I’d say some people their take their offense too far, but there are valid reasons to be upset about cultural appropriation.
For hundreds of years indigenous people and people from non-white countries that were brought over to England or one of its colonies (US, Australia) were forced to assimilate to a European lifestyle. They had their cultural identity stripped from them, going so far as forcible name changes and whatnot. At the same time, upper class white people used collecting tokens from other cultures as a sign of privilege and class. Being “cultured” was something exclusively for white people. Rich white citizens collected memorabilia, while people from the cultures it belonged to were forced to both deny their heritage and mocked for association.
We’ve barely made it 50 years since the end of segregation in the US. That’s nothing in the course of human history. It’s all still a sore subject for a lot of people. Add to that modern racism, and the fact that many people are still shamed for sporting things reminiscent of their cultural heritage (black men being told that dreads make them look like thugs, black women being forced to chemically straighten their hair to “look professional”).
I don’t think this means people can’t have appreciation for other’s cultures, but it’s the difference between showing respect for that culture and fetishizing/mocking/or coveting it from the people it belongs to.
I do think Kenyon Martin’s comment was uncalled for. He was looking to shame and take offense where there was no offense to take. He was also being a massive hypocrite. But, that aside, I think there are a lot of valid reasons people are still upset about cultural appropriation.
That’s just it a fucking hair style doesn’t belong to anyone. I am balding so I shave my head I didn’t ask any group of people if it offended them. If I had hair and wanted to do it any style I wouldn’t care and no else should either. I remember some girl wore a Asian dress to her prom because she thought it looked nice and people lost their fucking minds about it. I see an Asian in a suit I don’t go stop stealing my European culture I think oh that dude is dressing up and wants to look good. Anyone who see otherwise is insane imo. You using indigenous people as an example of us forcing them to change to a European lifestyle makes no sense when this is the opposite of that where people are openly embracing a different culture. And let’s be honest most people have no clue who started what hair trend who’s to say some cave man wasn’t sporting dreads.
Cultural appropriation isn’t about sharing cultures, it’s (as another commenter said to you) about one group being shamed for openly sporting their cultural heritage while the dominant group of that society can sport those things and be seen as “fashionable” or “cool”.
There’s a long history of it that effects people of nearly every non-white culture on the planet. It’s not just indigenous groups in the US and Australia that underwent forced name changes. Africans brought to the US faced forced denial of their cultural heritage, and both India and Africa experienced heavy colonialism. Again, the issue is not sharing and appreciation of their culture, but that the native people of those cultures were literally unable to embrace their own cultural heritage while wealthy Europeans coveted their cultural memorabilia as a show of “class”.
I do want to point out that a Chinese man in a business suit isn’t a good example of “sharing cultures” or the Chinese committing cultural appropriation. He’s not wearing a suit because he thinks western fashion is cool, he’s wearing it because he doesn’t have a choice. Western societies dominate the business world, and other cultures were forced to assimilate to western fashion ideals generations ago. If he showed up in something like a Changshan he’d be fired. The traditional clothing of his country was deemed “unprofessional” by western societies several generations back, and now it is expected that he conforms to western norms.
As I said, I think some people take it way too far and find offense in inoffensive things. I think Kenyon Martin is the perfect example of that. I don’t know the backstory of the girl you knew, but if it really was just as simple as showing up in a Cheongsam and that upset people, then I’d agree that’s another case of people over reacting.
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u/Grafixflexx Oct 11 '18
Also, dreads aren't solely 'black' culture. There are records of them from cultures all over the world including Chinese.