2013 was the year Generation Y learnt about cultural appropriation, predominantly through Miley Cyrus’ evident need to twerk wherever she so pleased. But cultural appropriation isn’t a new phenomenon. For years prominent artists have been accused of borrowing the fashions, music and art forms of various cultural groups and popularising them as their own. Elvis Presley, for example, became the King of Rock and Roll on the back of the hard work of the black artists who heavily influenced his music, and whom many believe never garnered the credit they deserved in comparison. However, this was arguably the year in which the impact of cultural appropriation was at its most painfully obvious.
It seemed like every day there was some new story about a celebrity causing a furore over appropriating cultures; Selena Gomez wearing a bindi in ‘Come and Get It’; Katy Perry dressing up in Geisha attire for her American Music Awards performance - the list goes on. The biggest issue that came out of this is the idea that it trivialises the origin culture, belittling their way of life and minimising it into merely an accessory, whilst emphasising their own privilege. For instance, a white person appropriating from black culture doesn’t want to be subjected to racism, just as a heterosexual person appropriating from LGBT culture doesn’t want to have homophobic slurs thrown at them. The oppression and struggles that so often come with being a minority aren’t experienced in the same way by those who appropriate the culture of said minority. This is often deemed as unfair. These cultural elements were often used to give a voice to the oppressed, and they shouldn’t be taken for granted by others in such a way. As a wealthy white woman, Miley Cyrus is often considered as 'playing' at being a minority from a lower socio-economic level, as of those from the New Orleans bounce music scene where twerking originated. By reaping the benefits of the culture for her own financial gain whilst experiencing none of the hardship which twerking grew from, she could be seen to indirectly express racial superiority.
As a white British girl who has lived in a Western culture her entire life, I have never been a target of this type of cultural appropriation or felt offence on my own behalf regarding this issue, but as a member of the LGBT community, I have witnessed my own fair share of stereotyping and marginalisation. It’s not just culture from different areas of the world that are affected by this; other marginalised minorities have experienced cultural assimilation. Madonna, for instance, has been accused of borrowing from a hoard of cultures to sell her music, including gay culture. This was seen chiefly through her song 'Vogue', whereby she brought voguing, a dance which had its origins in the black and latino gay community of Harlem, into the popular eye. Hipster culture also supposedly undercuts LGBT culture by integrating queer style within a potentially heterosexual lifestyle.
However, as with all social debates, there is a clear divide between those who think cultural appropriation is a problem, and those who do not; some are keen to have their culture assimilated, others much less so. Some argue that the people who bring different cultures into the mainstream are agents of social change - by taking on the personas of otherwise underrepresented cultures and giving them exposure to the masses, cultural appropriation is an aid rather than an offensive hindrance to these cultures. The adoption of black culture in the 1960s was considered to have helped pave the way for racial equality in America - perhaps the same can be said of now. As Anna Leach stated in The Guardian, she is thankful for hipsters "because they make it cool to be gay", or at least pave the way for more acceptance through their fashion statements. Others merely feel that their fashion choices are a way of personal expression, and that just because something has its origins in another culture doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to emulate and enjoy it as members of a different culture. Critics to this imply that by not accompanying this appropriation with political or cultural statements and acknowledgement that they have borrowed from another culture, they merely reinforce narrow and stereotypical representations of minorities in the media. However, perhaps by stating that something belongs immovably to a particular culture in this way, accusing someone of cultural appropriation is merely reinforcing the stereotype in itself.
The question is, where do we draw the line? It is argued that Westerners are used to pressing their own culture onto others and taking what they want in return. The western culture has indeed opened itself up to being adopted by outsiders, but not every culture is the same. Ultimately, perhaps we should remember that we do not live in a homogenous world and that the debate on cultural appropriation will undoubtedly persist.
Original article: The Durham Globalist - Culture
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