Throughout the western world, indigenous cultures have been fetishized by the ancestors of their past colonizers for their costumes and fashion. As a result, some groups have decided to take legal action to protect their life’s work from corporate mass-production–or at least find a way to earn profits stolen from them. The most recent development has come from Guatemala, where Maya women have made significant strides in their attempt to receive trademark protection for their textile designs–known as huipiles–so that they are not undercut by government-supported industrial fabric production meant to increase the country’s tourism appeal.

The fight began in May 2016 when the Asociación Femenina para el Desarrollo de Sacatépquez (AFEDES)–an indigenous grassroots organization that supports Guatemalan women and their families–brought a motion to the Constitutional Court asking for constitutional protection for their indigenous textiles. Under Guatemala’s constitution, the government guarantees it will “recognize, respect, and promote [indigenous] forms of life, customs, traditions.” AFEDES also cited the International Labor Organization’s Convention 169–which says that governments and companies must consult indigenous people prior to any projects that impact their culture or territory.

“Although from a Western perspective the act of producing our own clothes … is synonymous to backwardness or poverty, for us it constitutes the road to free self-determination of our communities,” said Angelina Aspuac, an AFEDES organizer, during a Constitutional Court hearing.

Prior to the lawsuit, not much had been done to uphold that portion of the country’s governing document. Guatemalan designers had been getting away with utilizing indigenous designs and clothing in their catalogs for years. In 2011, the traditional clothing of the male spiritual leaders of the K’iche’ Maya highland town of Chichicastenango was used for Miss Guatemala in the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

“We are appalled and outraged, because of the misuse of our cultural possessions that follow and are sacred and bequeathed by our ancestors, therefore they are not objects for display and contamination,” wrote representatives of indigenous authorities in a statement.

María’s Bags–a high-end designer handbag company–currently uses indigenous weavings in its products sold for hundreds of dollars in the United States, Europe, and Guatemala. To add insult to the appropriation, María is a commonly-used derogatory word to refer to all Mayan women, though the name was created before the bag designs were approved.

Even with all of this supporting evidence, AFEDES members began to wonder if they would receive the support they so desperately needed in court. They decided that the best course of action would be to make changes to the laws in place. In November 2016, the grassroots organization proposed legislation that would recognize the notion of collective intellectual property and acknowledge indigenous peoples as collective authors of their cultural heritage. If passed, the law would protect Maya weavers from plagiarism and allow them to receive royalties for the commercial use of their designs. The bill was officially accepted for debate on July 3 and currently awaits Congress’ consideration

The progress this legislation has made is unprecedented because history has shown that treatment of indigenous populations domestically–and internationally–has ranged anywhere from purposefully ignorant to downright horrific. In Guatemala, the country has refused to recognize collective intellectual property, even though an estimated 51 percent of the country’s population belongs to the Maya group. The Mayan population also suffered the most during the country’s civil war when over 80 percent of the 200,000 people killed were indigenous.

Around the world, indigenous communities have organized to challenge the use of sacred designs for the sake of fashion. In 2011, for example, the Navajo Nation sued Urban Outfitters for millions of dollars for the appropriation of its name for a clothing line. The tribe lost the two lawsuits, with the court claiming that the tribe’s trademark was used as a style description, and not as a reference to the tribe. In 2016, Canadian design collective Dsquared2 released a line of stereotypical aboriginal outfits called #Dsquaw–a name based on the term “squaw” which is used as a derogatory word toward indigenous women. While the company did issue an apology, it was still awarded with the Team Canada Rio 2016 clothing contract.

Gabe Fernandez

Gabe is an editorial intern at Law Street. He is a Peruvian-American Senior at the University of Maryland pursuing a double degree in Multiplatform Journalism and Marketing. In his free time, he can be found photographing concerts, running around the city, and supporting Manchester United. Contact Gabe at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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American model Karlie Kloss came under fire on Wednesday because of a photo shoot in the March issue of Vogue, which was dubbed the “diversity issue.” In the photos, Kloss appeared as an Asian woman in a Japanese-themed shoot. People on social media were swift to criticize her and the magazine, accusing them of cultural appropriation.

