility or specific crimes, but rather on the power dynamics of cultural groups. K. Tempest explains on NPR that “[Culture appropriation] not only [involves] the act of an individual, but an individual working within a ‘power dynamic in which members of a culture take elements from a culture of people who have been by that dominant group.” [3] Similarly, The English Journal says that “when [(cultural appropriation] occurs, it is not a simple “sharing” of culture; there is always a power imbalance that is being exploited.” [13] In both of these definitions, there is reference to a “power dynamic” or “power imbalance” that makes the act a negative one. However, these academic journals and activist spaces are difficult to access and tend to use more complex vocabulary compared to social media or online dictionaries. While they do a better job of explaining the underlying structures at play, these definitions won’t get as much attention from the public. 

For instance, when Sacheen Littlefeather refuses Marlon Brando’s Oscar at the 1973 Oscar Awards, it was the first time in history that the award ceremony had been used to platform such a cause. [4] The following quote by Brando—which Littlefeather reads after the awards—points to the imbalance of power between Hollywood and these Indigenous communities, and how the film industry exploits Indigenous cultures, causing even more systemic harm to be made.

“When they laid down their arms, we murdered them. We lied to them. We cheated them out of their lands. We starved them into signing fraudulent agreements that we called treaties which we never kept. We turned them into beggars on a continent that gave life for as long as life can remember…the motion picture community has been as responsible as any for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character, describing his as savage, hostile and evil. When Indian children watch television, and they watch films, and when they see their race depicted as they are in films, their minds become injured in ways we can never know.”

Marlon Brando, the New York Times

Our process

In creating our definition, we tried to balance these elements as best as possible. We cannot control the amount of attention our definition gets compared to journals or social media, but we do our best to emphasize that cultural appropriation is not just an individual nonconsensually using another person’s culture, it is part of a larger system of exploitation. We also try to use well-known vocabulary, but find it difficult to do so without watering down the definition. We thus place more emphasis on an accurate definition with the understanding that it can be harder to read. 

Forms and Examples of Appropriation

As there are various elements that make up a culture, it is important to recognize how those elements can translate into cultural appropriation. By examining the similarities between appropriation on different nuanced forms of culture, a better understanding of the term can be reached. 

Fashion

The hippie/counterculture movement originated from groups of predominantly white middle-class Americans in retaliation against the Vietnam war. The hippies sought to create a more utopian society and put an end to violent practices. This ideology reflected in their fashion, which they used as a political statement to represent a “return to their natural state of being”. They often took elements from Native American cultures such as fringed outerwear, feathers, and Native American beadwork and patterning. [11]

As the hippie community continued to benefit from the styles that they wore, using them to promote peace and community, the marginalized groups continued to be erased by colonization. The hippies were able to pick and choose what elements of indigenous culture they could use to express themselves, which they used to symbolize their idea of “peace.” At the same time, this meant ignoring the violent reality that the Native Americans faced. While the counterculture movement benefited from using Native American fashion, Native American communities continued to be oppressed by colonization. The counterculture movement of the 60s coincided with the “vanishing Indian” as indigenous communities were depicted as disappearing, despite still growing. This dynamic highlights the dangers of cultural appropriation: the more that the hippie movement gained power, the cultural elements that they used were essentially “erased” from the cultures that they took from.

Music

In one instance, music is often one of the most prominent features of a culture, as it is an important form of self-expression. It can easily be shared between cultures, however, in some cases, a dominant group’s power can be used to appropriate types of music. The genre of Rock n Roll emerged from R&B and gospel music from the 1940s. Even though the genre originated from the work of many black artists, such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard, only white artists received widespread recognition for their songs. [21] “Hound Dog”, most famously sung by Elvis Presley, is actually a cover of the original song sung by Big Mama Thornton, a black woman. Although Elvis Presley doesn’t blatantly appropriate because he gave supposed credit to Thornton, both his career and net worth benefited drastically because his version is most famously recognized as the “original”. Still, Thornton did not receive any profit from the song, even as Elvis continuously profited from its success. Elvis was a part of the most privileged, dominant group in society: the white, male population. Cultural appropriation can be understood as a power dynamic in which a dominant group, Elvis, benefits from using a cultural element from a minority group, Thornton—who was both black and a woman (see Intersectionality). There has been debate as to whether Elvis actually culturally appropriated if he gave credit to the original artist. However, it is evident that while he profited off of the ideas of another culture, the original creator did not, highlighting the underlying similarity between all forms of cultural appropriation. 

Food

Food is often an aspect of human life easily shared between cultures. It’s a way to appreciate and learn about a cultural element without exploiting a cultural group.  However, there are still instances where it can turn into appropriation, and it is important to recognize how they become so. In particular, a white woman sold her own version of the Asian dish, congee. She claimed to have ‘improved’ the dish, and even went on to call herself ‘the queen of congee’ (see Eurocentrism). On her website, she writes, “I’ve spent a lot of time modernizing it for the Western palette — making a congee that you can eat and find delicious and doesn’t seem foreign, but delivers all of the medicinal healing properties of this ancient recipe”. [8] This situation clearly doesn’t respect the cultural origin of the dish because it claims to have improved it and deliberately taken away its origins to westernize it. Anita Mannur, a professor in English and Asian American studies at Miami University, stated, “Taylor’s words send a false message that Asian food is improved when it is adapted to whiteness” [8]. Not only does Taylor take away some of the cultural elements of a dish, but she also uses that to sell it to others for profit. 

