Cultural Appropriation

[Ma Cherie]

Hi all,
been a while since I've posted here. So I wouldn't know if this topic has come up. Anywho, I've been thinking about the issue of cultural appropriation. I thought this would be relevant since this is a Japanese forum. If you don't know what cultural appropriation is, this Wikipedia article does an okay job of explaining.

Cultural appropriation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Now most of us are on this forum because we have an appreciation of Japanese cultures or at least certain parts of them. But at one point does this appreciation cross over to appropriation? If you enjoy anime, manga, Japanese martial arts, and many other aspects of Japanese culture, would this be appropriation? I don't believe so, for me one example of crossing that line is when you begin to "otherize" it or treat it as though it is something that's exotic to the point of exploiting it. Like Gwen Stefani, maybe I'm just being nitpicky or even sensitive but I have issues with her in some of her music videos, where it seems she's almost displaying Japanese girls or using them as props.
I don't want this to turn into a rant, but I want to hear your thoughts.

 

[Mike Cash]

The Japanese expression 減るもんじゃない would probably apply here.

 

[Strawberryzaaria]

Cultural appropriation has become a BIG problem. People are so sensitive to the EXTREME now. Like, on tiktok people are being canceled because of their eyeliner making their eyes look slightly more asian because it's so called "cultural appropriation." I really don't know what the meaning is anymore because i personally don't mind certain things that other people are raging over. Like braids. I think a white girl can wear braids unless she lies and says they are something else. But other people are literally raging over a girl wearing braids that happens to not be black or mixed. It's so sad.

 

[mdchachi]

Cultural appropriation has become a BIG problem. People are so sensitive to the EXTREME now. Like, on tiktok people are being canceled because of their eyeliner making their eyes look slightly more asian because it's so called "cultural appropriation." I really don't know what the meaning is anymore because i personally don't mind certain things that other people are raging over. Like braids. I think a white girl can wear braids unless she lies and says they are something else. But other people are literally raging over a girl wearing braids that happens to not be black or mixed. It's so sad.

Yes, it seems to have gotten a little overboard.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I sometimes wonder if an unknown part of the covid illness with no outward symptoms showing is an increase in anger & hate levels. Not caused by the pandemic in general , but an actual effect on the human brain by the disease no one has picked up on. Then again , I remember the world has always been filled with violence so maybe I'm just noticing it more.

 

[DrB]

I've asked my Japanese friends about this and their general response is that they consider it, for the most part, complimentary. "Appreciation vs. Appropriation."

 

[nice gaijin]

I sometimes wonder if an unknown part of the covid illness with no outward symptoms showing is an increase in anger & hate levels. Not caused by the pandemic in general , but an actual effect on the human brain by the disease no one has picked up on. Then again , I remember the world has always been filled with violence so maybe I'm just noticing it more.

I'd say there's nothing to back up that hypothesis; the increase in reports of things like violence, public tantrums, impatience, road rage, and the general "mood" of people online is not limited to people who have had COVID: it's happening across the board, and I suspect it's a direct result of not dealing well with the isolation and anxiety associated with the pandemic, and exasperated by political and economic pressures, mixed with a heaping dose of misinformation and disinformation. "If it bleeds it leads" is an old adage in journalism, which is less an indictment of journalism itself and more a reflection that the audience responds more strongly to sensational material; in a world where the competition for attention is tied to your news agency's economic survival/success, everything needs to be hyped up, overblown, or dramatized, in order to vie for attention in a crowded marketplace. The pursuit of truth can't compete with a compelling or sexy lie, so this is just the world we're forced to navigate, but few of us have ever been given the tools necessary to sort out the facts and quell our emotional reaction to everything around us. It's no wonder people have themselves become more dramatic: our only role models left are the people we see online, losing their minds over something innocuous or slightly inconvenient for them. And we either imitate them or we react to them in an opposing-yet-complementary fashion.

I think the concern over cultural appropriation is borne of a desire to right the wrongs of past injustices and to show respect for others' cultures, and there are legitimate examples of cultural appropriation, but even sometimes those issues are complex and open for debate: Native American Headdress – Music Festival Goers

Like all things, it can be taken to an unhealthy place when you start saying "people who aren't born into this group can't participate in the cultural practices, fashion, etc." As a martial artist, I would laugh if someone tried to tell me I couldn't do Karate, or Tae Kwon Do, or Muay Thai, and that I should stick to boxing or western wrestling. Can you imagine being forced into such a tiny box?

I think that kind of extreme view stymies people's interest in other cultures, and tries to shame people into "staying in their lane" instead of learning more about other people and being inspired by the beauty of global cultures. I don't think there's anything wrong with respectfully learning about and participating in cultural practices that aren't your own, especially when people from that culture don't have an issue with it. But there is a line where the subject culture is no longer being respected, or being used for profit, where there is a real problem of cultural appropriation. I think we should be learning more about each other's cultures and respectfully find enjoyment in the three F's: Food, Fashion, and Festivals.

 

[mdchachi]

I've asked my Japanese friends about this and their general response is that they consider it, for the most part, complimentary. "Appreciation vs. Appropriation."

Japanese have generally not been exploited like some other cultures.