Hey, Vogue: Embracing diversity does not mean styling Karlie Kloss as a geisha https://t.co/GnW04ejz4v pic.twitter.com/LZSQzIF3eb

— The Cut (@TheCut) February 14, 2017

The photo shoot was reportedly a tribute to Richard Avedon’s famous shoot in 1966, in which he photographed German model Veruschka in Japan wearing exclusive furs. This time, photographer Mikael Jansson photographed Kloss in Japan, dressed in a traditional kimono and wearing a black wig. In one of the photos she poses next to a sumo wrestler. In another, she pumps water from an old-fashioned well.

Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, and Tilda Swinton turn to Karlie Kloss. “Your turn, girl.”

Karlie on phone: “Hello, Vogue? Make me Asian.” pic.twitter.com/zgUWIB022Q

— Ira Madison III (@ira) February 14, 2017

But, you would think that if the point of having a diversity issue is to show the diversity of women in fashion and in the world, maybe it would make more sense to cast an Asian model in this role.

This is why Vogue is cancelled. Their idea of “edgy” is hiring white people to imitate other races instead of just hiring diverse models. https://t.co/29lUkHfjLn

— The Glossier (@theglossier) February 14, 2017

But it seems like the people at Vogue didn’t think about that.

IDAF this was an homage to a 1966 Vogue shoot. Sure, take the visual inspiration—Don’t copy the dusty cultural insensitivty from 50 yrs ago https://t.co/gBOKbRugEq

— Chin Lu 呂錦華 (@ChinHuaLu) February 14, 2017

Kloss later apologized through her Twitter account, and Vogue removed the pictures from its website.

pic.twitter.com/Xem3dkaDZZ

— Karlie Kloss (@karliekloss) February 15, 2017

Cultural appropriation in fashion is a common phenomenon, and it’s not the first time Kloss has been involved in a controversy of this kind. In 2012 the blonde and blue-eyed model walked the runway at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show wearing a Native American-inspired headdress and fringe. The company and Kloss faced backlash immediately. Native Appropriations, a website that is dedicated to countering stereotypes of Native American Indians, Alaskans, and Hawaiians, called out Victoria’s Secret for the costumes, and the company and Kloss both issued statements with apologies.

6.)
Karlie Kloss wearing a traditional Native American Headdress, representing November, for the ‘Calendar Girls’ segment at VSFS 2012 pic.twitter.com/WP3VdOb9XE

— daphne (@voguejupiter) December 6, 2016

There have been other recent incidents that garnered criticism for casting white women in Asian roles. In November, the movie “Doctor Strange” premiered with white, British actress Tilda Swinton in the role of a character that originally was meant to be an older, Tibetan man. The movie “Ghost in the Shell” was accused of whitewashing as Scarlett Johansson was cast as leading role in a remake of a classic manga movie. And in the summer of 2015, white actress Emma Stone played a character who is part-Asian in Cameron Crowe’s flick “Aloha.”

It’s probably high time for Hollywood and the fashion world to start thinking about how to increase actual diversity.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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ICYMI, the 16th annual BET Awards aired live Sunday night, and it was full of yaaas-worthy performances and epic Prince tributes. Yet, despite the show opening with Beyonce-induced pandemonium and a semi-awkward “Hamilton” spoof courtesy of hosts Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson, all anyone can talk about Monday is Jesse Williams and his show-stealing acceptance speech.

The “Grey’s Anatomy” star, who has long been an outspoken human rights advocate and recently was the executive producer of the documentary “Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement,” took the mic to accept this year’s Humanitarian Award. Shortly after uttering a few gracious name mentions, he capitalized on the opportunity to deliver a powerfully moving speech on racism, police brutality, and cultural appropriation.

At one point, Williams poignantly referenced the deaths of Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, and Dorian Hunt–all black people who died during confrontations with the police–saying,

Yesterday would have been young Tamir Rice’s 14th birthday so I don’t want to hear anymore about how far we’ve come when paid public servants can pull a drive-by on 12 year old playing alone in the park in broad daylight, killing him on television and then going home to make a sandwich. Tell Rekia Boyd how it’s so much better than it is to live in 2012 than it is to live in 1612 or 1712. Tell that to Eric Garner. Tell that to Sandra Bland. Tell that to Dorian Hunt.

Williams concluded his speech with thoughts on racial oppression and cultural appropriation, including  a reference to  Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”–a haunting musical metaphor for lynchings.

