Paper Bag of Rhetoric

You see it all the time without even realizing it. Cultural appropriation is everywhere – be it a magazine that tries to sell you “tribal” or “African” prints, boasting their “wild”, “exotic”, and “jungle” roots, a fashion show where models walk the runway wearing Native American war bonnet, or celebrities wrongly (and very inappropriately ) wearing bindis, saris, naths, and more. What exactly is cultural appropriation?

Appropriation on its own is defined as “the action of taking something for one’s own use, typically without the owner’s permission”, and cultural appropriation is, “the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group.” Cultural appropriation is what happens when elements from one culture are taken by a dominant culture (a company, a designer, or your next door neighbor), and used for their own, personal use or benefit. Often times these elements are taken from a culture or a country that has previously murdered or enslaved the people of the first culture and without giving credit where credit is due.

Similarly, cultural assimilation is what it’s called when a minority ethnic group loses traditional cultural elements while simultaneously picking up cultural elements from the ethnic majority. This often takes place over a period of time, and is often done for personal, economic, and political reasons, and is something that happens, for the most part, when someone immigrates to a new country. The two phrases, cultural appropriation and cultural assimilation, are sometimes used interchangeably, and that’s understandable. But it’s important to remember the difference - that appropriation happens when something is wrongfully taken from a culture, and assimilation happens when something is learned or picked up over a period of time.

Another word to keep in mind, a word that sounds a lot like appropriation, but is nothing like it, is the word “appreciation”. The best way to define the word appreciation is, “The recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something.” And it is one hundred percent okay to appreciate something. But sometimes appreciation can morph into (albeit, accidentally) appropriation, and that is definitely something that is best avoided. So how do we tell the difference between someone just genuinely enjoying and appreciating elements from a different culture and someone appropriating elements of another culture? The line between the two can, as said by Jarune Uwujaren, “bend, twist, and loop-de-loop in ways it would take decades of academic thought to unpack”, but I feel that it is a subject that needs to be approached, and for good reason.

Though the subject of this post is appropriation, I am mainly going to be talking about the fashion industry – mainly the ways that the fashion industry has appropriated cultural elements from Native American culture, African culture, and other examples I have found online. Let’s start with the fashion industry’s (and popular culture’s) many faux pas considering Native American culture.

In 2012, Paul Frank’s “Pow Wow” themed fashion week event had cocktails that were called “Rain Dance Refreshers”; ASOS had a “Navajo-inspired” clothing line called “Go Native”; and Victoria’s Secret model Karlie Kloss walked the runway wearing a floor-length war bonnet. Urban Outfitters has, in the past, been sued by the Navajo community for selling underwear and flasks with Navajo designs as part of a “Navajo Hipster” clothing line (from Susan Scafidi, “Navajo is a people, not a pattern”). And even as recently as last month, at the annual music festival Coachella, people slept in tents that looked like brightly colored teepees and wore Native American war bonnets. Needless to say, the Native American population is not pleased.

Katie J.M. Baker from Jezebel spoke to Susan Scafidi (Fordham University Law professor and author of Who Own’s Culture? Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law) and Dr. Jessica Metcalfe (from Beyond Buckskin Boutique) “in hopes of better understanding the legal and more “thoughtful” differences between offensive appreciation and positive inspiration.” Metcalfe was quoted saying, “We’re being told that we don’t have rights over how we are represented in mainstream America. We are being told that we should ‘get over it’… When people know of us only as a ‘costume,’ or something you dress up as for Halloween or for a music video, then you stop thinking of us as people.”

Jennifer Weston (from Cultural Survival) said of Native American “costumes”, “…such misrepresentations sexualize, commodify, and pervert our traditions – and impart to children of all cultures and backgrounds that it’s perfectly acceptable to “play dress up” as a Native person… to pretend that we’re fictional characters vs. real people from real cultures is not only offensive and racist, it’s a vicious act suppressing our lived realities as Native peoples, and an appropriation of our very identities.”

And though some people may genuinely have an appreciation for Native American culture, Scafidi says to, “consider the 3 S’s: source, significance, and similarity.” If you have been invited by a person from the culture to wear or share a certain item, it is okay for you to wear it. You also have to consider the cultural significance. If it is a religious item, or an item used in marriage ceremonies, it might be best left alone and out of your closet.  As for similarity, you need to consider how similar the object is to its origins. Is it an exact replica, or are there common color schemes or shapes? These are all good to consider.

Next on the list is the topic of Dutch wax prints, or batiks. Dutch wax, for those unaware, is a resin-printed fabric that was manufactured in the Netherlands and marketed towards people in West Africa. But, contrary to popular belief, the fabrics are not authentically African, says Yinka Shonibare, a well-known Nigerian artist. His own work has often been featured on batiks, and he explores the history of batik designs for a career.

