Cultural Appropriation: What Is It About?

Are you familiar with the concept of cultural appropriation ? We talk about it in this article. Art is the result of the contamination of different influences, the mixture of emotions and even imitation. The problem lies in distinguishing between this way of creating and the concept of copying, theft or plagiarism.

In this sense, copyright ends up being diluted into a set of collective identities, giving way to traditions that have originated from dynamics of power, in which, in general, the strongest exploit the weakest. This concept expresses what many call “cultural embezzlement”.

A significant number of debates have developed around this idea. This is the case with Polynesian tribal tattoos, which have become extremely popular and have raised several controversies.

What is meant by cultural appropriation?

As we have mentioned, by cultural appropriation we mean the adoption of tools, images and symbols that come from a culture that is not one’s own.

With regard to this concept, one wonders whether we should really speak of embezzlement or, in most cases, of a simple homage to other cultures.

But if the concept of cultural appropriation is further analyzed, it turns out that it also includes power dynamics. As in the case of a dominant culture that appropriates elements of other cultures that have been systematically oppressed.

The concept of cultural appropriation is increasingly the subject of debate, although it is not a new topic. Globalization and technological advances allow us to have access to a large amount of information with a single click. Although this concept is not new, it is its global dimension that has changed. However, what differentiates cultural appropriation from simply paying homage to a culture?

The two keys to answering this question are consensus and benefit sharing. This is because appropriation, especially in the musical field, generally has a clear economic interest.

In this sense, cultural appropriation can designate the exploitation by cultural industries of certain exotic symbols. This exploitation would be carried out without any recognition of the culture of origin in a symbolic or economic form.

The concept of assimilation

The issue of cultural embezzlement is quite complex. It originates from the confluence of all our stories and to analyze it in depth it is necessary to understand how international power dynamics work.

First, it is worth mentioning other points of view developed on the subject. One hears, for example, that non-Westerners wearing jeans or indigenous people who speak English are, in a sense, appropriating dominant cultures.

However, it must also be borne in mind that marginalized groups do not have enough power to decide whether or not to stick to their own traditions. In this sense, assimilation occurs when people belonging to such groups adopt elements of dominant cultures in order to survive.

Some examples

The world of music offers very specific examples of cultural appropriation. For example, the spread of African-American music by Elvis or twerking, which until a few years ago were associated with low-class non-white groups. We see an example even in Buddhism, a religion associated with peace, due to the stereotypes surrounding meditation.

Cultural appropriation, therefore, emerges as a way of monetizing aspects that existed outside the market and that have been introduced into it from a white-western perspective. Even when it exploits the image of an ethnic group, it is a sign of how far these groups are from the centers of economic decision.

Cultural appropriation, a real problem?

Cultural appropriation is a problematic concept that some people go as far as to deny. This is due to several reasons:

• Many people argue that although cultural appropriation exists, it is not a problem. Their arguments revolve around an idea: cultures are changeable and have no limits. They flow and change constantly, passing from hand to hand.

• In order for one to speak of cultural appropriation, there must be cultural elements belonging to a few. There is usurpation when one is deprived, by the hand of others, of the possibility of enjoying something that until then had been enjoyed. In cultural appropriation, in fact, something that previously belonged to a small group of people spreads on a large scale.

• Anti-racist racism ? We can say that no cultural element is pure or improper. Activists can become extremely possessive of cultures, a purity not very characteristic of the social context in which we move.