We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries, yo, and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil – black gold, ghettoizing and demeaning our creations then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit. The thing is though… the thing is that just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real.

Afterwards, Williams’ words were met with a standing ovation from the audience of distinguished guests and praised by thousands of viewers on Twitter.

Click here for the full transcript of Williams’ speech, courtesy of Time.

Watch Jesse William’s full speech below.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Hillary Clinton is white. I mean, I’m white, but Hillary is super white, like banana-and-mayo sandwich made by Dale Earnhardt Jr. level white. But much like her husband, Hillary is widely supported by black voters, who voted for her over Bernie Sanders in New York by over 50 points. Even in the face of this support, Hillary has been accused of pandering to minority voters, such as when her team posted a listicle explaining how Secretary Clinton is just like your abuela, or when she dabbed, whipped, and nae-naed on The Ellen Show. During a recent interview on The Breakfast Club, Clinton was told that when she acts this way, it reeks of her trying too hard. In her defense, she said it was not her idea. “It looks like I’m trying too hard because I am trying too hard! I can’t do it!” She admitted to dancing in private, but said that she had learned to avoid it in public.

Then, Hillary raved about Beyoncé, which in all fairness is a popular activity among all people. She has even said before that she “want[s] to be as good a president as Beyoncé is a performer:” a tall order considering that I’m still recovering from a Beyoncé concert that took place two years ago. But it was her last answer on the show that is raising some eyebrows (and catching some shade.) Clinton was asked what item she always carries in her bag. Without missing a beat, Clinton responded “hot sauce.” Funnily enough, that’s probably the same answer that Beyoncé gave to the question: “What’s 2016’s version of ‘surfboardt’ going to be?”

“Are you getting in formation?” Charlamagne Tha God asked, referencing the lyric in Beyoncé’s surprise southern-black-woman-pride anthem “Formation.” Clinton laughed, and responded, “I’ve been eating a lot of hot sauce — raw peppers, and hot sauces … because I think it keeps my immune system strong. I think hot sauce is good for you, in moderation of course, don’t go overboard.”

That’s right, much like an insane person, Hillary Clinton eats raw peppers–jalapeños, according to her staffers. Side note: is that the reason Papa John’s always adds those spicy green ones alongside my pizza? I always assumed those were delivered for late-night pizza party dare purposes. But it may be true that spicy food boosts your health: the LiveStrong website provides some pretty dope facts about the health benefits of spicy peppers.

Because he’s the walking, talking shouting version of a YouTube comments section, Donald Trump decided to lead the charge against Hillary’s phony claims of hot-sauce-having, saying:

It’s the same thing that she always does. She carries hot sauce like I carry hot sauce. It’s just, I don’t know, it’s just so phony and so pandering and so terrible.

The trouble is, Hillary was waxing rhapsodic about hot sauce for years before Beyoncé was. In a 1995 lunch interview with The Washington Post, she called hot sauce her “secret passion.” So maybe Secretary Clinton isn’t trying to become Hillaré, but Bey has simply paved the way for her to be open about her love of hot sauce. Chalk it up to yet another example of Beyoncé being a source of inspiration for Americans everywhere.

Sean Simon

Sean Simon is an Editorial News Senior Fellow at Law Street, and a senior at The George Washington University, studying Communications and Psychology. In his spare time, he loves exploring D.C. restaurants, solving crossword puzzles, and watching sad foreign films. Contact Sean at SSimon@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Snapchat rolled out a new Bob Marley-inspired filter Wednesday in honor of 4/20 (aka National Weed Day) that gives snapchatters both dreadlocks and a noticeably darker skin tone, and people are pissed.

The filter allows users to warp their faces into a cartoonish interpretation of the late singer that many argue is tantamount to digital blackface.

Snapchat’s half-baked 420 nod is a Bob Marley blackface filter?! Dude was Jamaican! Did waaaay more than smoke weed. pic.twitter.com/t6tazxnMxT

— Brian Ries (@moneyries) April 20, 2016

Things nobody looks good in: peplum, propeller hats, Bob Marley’s face

— Erin Gloria Ryan (@morninggloria) April 20, 2016

Well, there’s a Bob Marley @Snapchat filter for today. (Just in case you didn’t want the effort of buying paint to do blackface.)