Batiks origins’ actually come from Indonesia, where the people have for a long time used wax-resist dying techniques – they apply wax to a cloth, then dye over the wax to make a pattern (Patterns seen on the runway recently have similarities to patterns seen on batiks: “bold, repeating, intricate motifs set against backgrounds of varying hues”). In the mid-nineteenth century, West African men, slaves and soldiers alike, were sent to Indonesia to join the army there. While in Indonesia, the men noticed and liked the local crafts and ended up bringing batik back home with them, which is how the patterns first were brought to the attention of West African people.

Then, West African tastes and preferences began to influence the evolving designs, and new patterns were created that showed important events and proverbs of the area. Even though the fabrics were identified in Europe by number, the traders in West Africa gave the fabrics names, which became widely known. One pattern that became very famous is called “You fly, I fly,” and features an open birdcage with a bird standing outside of it. The pattern is typically worn by newlywed women, as a sort of warning to their husbands. Jessica Helbach says of the naming of patterns, “The minute they are named, they are also used to communicate.” She also said that naming the fabrics and using them to communicate ideas was a way for West African people to claim the cloth (even though it was foreign) as their own. So the fabrics became associated with Africa.

  And many big name fashion designers have had some fashion blunders when it comes to African fashion. Designers like Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Marchesa, and Roberto Cavalli have all featured ‘tribal’ prints in their fashion shows. “As a native African,” Abigail Adjei of Her Campus Bryant says, “you would think I would be extremely happy that African fashion is finally getting the spotlight on catwalks all over the world… However, knowledge of the distinct origins of these prints and the effect its proliferation in the fashion world has on up and coming African designers is essentially nonexistent.”

Adjei goes on to talk about how the terms ‘tribal’ and ‘exotic’ are used to describe fashion that is inspired by African fashion. Not only that, but Africa is commonly referred to as if it were a country, instead of a continent with 52 of its’ own countries. She also points out, “When designers get inspiration from Italian or French fashion, it is not referred to as European inspired fashion… So why is it that ‘tribal’ prints are merely referred to as African?” Different countries in Africa have different traditional clothes, yet designers rarely mention the specific country they get their inspiration from. Because of this, when the patterns make their way to popular clothing stores, the patterns lose their identities and become a part of the umbrella known as ‘tribal prints’.

Ankara fabrics, a different type of batik, are fabrics that, in West African fashion, are widely worn in celebration. But, as Veronica from XO Jane has pointed out, they have been showing up everywhere. But, instead of being called by their proper name, they are mostly referred to as “African prints.” While at a store, she saw a skirt that was made of Ankara fabrics, and upon returning home, she went to the stores’ website to look the skirt up online. Aftering doing a search for “Ankara”, she could not find it. She then tried “wax print skirt”, and “African skirt”, but still could not find the skirt she was looking for. After browsing the site, she finally found the skirt under “Women’s Printed Jersey Pencil Skirt.” And instead of describing the skirt as being “Ankara-inspired”, it was listed as “blue floral”. Veronica goes on to tell her readers about journalist Lolla Mohammed Nur, who encountered a similar situation. She found out that a “major retailer was selling a traditional East African garment” and calling it a “90’s vintage dress.” Labelling the dress as so made it sound like it was a western or American creation, therefore erasing the East African culture and history, exploiting their civilizations and artistry, just for profit. But, as Jessica Helbach has said, “When people think things come out of Africa, they don’t worry about copyright.”

Many more cultures have been appropriated time and time again. Elliott Banuelos has written her own blog post addressing the several different cultures and the major social blunders that should be avoided, such as:

And tumblr blogger shwetanarayan, when asked about why it would be wrong to wear a kimono, no matter how learned you are about Japanese culture, said in one post about appropriation: “Consider this: suppose I study US military culture and learn all about it, does that entitle me to wear a US military uniform, complete with medals and other accessories? Or would that be disrespectful?”

Maybe the asker had a right to be confused. But this all goes back to what I stated earlier – what is the items’ significance in its’ culture of origin? Wearing something like a bindi or a nath, both of which are important items in Indian wedding tradition, along with your every day wear might not be the best idea. Proper knowledge of the culture of origin is vital when it comes to avoiding appropriation.

The real issue with cultural appropriation is that it shows the imbalance of power that is still at work between “cultures that have been colonized and the ex-colonizers.” It is perfectly fine to appreciate an element of a different culture and, depending on the element’s significance in that culture, it could be acceptable for you to enjoy that part of the culture. Eat your burritos and drink your tea. But do not (and I repeat, do not) walk around wearing a sari or putting chopsticks in your hair.