Treading between appreciation & appropriation
Where does the line between cultural appropriation and appreciation end?

Every year, The Medium designates a week to discuss “cultural appropriation.” And every year, the customary “cultural appreciation versus cultural appropriation” conversation appears. 

How far can we go with cultural appreciation until we start culturally appropriating? I’ll try to give a definitive answer to this four decade old question.

What is Cultural Appropriation?

To have this conversation, we first need to understand what appropriation is. According to Britannica, “cultural appropriation takes place when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way.”

At first this definition seems pretty concise. However, in order to understand what appropriation is we need to delve into what “exploitative,” “disrespectful,” and “stereotypical” mean.

Exploitation

First, let us look at a case of a majority group exploiting a minority culture’s group. In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from the late 1930s to early 1960s there was an African-American owned nightclub in the American South that was the center of music and dancing called Charlie’s Place. It was also one of the few places at the time where Black people and white people could dance together and enjoy music, amidst the segregationist regime.

Charlie’s Place was where The Shag—South Carolina’s official state dance—originated. However, as the dance grew to be popular everywhere, white Americans claimed The Shag as their own without acknowledging its Black roots. In fact, members of Myrtle Beach claim that the white Americans stole the Shag.

This is a clear case of exploitative cultural appropriation: white Americans claimed a cultural practice from the African Americans heritage for social gain and popularity. This also showcases an important distinction between cultural appreciation and appropriation: an issue of credit. 

Disrespect and Stereotyping

Disrespect and stereotyping embody a similar type of cultural appropriation: misrepresenting the original culture. This was most prevalent when we observed Orientalism.

Orientalism is the Western tendency to stereotype and misrepresent Eastern cultures, first introduced by Edward Said in his work Orientalism. For example, many depictions of Muslims in popular media are often reduced to terrorists or “villains.” These continued depictions misrepresent the faith of Islam as violent, when the majority of those who practice Islam condone the small minority that commit atrocities in the name of the religion. 

This type of cultural appropriation can occur due to two reasons: as a means to exploit, or simply as a result of ignorance. The origins of orientalism come from a European (and colonial) desire to show that those from the East are inferior; justifying conquering them for their own benefit. Orientalism was simply a reason created for imperialism. There is no doubt that misrepresenting a culture as a means to conquer or destabilize them is wrong. 

However, should the same be said of cultural appropriation born from ignorance? If someone truly misunderstood practices from another culture, can we truly blame them?

We may have reached a conclusion on the definition of cultural appropriation. However, that leads to our next question: is cultural appropriation always bad? Or rather, should we fear being on the line in-between appreciation and appropriation?

Creating New Cultures

I’m a third culture kid of Indian origin. I grew up in Canada until the fifth grade, then I moved to the United Arab Emirates, where 90% of the population are expats. I’ve never felt comfortable claiming Western culture or Indian culture as my own. So I simply didn’t. 

Instead, I set out to create my own culture defined by its own rules, by picking pieces of other cultures I liked and adding them into my life. Is that cultural appropriation? Well, it truly comes down to dignifying the cultures of origin.

Perhaps we should start expecting people to understand culture before adopting it. Appropriating strips communities from the honour of practicing their own heritage. Putting in the effort to not appropriate is the first step. But, that’s just my take—I wonder what the next writer will claim!