— Tré Pina (@TreLingual) April 20, 2016

However, some people took more offense to the timing of the filter’s release than to the actual filter itself. Snapchat is in the habit of creating holiday themed filters and banners for its users. Since April 20’s date is synonymous with “weed culture,” rolling out Marley’s image effectively claimed him as the poster boy for marijuana.

I take more issue with the Bob Marley filter being used for 4/20 than I do with it being “blackface”…

— Pastor Courvoisier (@PLAIDvillain) April 20, 2016

This bob Marley filter for 420??

Bob Marley the symbol of weed orrrr a symbol of love & good music?

I’m confused.

— Mrs. King (@_zolarmoon) April 20, 2016

The anger didn’t stop there. Snapchatters also took offense with Kylie Jenner’s use of the filter. Jenner drew criticism after playing around with the filter in a pair of videos seen below in which she says, “420. Yaaas, bitch,” Jenner exclaims. “Yaaas.”

In retrospect, Jenner’s choice seems more haphazard than intentional, but still ill-conceived nonetheless. In an ironic twist, Jenner’s reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” famously covered the topic of blackface in an episode that chronicled her older sister Kim’s reaction to being approached by a fan offensively pretending to be Kanye.

Snapchat later revealed in a statement Wednesday that the filter was in fact created with the Bob Marley estate’s blessing. The statement read,

The lens we launched today was created in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate, and gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music. Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley’s music, and we respect his life and achievements.

Even if Marley’s filter was sanctioned by his estate, that doesn’t give the public any less of a right to critique the image and hold Snapchat accountable for its cultural appropriation.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Last year, J.K. Rowling relaunched her Harry Potter-themed website, Pottermore, which offers fans the opportunity to explore the stories firsthand by going through the sorting ceremony and purchasing a wand. Rowling has also used Pottermore as a platform to release more information about her magical world through several short stories. Her most recent series of writings cover the history of magic in the United States, as an introduction to the upcoming “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

But the first story in a series which could have been harmless fictional history lessons has resulted in backlash from some in the Native American community.

The piece, covering the 14th to 17th centuries, talks about magical humans within Native American tribes and how, depending on the tribe, these witches and wizards were either trusted or feared:

In the Native American community, some witches and wizards were accepted and even lauded within their tribes, gaining reputations for healing as medicine men, or outstanding hunters. However, others were stigmatised for their beliefs, often on the basis that they were possessed by malevolent spirits.

She also talks about the Native American “skin walkers” who, in the world of Harry Potter, are animagi. Members of the Native American community took to Twitter to protest Rowling’s generalizations of their culture.

It’s not “your” world. It’s our (real) Native world. And skin walker stories have context, roots, and reality. https://t.co/mRZD0M1UCf

— Dr. Adrienne Keene (@NativeApprops) March 8, 2016

We’re saying that there is problem when non-natives continue to use outdated & racist stereotypes as the basis for their native characters

— Johnnie Jae (@johnniejae) March 9, 2016

@jk_rowling you are not entitled to our history, culture, stories. They are not yours to re-invent, re-define, re-imagine, or to profit from

— A Tribe Called Geek (@tribecalledgeek) March 8, 2016

You must outta your mind if you think we should sit idly while a renown white author uses us as props in her fictional work.

— Native Beauty (@nativebeauties) March 8, 2016

Rowling has seemingly not responded to the criticisms, other than to explain in further detail what skin walkers are. Dr. Adrienne Keene, one of the outraged individuals who used Twitter as a sounding board, expanded on her objections to the story on her blog, Native Appropriations. She talks about how Native Americans are so often lumped together and marginalized, and sometimes equivocated with their spiritual stories. Dr. Keene said:

But we’re not magical creatures, we’re contemporary peoples who are still here, and still practice our spiritual traditions, traditions that are not akin to a completely imaginary wizarding world (as badass as that wizarding world is).

Is the backlash justified? It is understandable that any people who have had their culture slowly stripped away by colonization would take offense to a descendant of those colonizers whitewashing their history. However, in the case of these short stories, cultural appropriation might be too bold of an accusation. We’ll have to see how the controversy plays out.

