Cultural Appropriation: What is it and where is the line?

APRIL 2023

by Kim Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting

It was Halloween season in 2014 and I went to my favorite exercise dance class at my local gym. We were asked to dress up in costume for the class to celebrate Halloween. I think I wore some bright colors and a cape to fashion some type of super hero costume. While in the class, I looked over a couple of rows and saw a woman of European ancestry wearing a pink Afro-wig. It looked funny and silly but then it hit me, I also felt a small sting. As a woman of color whose hair is naturally Afro-like, what was I to make of this woman using a hair style, that is natural to me, as a goofy costume? Did I feel appreciated in that moment? I think not. Did I feel that this woman was paying my culture a compliment? Not at all. Then what was this dynamic and how should I feel? I later learned this feeling to have a term associated with it, cultural appropriation.

I pondered the situation and after class decided to say something to the woman, but what would I say? She certainly had a right to dress and wear what she wanted to. After all, this is a free country. But what does freedom really mean? Do we get to do whatever we want because we can? I approached the woman after class, introduced myself and explained that I found her wig offensive because I felt that she was making a joke of my culture by wearing the wig. The woman became immediately defensive and said she didn’t mean it that way but that she was just having fun.

Fast-forward to 2017 and I belonged to an office building that had an annual Halloween party. I had an instinctive feeling that this particular white office colleague would wear an Afro wig so I pre-empted the situation and asked him not to wear one if he was planning to. His reply? “Why would that offend you? I don’t get offended when you straighten your hair.” “Oh no he didn’t,” I thought to myself. These two scenarios are not the same. Minorities in the United States who straighten their hair for the most part are assimilating to the dominant culture to be able to find work and make a living, while members of the dominant culture wearing minority hair styles, some of whom may be appreciators, are sometimes making a character of the minority culture being emulated. Conversations need to be had to gain better understanding of our motives and learn how to be appreciative or our differences.

In 2018 I had a feeling that I was the cultural appropriator. I joined a band with my husband and his friends. We started out playing smooth jazz, then graduated to other genres such as pop and then we ventured over to Reggae. I began studying Reggae songs and found myself emulating the accent of the singer in order to sound like the song. One day while practicing I began to feel like an imposter, like I wasn’t being true to myself. I was emulating the accent of someone who shared my race, but not my culture. Was I appropriating? I told the band I didn’t feel comfortable mimicking the accent of another culture. Interestingly, our one white band member didn’t see an issue with it. But I had to go by my gut and opted not to publicly sing this song for profit.

Cultural appropriation has been a big topic in the United States over the past few years and can be quite confusing because defining it heavily depends on context. Cultural appropriation can be seen across all aspects of society. It is behind the push to change mascots of sports teams, like the formerly known professional football team the Washington Redskins now named the Washington Commanders (name change in February of 2022),

               

 

 

or the Paris fashion show Comme Des Garcons having white models wear blonde corn row wigs in 2020.

 

Cultural appropriation has is also a big topic in the music industry where some argue that white musicians are emulating and capitalizing off of black music and taking opportunities and wealth from black artists. Think Elvis, rapper Eminem, Macklemore, Adele or Justin Timberlake.

And don’t forget about Hollywood who had white actors playing people of color. Think of Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleopatra in 1963, or Johnny Depp playing a Native American in the 2013 version of “Lone Ranger,” or Laurence Olivier playing a black-faced Moor in Othello in 1965.

 

And what about black actors playing white people? Is this cultural appropriation? Think of Marlon and Damon Wayans in the 2004 movie White Chicks.

              

 

The conversation is a complex one and very necessary. Are you interested in having a respectful conversation about cultural appropriation? If so, please visit: https://www.distinctivevoiceconsulting.com/store/cultural-appropriation-what-is-it-and-wheres-the-line-workshop-thursday-april-20-2023-1000-am-12-noon-pst-via-zoom to see the learning outcomes and register for this workshop or for more information on the additional services of Distinctive Voice Consulting visit www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com