Cultural appropriation is quite a hot topic not only on this campus, but also on the entire planet. However, in this article, I want to describe the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, as well as give my opinion on these topics.
Cultural appropriation is defined as “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.” However, I think it goes a little deeper than that. Cultural appropriation could be a dominant society making fun of or belittling the culture of another one. It could be the weird phenomenon that some cultural practices are unacceptable within minority cultures but those same cultural practices are appreciated when a dominant culture partakes in them.
Now, let’s describe cultural appreciation. Cultural appreciation is wanting to learn about another culture, appreciating your differences from that culture, and being respectful to those to which that culture belongs.
Personally, I think that the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation lies in your care and understanding for other cultures and people. If you are a worldly person who loves to travel, learn or listen to different languages, try other cultures’ foods – someone who truly appreciates and cares about the world around you, you probably are a cultural appreciator. If you are the type of person that travels for an Instagram picture and bragging rights or makes tired and overused jokes about other cultures, if you stereotype because you think its funny or say things like,“I doubt anyone here would be offended by this so it’s fine,” then you are probably a cultural appropriator.
Ok, I hate to be that person, but I will be talking about Kingswood Oxford. Kingswood Oxford School is a college preparatory school located in the beautiful town of West Hartford right across from the gorgeous Blue Back Square and West Hartford Center. Kingswood Oxford School is also 60% white. And something that I have noticed about the amazing beautiful Kingswood Oxford School that is 60% white (and, by the way, has an A+ rating on Niche) is that many of the (white) students at this institution have little to no experiences with those outside of their demographic. I hate calling my classmates ignorant, so all I’m going to say is that it is not at all difficult to meet ignorant people on this campus.
Something I have noticed about ignorant people is that it is difficult for them to see people outside of their demographic as actual people and not little tiny red dots on the world map. Ignorant people are often not compassionate and, unbeknownst to themselves, selfish. Ignorant people pick and choose which parts of which cultures they want to make part of their aesthetic for that day. Ignorant people live blissfully unaware of how their actions not only affect the people around them but also people thousands of miles away.
A little over a month ago for spirit week, we had a Luau theme, which is not uncommon, but it made a lot of people feel icky, so Student Government changed it to a beach day (snaps to them for doing that). I personally didn’t see the big deal with the change, as beach day hurts no one and Luau day could offend a lot of people. So let’s just do beach day! No biggie, right? Wrong. Apparently, a bunch of people really wanted Luau day. Apparently that was really important to some people. It confused me.
Why did people care so much about a highschool spirit day? Why did people care so much about having a fake Hawaiian luau day when we could have a beach day and they could basically wear the same thing? If you are told that something could hurt someone, even if that is someone you don’t know, why would you want to do it? That day I heard a lot of people say things along the lines of, “There are no Hawaiian people here that would get offended.” That is a huge red flag for me. If that’s your logic for one thing, could that be your logic for others? That sentence just told me everything I need to know about your personality. According to that logic, it’s okay for you to say the n-word when only white people are around. With that logic it’s fine for you to dress up as a Native American for your turkey trot. You probably put on a blaccent for your friends and stereotype being in the hood.
Now let’s talk about a lighter topic: cultural appreciation. When I was younger, my sister and I participated in martial arts, and our instructor was a woman who had emigrated from China. Our instructor not only believed in teaching us the importance of protecting ourselves, but she taught us about her culture. She taught us how to say simple words and phrases, we watched Chinese movies, she taught us how to make authentic Chinese food, and even after I quit martial arts, my family, friends, and I attended the Riverfront Dragon Boat and Asain festival year after year. I watched my sister perform, my dad raced a dragon boat with my sister at the helm, and I just spent time learning and appreciating Chinese culture. That is cultural appreciation.
My white friends talking to me about their favorite Jamaican restaurants is cultural appreciation. Teaching one of your non-black friends how to do box braids or cornrows is cultural appreciation. Learning a new language is cultural appreciation. Supporting BIPOC businesses is cultural appreciation. Loving the world around you and understanding how lucky you are to live in a multicultural nation is cultural appreciation. Life is too short to get through it without compassion. It’s too short to only spend time with and care about people within your own demographic. Travel, ask questions, and be a citizen of the world. Honestly, it’s not that difficult, and it’s really fun.