Morgan McMurray

Morgan McMurray is an editor and gender equality blogger based in Seattle, Washington. A 2013 graduate of Iowa State University, she has a Bachelor of Arts in English, Journalism, and International Studies. She spends her free time writing, reading, teaching dance classes, and binge-watching Netflix. Contact Morgan at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Last week, Spotify released its Year in Music, naming the song “Lean On” by Major Lazer and DJ Snake featuring MØ as the most streamed song of 2015, or, as the Atlantic called it, the “most 2015 song of 2015.”  This was incredibly shocking to me.

Does that mean that cultural appropriation is the most 2015 thing about 2015? Because if that’s the reality of this year in review, I’m not okay with it.

Let’s talk about this song for a second.

Yes, the song is catchy.  It is considered to be a cross between electronic pop and dance music, and that hook definitely gets stuck in a person’s head. When I first heard it, I thought it sounded almost tribal.  And then I had a life experience that changed how I heard the song.

In the early autumn of 2015, I spent five weeks abroad in Pune, India for work. It was an amazing experience, something I’ll never be able to duplicate. I heard “Lean On” once while I was in India, and it made me stop in my tracks. It suddenly sounded to me like Americans (and Europeans) were trying to imitate the signature sound of Bollywood music. My immediate feelings were both outrage and sadnes–what kind of world is this where people think it’s okay to stereotype cultures so badly?

And I hadn’t even seen the music video yet.

There is a segment of a BuzzFeed video titled “Indians React to American Pop Culture Stereotypes” that discusses this song. There are many responses, but two of the most notable are:

That’s not even an Indian dance step.

and,

Palaces and poor people?  Yes, that is exactly what India comprises of.

I actually thought those reactions were pretty tame, and some of the other reactions were even more forgiving. When I saw the video, all I could focus on was the continual thrusting movement that MØ makes with her hips throughout the entire song. That is not something that is usually appropriate in India, no matter who is dancing around you. And don’t even get me started on the fact that MØ is wearing tiny shorts throughout most of the video–another consistently big no-no in Indian culture, where modesty is practiced and expected from foreigners as well as natives. We are hypersexualized in the United States, and this music video is a perfect example of that.

Say the Atlantic is correct in saying that this was the most 2015 song of 2015–does that mean that our year was marked with cultural appropriation?  Actually, it kind of was–the Atlantic even published a helpful dos and don’ts article about it.  Cultural appropriation–and Hollywood is constantly guilty of this–was a big deal this year. From critiques of the costumes worn to music festivals to Aziz Ansari’s show “Master of None,” cultural appropriation being brought to light was a big marker of the year 2015.

While it can be said that most perpetrators of cultural appropriation don’t realize that they are being offensive, I like to hold the optimistic belief that they genuinely don’t understand what they’re doing.  To me, that means there is hope yet. People can learn. People can grow.  There is the chance that bringing all of this to light will make for a better 2016–that is my hope.

Amanda Gernentz Hanson

Amanda Gernentz Hanson is a Minnesota native living in Austin, Texas. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Hope College and a Master’s degree in Technical Communication from Minnesota State University, where her final project discussed intellectual property issues in freelancing and blogging. Amanda is an instructional designer full time, a freelance writer part time, and a nerd always. Contact Amanda at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Even though Halloween ended more than a week ago, at Yale University it continues to be a major topic of conversation after two emails about Halloween costumes locked faculty and students in a heated debate over racial sensitivity and free speech.

Students are outraged with Associate Master of Silliman College Erika Christakis after she responded to the university’s Intercultural Affairs Committee’s annual Halloween email, which urged students to avoid wearing “culturally unaware and insensitive costumes” this Halloween. Now some students are demanding both she and her husband resign, after he came to her defense when confronted by several students this weekend.

In the video playlist below, Nicholas Christakis attempted to defend his wife’s statements before a large body of a protesting students, but the dialogue quickly escalated as students began screaming at the administrator that they no longer feel as if Yale is a safe place for them.

But why are they so upset?

The campus’ contention boils down to Erika Christakis’ critique of the university’s emailed cultural appropriation warning. She wrote,

I don’t wish to trivialize genuine concerns about cultural and personal representation, and other challenges to our lived experience in a plural community. I know that many decent people have proposed guidelines on Halloween costumes from a spirit of avoiding hurt and offense. I laud those goals, in theory, as most of us do. But in practice, I wonder if we should reflect more transparently, as a community, on the consequences of an institutional (which is to say: bureaucratic and administrative) exercise of implied control over college students.