The term ‘culture’ can span a vast variety of different elements. It is not limited to just traditions and objects, but can also mean language, music, food, and anything that a group uses to distinguish themselves. Because of this, appropriation can also occur across many different contexts, and it is important to recognize the underlying similarities that are present in each of these cases of appropriation. 

The implications of cultural appropriation continue to be discussed across different contexts. Below is an example of the ways that cultural appropriation are discussed in the modern-day world as the definition of cultural appropriation evolves.

Hide Your Shea Butter – A Poem on Cultural Appropriation

By Crystal Valentine and Aaliyah Jihad

References

[1] Aburam, Amma. “The Undying Trend of Cultural Appropriation – Gal-Dem.” gal, September 24, 2018. https://gal-dem.com/undying-trend-cultural-appropriation/. 

[2] Barua, Meehika. “Cultural Appropriation.” CQ Researcher by CQ Press. February 11, 2022. https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2022021100.

[3] Bradford, K. Tempest. “Commentary: Cultural Appropriation Is, in Fact, Indefensible.” NPR. NPR, June 28, 2017. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/06/28/533818685/cultural-appropriation-is-in-fact-indefensible

[4] Brando, Marlon. “That Unfinished Oscar Speech.” The New York Times. March 30, 1973. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/bestpictures/godfather-ar3.html

[5] Burton, Quinn. “Culture Not Costume.” The Catalyst. Accessed December 3, 2022. https://millardwestcatalyst.com/18875/opinion/culture-not-costume/. 

[6] “Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation | CBC Radio | CBC.” YouTube video, 3:32. Posted by “CBC,” October 27, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfAp_G735r0

[7] Dictionary.com. (Retrieved 2022, November 21). Cultural Appropriation. In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cultural-appropriation

[8] Fernando, Christine. “’What Is This White Nonsense?’: So-Called Queen of Congee Accused of Cultural Appropriation of Chinese Food.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, July 22, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/07/22/breakfast-cure-queen-congee-accused-cultural-appropriation/8060424002/.

[9] Fig. 1, Bouvier, Carol, Queen V, collage, August 2020, University of Cambridge Museums, Museum Remix: Woven Histories, https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/magic/queen-v-roots-cultural-appropriation.

[10] Friends, “Monica’s New Hair Style | Friends,” Youtube video, 3:24, May 9, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcS22nPxNCE 

[11] Hahn, Miriam. “Playing Hippies and Indians: Acts of Cultural Colonization in the Theatre of the American Counterculture,” 2014. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1400171772.

[12] i-D, “What Defines Cultural Appropriation? | i-D” Youtube video, 3:22, November 12, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwEMVEmeubk&t=81s

[13] Keene, Adrienne. “Engaging Indigeneity and Avoiding Appropriation: An Interview with Adrienne Keene.” The English Journal 106, no. 1 (2016): 55–57. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26359320.

[14] Kiana, L. & Tanner, C. [@queersextherapy and @healingisimperfect]. (2022, 25 September). Cultural Appropriation is. Instagram, Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci79TvtO7_h/?hl=en

[15] Lilavois, Simone. “The Ethics of Cultural Expression.” Medium. January 10, 2021. https://medium.com/meliora-magazine/the-ethics-of-cultural-expression-fab0d6f5a083

[16] Oxford English Dictionary. (Retrieved 2022, October 11). Appropriation. In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/45742?redirectedFrom=cultural+appropriation#eid1223654010

[17] PBS Origins, “What is Cultural Appropriation?” Youtube video, 10:15, January 8, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQgF1f557YY

[18] Semaan, Celine. “A Fashion Designer and an Activist Talk Cultural Appropriation.” The Cut. March 9, 2018. https://www.thecut.com/2018/03/a-designer-and-an-activist-talk-cultural-appropriation.html.

[19] Qaiser, Sandaleen. “Cultural Appropriation: A Poem.” Varsity Online, February 14, 2020. https://www.varsity.co.uk/arts/18622.

[20] Valentine, Crystal and Jihad, Aaliyah, “Hide Your Shea Butter,” Button Poetry, August 14, 2016, https://buttonpoetry.com/tag/cultural-appropriation/.

[21] White, Ruka Hatua-Saar. “Cultural Appropriation in Music.” Berklee Online Take Note. November 3, 2022. https://online.berklee.edu/takenote/cultural-appropriation-in-music/. 

[22] Wright, Shannon. Shared or Stolen: An Examination of Cultural Appropriation.” 2016. Medium. https://aye-tee-tee.medium.com/why-defending-your-cultural-appropriation-is-dangerous-ef29c7288fb. 

Contributors

Patricia Clemente, Rita Dai, Leah Kerry, and Toni Suncar