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Cultural Appropriation versus Appreciation

Updated: Jul 31, 2022

Through immigration, the internet, and political diplomacy, the world has seen an increase in globalization as countries, people, cultures, etc. mix to create a heterogeneous community. This idea of learning from each other has also been clouded by the idea of taking without credit. So, what exactly is cultural appropriation? Cultural appropriation is the “unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant [group]” (Oxford). The idea of taking from cultures that do not belong to you has recently become a huge issue in the United States where we see can see the biggest population of immigrants from around the world creating what is called “the melting pot”. According to World Population Review, the United States has the highest number of foreign-born residents followed by Germany and Saudi Arabia. Of course, globalization stems from the idea that we can learn from each other through our experiences, personal, and shared knowledge. Many might argue that the acts of appropriation are acts of appreciation and taking inspiration from others. However, there is a huge difference between appropriation and appreciation. Cultural Appreciation is “when someone seeks to understand and learn about another culture in an effort to broaden their perspective and connect with others cross-culturally” (Greenheart). Understanding the difference between cultural appropriation versus appreciation is the first step in knowing when you or others are contributing to the harmful act of appropriation instead of appreciating other cultures.


The Impact of Social Media on Cultures, Minorities, and Appropriation

One of the biggest ways globalization has increased throughout the years is through the invention of the internet. With just a click of your finger, people can search, communicate, and educate themselves on different topics that are happening around the world. The increase in internet usage has allowed people from around the world to have a solid background in different cultures without ever having to physically be there. While the internet has made the possibilities endless on research and global communication, it has also given the space for internet trolls to use this easy method of sharing for harm. Dr. Brendesha M. Tynes wrote an amazing article about online racial discrimination and how it affects adolescents. One of the studies using a sample of “340 African-American, Latino, Asian, and biracial adolescents”, demonstrates the prevalence of online discrimination with statistics on how adolescents have experienced racism through racist images, threatening comments, false narratives, etc. of a specific ethnic group. As more social media apps are created, the ability to contribute to discrimination has increased by giving people a globalized space to anonymously spread false and harmful information.


Plagiarism is one of the original ways that people take from others. In school we are taught to never take credit for things that are not yours, however, social media has made it easier for the appropriation of cultures to become easier. In simpler terms, cultural appropriation is plagiarizing other cultures. Tik Tok has recently become one of the most popular apps used to share dancing videos, personal stories, and anything that you could possibly think of. By having no constraints on what you can post other than some basic rules, the possibilities are endless. Tik Tok has become a space for people from different cultures to share their traditions, practices, and even language. This has also allowed people to learn and steal these original cultural practices. In the summer of 2022, a new trend popped up called “Cowboy Caviar”: people making a type of dip which included vegetables, fruits like mango, jalapenos, and other stuff. This recipe blew up as more and more people wanted to try out this new creation. However, as it began to be more popular, the Mexican and Latin community of Tik Tok noticed that the recipe was very similar to foods from their home country, more specifically, salsa. The idea of cultural appropriation has been talked about before with Kim Kardashian and her controversial cultural braids (Fulani) she wore in 2020. However, this summer, cultural appropriation has become a bigger issue as white Americans have begun to use the Latin culture as an aesthetic. Many people have noted that this increase of interest in the Latin community is affecting them negatively because of people taking their food and cultural traditions and making it into an aesthetic without knowing the history.

The Latin Community is known for being one of the most diverse homogenous communities because of the colonization and slavery of both Indigenous and African communities. Countries in Latin America are similar but different because of the different ways that these three communities are mixed. For example, the islands where the Dominican Republic and Haiti coexist are completely different economically, culturally, and even historically. One side, Haiti, was colonized by the French while the other side, Dominican Republic, was colonized by the Spanish making them different because these two colonizers ruled their side of their land completely differently. While each country in Latin America can be recognized by different elements such as dialect, culture, and traditions, the people living in those countries are only different genetically since the genetic pool is a lot more diverse. The history of Latin America is not a happy one and it is important to understand how colonization harmed the original communities that resided on those lands and how the cultures we see in the modern day are from years of slavery, genocide, and colonization.

This is where cultural appropriation can become a problem because instead of learning the history of these different cultures and fully understanding both the negative and positives, people who appropriate other cultures take what they find the most aesthetically pleasing in a country, give it another name, and take credit for something that did not belong to them in the first place. While globalization is a good thing because it allows an increase of different people from different backgrounds to share their personal knowledge, it has also made it easier for appropriation to happen and denies the original creators any credit.


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Source: Unsplash.com

Effects of Consumerism on Culture

A big part of globalization is being able to buy items from different countries through different processes of outsourcing, etc. However, consumerism also has adverse effects, especially regarding culture. Capitalism is “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state” (Oxford). In an article written by Rachel Kuo, she describes how cultural appropriation and its “trendiness” has contributed to racism because of a consumeristic society. Popular culture is a huge part of the entertainment of people around the world. Celebrities, video games, shows, etc. all work through a business and economic lens in order to make more money through products. In Kuo’s article, she highlights how “racism and capitalism converge into cultural appropriation. Consumer culture simplifies the complexities of culture, often resulting in a replica rooted in stereotypes” (Kuo). As the internet becomes a place for consumers to buy and sell, it also allows for capitalism to affect culture by making diversity a simplified aesthetic rather than diving deeply into the history of what makes a culture. While the idea of consumerism allows people to sell products of their own culture, it also allows others to profit from cultures to that they do not belong. It increases the stereotypes often seen in media and exploits them in order to increase money and popularity. There are many examples in the modern day that show how consumerism contributes to cultural appropriation.

Kendall Jenner, sister of Kim Kardashian, is a well-known supermodel and reality TV star. Recently, she came out with a tequila brand called 818. In her promotional video, many people notice how a lot of the images seen were stereotypical of the idea of what Mexican farm life is. Kendall Jenner contributed to cultural appropriation by using stereotypical images and selling a product that is popular in Mexican culture. While it is hard to know when brands and people are exploiting other cultures, it is always important to do background information on where products are created, who is creating the products, and how those products give back to the original community they come from.

For example, instead of buying a Colombian Mochila Bag from name brands like Urban Outfitters, there are many places where you can buy those same bags by traveling or buying locally from artists from that culture. This minimizes the effects of consumerism on culture by supporting businesses and people from the cultures you want to buy from. With the increase in globalization through the internet, it can be hard to break free from those societal standards of consumerism and appropriation. However, there are many ways in which you can minimize these effects and stop exploiting cultures for profit, popularity, and self-satisfaction.


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Source: Unsplash.com

How Can You Avoid Contributing to Cultural Appropriation?

An article written by Kelsey Holmes from Greenheart Organization describes how you can explore in different cultures without exploiting it. These are a list of ways you can appreciate rather than appropriate according to Kelsey Holmes:

  1. Examine your own culture.

  2. Listen first.

  3. Consider context.

  4. Share your own culture.

These four steps help you with understanding different cultures in the context of your own through methods of investigation and communication. A big reason why people contribute to cultural appropriation is by ignorantly following trends and starting trends without knowing the history. Before you involve yourself in popular trends, remember to always do your research. One of the most important things to do is learn how cultures were created and how colonization has affected the way minorities are viewed in the modern world. Down below are different scholarly articles and books about cultural appropriation, globalization, and colonization.



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