…

Is there no room anymore for a child or young person to be a little bit obnoxious… a little bit inappropriate or provocative or, yes, offensive? American universities were once a safe space not only for maturation but also for a certain regressive, or even transgressive, experience; increasingly, it seems, they have become places of censure and prohibition.

She also added a message from her husband writing,

Nicholas says, if you don’t like a costume someone is wearing, look away, or tell them you are offended. Talk to each other. Free speech and the ability to tolerate offense are the hallmarks of a free and open society.

The email sparked controversy with many students, who felt as if her and her husband’s opinions were tantamount to racial insensitivity toward minority students. As a result more than 740 Yale undergraduates, graduate students, alumni, faculty, and even students from other universities signed an open letter to Christakis which says that her email “trivializes the harm done by these tropes and infantilizes the student body to which the request was made.” The letter reads:

To ask marginalized students to throw away their enjoyment of a holiday, in order to expend emotional, mental, and physical energy to explain why something is offensive, is — offensive.

The debate comes at a time when racial tension is at an all time high on the Ivy League campus. According to Vox, one of Yale’s residential colleges has long been at the center of racial controversy since it is named in honor of former Yale graduate John C. Calhoun, a known white supremacist. And during Halloween weekend, a black female student accused the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity of denying her entrance to a party that was for “white girls only,” which isn’t the first racist accusation made against the fraternity. The fraternity has vehemently denied her allegations, but that hasn’t stopped others from coming forth with similar stories.

Yale College’s dean Jonathan Holloway has said that his office is in the process of investigating the accusation. Yale’s president, Peter Salovey, also seems to be taking the campus heightened racial climate seriously. He reportedly met with 50 students on Thursday night to discuss the current controversy.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Yale Students Still Potesting Over Faculty Member’s Halloween Email appeared first on Law Street.

From the time we are in elementary school, we are told that copying from someone else’s paper is wrong. As we get a little older, we are given other names for this copying: plagiarism and intellectual property theft. Often, even those who believe that intellectual property laws are a threat to creativity and equitable access to knowledge recognize that even if something is not illegal, it is better form to give credit where credit is due. But a new question has popped up recently: does this logic apply to culture, as well? Some say yes and call it cultural appropriation. But what exactly is cultural appropriation, and when do we cross the line between appropriation and appreciation?

 What is cultural appropriation?

Cultural appropriation is often defined as being similar to intellectual property theft, but with more overt and culturally offensive aspects.

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or theft of icons, rituals, aesthetic standards, and behavior from one culture or subculture by another. It generally is applied when the subject culture is a minority culture or some how subordinate in social, political, economic, or military status to the appropriating culture. This ‘appropriation’ often occurs without any real understanding of why the original culture took part in these activities or the meanings behind these activities, often converting culturally significant artifacts,practices, and beliefs into ‘meaningless’ pop-culture or giving them a significance that is completely different/less nuanced than they would originally have had.

Viewed as a direct continuation of imperialist violence–which assumes that the land, labor, and bodies of people of color are available for white consumption–cultural appropriation “treats all aspects of marginalized cultures… as free for the taking.”

Conversations about the controversy also often come up when discussing music, such as this interview with Azealia Banks over white artists’ cultural appropriation.

But can you really steal a culture?

On the flip side of things, some people believe that accusations of cultural appropriation need to be wielded much more carefully. Arguing that “you can’t ‘steal’ a culture,” American political commentator and linguist John McWhorter asserts that, “with gay white men and black women, for example, it’s not as if the black women are being left without their culture after the ‘theft’ or as if gay white men are somehow out there ‘out-blacking’ the women they ‘stole’ from.” (This refers to white gay men who affect speaking patterns and mannerisms that are often more readily culturally associated with black women.) McWhorter warns that people accusing others of “stealing” culture through appropriation are using the very specific term too loosely. He argues that the loosening of our language allows flippant accusations to be made when more serious issues can be dealt with.

