Intro:

Imagine your grandmother. She lives wherever she lives and she
practises a religion that was passed down to her by her ancestors.
She smokes certain herbs and she makes certain food and she
wears certain clothes and all of these have been passed on down to
her. And she is passing it down to you. But then, these other people
who don’t look anything like you show up out of nowhere. And these
people, for no reason at all, murder your grandmother and take your
parents and your siblings and you captive. And then they say, “you
have to do what we do! And if you try to do what your grandmother
taught you, you’ll be in really big trouble.” And a few decades later
they say “well it's not really illegal anymore but we’re going to start
doing everything your grandmother taught you, and we’re going to
shame you if you do it.”

This is what cultural appropriation is. The taking, marketing and

exotification of a cultural practice. To some that may have seemed
like a bit of a stretch, but for non- dominant, or non-white cultures
that were colonised by the europeans, this is a reality.
Cultural appropriation is mostly well known within the media with
African American culture, regarding certain hairstyles or
accessories, like cornrows, braids and durags, but it is also
prominent to many other cultures which are often overlooked. For
example, Native American “halloween costumes” that you can find
at your local Spotlight, completely deviate from the original
significance of the patterns and craftsmanship that are part of their
history.

Body 1:
When we consider oppression in a culture, it is usually the outcome
of colonisation, in which a dominating group claims ownership of the
land and its people. When the dominant culture continues to take
features of the non-dominant culture, the non-dominant culture
faces economic injustice and disadvantage. A prime example of
such economic injustice is how white Australian companies have
stolen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks to use on
T-shirts and souvenirs in Australia. Chair of the Indigenous Art Code
Stephanie Parkin stated that up to 80 percent of products in those
centres or souvenir shops that were visited were found to be fake,
or it was really hard to determine where the origin of those works
came from. This permits the dominant culture, being white
Australians, to profit off the non-dominant culture, Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people, while the original artists are left out
thus the continuation of oppression towards a minority group.
Body 2:
Cultural appropriation also gives the majority group credit for
aspects of a culture that they have stolen, and in a way kind of
reinforces the power imbalance between two groups. Kylie Jenner,
for example, was credited with pioneering a 'edgy' new hair trend,
while black actress Zendaya was reprimanded for doing the same.
What’s interesting about this, is that Zendaya’s natural hair was
seen as a negative. Kylie Jenner, on the other hand, who has no
ties to black culture, was given credit for appropriating something
that was not hers. It's this double standard that is present, especially
with celebrities in the media, that still face injustices, and well just
plain racism.

Body 3:
Minority groups are frequently subjected to stereotypes as a result
of cultural appropriation. During Halloween, stereotypes such as the
Native American chief, the Japanese geisha, and the Arab sheikh
may appear. When people from dominant cultures 'dress up' like
this, they are reducing something culturally significant to a mere
costume in order for a bunch of ignorant and insensitive people to
have 'a little fun.' Katy Perry, dressed in a modified kimono with her
face heavily powdered, opened the American Music Awards in 2013
with a Japanese geisha-inspired performance of her single,
“Unconditionally.” Within minutes, complaints about her get-up as an
offensive example of cultural appropriation and stereotyping flooded
in on social media. It perpetuates prejudices of this nature because
stereotypes remain harmful. When cultures are suppressed,
stereotypes typically magnify the bad effects.

Rebuttal:
Now it’s very valid that some may ask, “well what is the
differentiating factor that separates cultural appropriation from
appreciation?” Appreciation is when someone tries to understand
and learn about another culture in order to extend their horizons and
make cross-cultural connections. Appropriation is more for personal
interest and thus the opposite.
So the way I put it, cultural appropriation is like dressing up like a
video game character without having played the game; simply
because the character looks cool. There is no problem with this, nor
is there a problem with going to a costume party dressed as this
character. From what I can see, the issue only arises when
interacting with fans of the game. Pretending to be knowledgeable
and truly appreciative is clearly dishonest, and any expectations of
positive special treatment are quite misplaced.
If you think the feathered headdress looks cool, go ahead and wear
it. If someone else considers the headdress to be of spiritual
significance, that's their choice. If you expect to be able to join in on
a spiritual ritual because you're wearing the right clothes, you're a
bit of a fool.