Additionally, accusations of cultural appropriation often generate assumptions about the race, ethnicity, religion, or sexuality of the people involved. This is alluded to by Howell in the video above, which he starts by cautioning viewers not to pre-judge what he says by the color of his skin. He goes on to argue that it is a compliment to people of color (specifically, he is talking about black people) when white people want to engage in aspects of black culture that they find attractive and fun. Reminding his viewers that it is not “wrong” or “low-class” to be black or to perform blackness through dress or actions, Howell argues that cultural appropriation is not actually appropriation at all, but rather a form of a compliment that has the potential to dismantle racist and/or classist assumptions about black people.

In a similar vein, it is often argued that accusing someone of appropriating another culture can force unwanted assumptions onto people. These incorrect assumptions happened to a bride named Krista, who was accused online of cultural appropriation for pictures of her wedding that were posted online. The wedding integrated aspects of Lenape culture, a Mid-Atlantic Native American tribe. Krista, however, reminded online discussants that she has a Lenape background, even though people assumed she was white based on her features and the color of her skin.

Appreciation or Appropriation?

Here are some examples of widely-talked about accusations of cultural appropriation in recent pop culture.

Case Study: Miley Cyrus

Accused by many as putting on a tremendously racist “minstrel show” in her “We Can’t Stop” video and its performance at the 2013 VMAs, Miley Cyrus has been resoundingly condemned by Anne Theriault for having “used black women as props — like, literal props... Miley was, at one point, slapping a faceless black woman on the ass as if she was nothing more than a thing for Miley to dominate and humiliate.” Critics also noted the historical significance of Cyrus’ performance; like so many other white performers before her, Cyrus used black culture and black bodies to re-brand her own image. Her unapologetic use of black women’s bodies to make herself look “cooler” was described by Jody Rosen of Vulture: “Cyrus is annexing working-class black “ratchet” culture, the potent sexual symbolism of black female bodies, to the cause of her reinvention: her transformation from squeaky-clean Disney-pop poster girl to grown-up hipster-provocateur.”

Following Cyrus’ performance there were powerful calls for black female performers to “just say no” to requests to be in her videos or shows in the future. Musician Big Freedia made sure Cyrus knew she wasn’t even succeeding at her attempts to twerk, sardonically offering, “just get me and Miley together so I could give her ass some lessons.”

In the midst of these accusations of Cyrus’ cultural appropriation, however, there were calls to “go easy” on the performer. In the rush to defend Cyrus, Washington Post columnist Clinton Yates asserted that, “it is inherently racist to imply that there is anything wrong with anyone other than black women twerking.” Arguing that the term “hood” connotes affection when said by white people today, McWhorter had a series of questions for those calling Cyrus out on racism. He wanted to know, “How do we know Cyrus isn’t sincere when she says she loves “hood” culture? Because she’s white? I’m afraid that’s a little 1955.”

Entering the realm of accusations of “reverse racism,” these writers argued that cultures are inherently going to borrow from each other whenever they coexist in society. Restraining white people from borrowing from people of color is unfair if the expectation is that it is not culturally appropriate for people of color to adapt aspects of white culture.

Case Study: #BlackLivesMatter

In the wake of the highly publicized and protested murders of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner, the slogans “I am Trayvon Martin” and “I Can’t Breathe” rose to the fore of social justice forums. White people were frequently seen in hoodies claiming to “be” Trayvon Martin, and–as seen above–white people were frequently seen claiming to not be able to breathe. Here, the violent potential of cultural appropriation became explicitly clear to some. White users of the hashtag #AllLivesMatter, or asserting that “I am Trayvon Martin” or “We Can’t Breathe” were accused of cultural appropriation because they were attempting to take the experiences of black people as their own. In doing so, they erased the racist dimensions of police violence by “deracializing” the issue, making it about “All Lives” instead of “Black [and Brown] Lives.”

According to critics, by claiming false solidarity–and thus appropriating the cultural experiences of black people–with the deaths of these and other black people at the hands of police, white people were shifting the focus from #BlackLivesMatter to #AllLivesMatter. These hashtags have been used to refer to two related social movements. #BlackLivesMatter refers to activism attempting to call attention to police violence against black people. #AllLivesMatter refers to activism that states that while police violence against people of color is a problem, it is damaging to focus on race in discussions of police violence. In doing so, people using the hashtag #AllLivesMatter claimed that we live in a colorblind society, which threatens to erase the fundamental violence of racism.

However, the #AllLivesMatter hashtag and protests were largely framed as a response to the shooting of two police officers in New York City. These activists pointed out that in addition to black lives mattering, as Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown stated, “I must say that blue lives do matter. But as I close, I must say that we as a community must begin to recognize that all lives matter.” Basing their rhetoric off of an impulse to ensure that people didn’t feel threatened by, but rather welcomed to join in solidarity with protests surrounding the violent deaths of young people, #AllLivesMatter advocates have decided that it is more important to embrace a less specifically racial call in favor of avoiding any accusations of divisiveness.

ALL LIVES MATTER! United We Stand! Divided We Fall.. Let's Get it together! #AllLivesMatter… http://t.co/uJmI7h8bG0

— Destined (@theatreprince) December 14, 2014

So, is cultural appropriation ever appropriate?

In a scathing critique of Cyrus’ performances as cultural appropriation, Dodai Stewart cautioned readers, “Let’s not get it twisted: The exchange and flow of ideas between cultures can be a beautiful thing. I believe in cross-pollination and being inspired by those whose experience is not like your own.” There’s obviously no clear line here. Perhaps the key is constantly checking in on the impacts of actions, all the while drawing and abiding by distinctions between admiration and exotification, inspiration, and appropriation.

Resources

Zine Library: Cultural Appropriation or Cultural Appreciation?

Hot97: Azaelia Banks on Iggy Azalea

Daily Beast: You Can’t ‘Steal’ a Culture: In Defense of Cultural Appropriation

OffBeatEmpire: Think Twice Before Appointing Yourself Cultural Appropriation Police

Colorlines: On Saying No to Miley Cyrus, the Habitual Cross-Twerker

Huffington Post: What Miley Cyrus did was Disgusting — But Not for the Reasons You Think

Washington Post: Miley Cyrus and the Issues of Slut-Shaming and Racial Condescension

New Republic: Miley’s Twerking wasn’t Racist

Jezebel: Yes, All Lives Matter. Now Shut Up About It

Georgia Political Review: ‘I Am Not Trayvon Martin’: Dismantling White Privilege in Activism

CBS Los Angeles: Things Heat Up as Pro-Police Demonstrators Hold ‘All Lives Matter’ Rally

WRAL: Raleigh Police Chief: Black, Blue, All Lives Matter

Jennifer Polish

Jennifer Polish is an English PhD student at the CUNY Graduate Center in NYC, where she studies non/human animals and the racialization of dis/ability in young adult literature. When she’s not yelling at the computer because Netflix is loading too slowly, she is editing her novel, doing activist-y things, running, or giving the computer a break and yelling at books instead. Contact Jennifer at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Cultural Appropriation: What’s Appropriate? appeared first on Law Street.

As a “melting pot,” Americans observe and consume different aspects of various cultures every day. In Western culture, it has become the norm to borrow foods, traditions, and clothing from other racial and ethnic groups as we please. But when exactly does taking inspiration from other cultures’ ways of dressing cross the line into cultural appropriation?

Cultural appropriation by definition is “the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another.” From Pharell’s Elle UK cover, to Katy Perry’s music videos, the fashion and entertainment industries always seem to cause an uproar every time someone wears a Native American headdress or Indian bindi. But is it possible to ever rock a turban or fringe without offending anyone?

The answer to that question is complicated, especially when it comes to those cultures that have been historically repressed by others. Native Americans seem to be the biggest issue with the ubiquitous use of headdresses everywhere from the runway to music festivals like Coachella. There’s no doubt that white people have done horrible things throughout history to exploit Native Americans, so I understand why they would be terribly offended when they see people from outside of their culture wearing full-on headdresses.

However, there are some styles that have become so ingrained into the Western way of dress that people may wear them without even realizing that they might be offending someone. Moccasins, for example, have become a staple shoe option in the West. And why wouldn’t they? They’re comfortable and go with almost anything. And what about driving moccasins? Should we stop using such a practical innovation in footwear just because our forefathers stole the idea hundreds of years ago?

So what determines what styles belong to a certain culture anyway? One culture that seems to have a lot of gray areas is that of African Americans. One of the most sensitive areas in African American culture is the representation of their hair. And just because a person is a minority doesn’t mean that they are free to wear whatever they want without considering other subcultures. Dreadlocks, for example, have religious associations that might make it inappropriate for some African Americans to wear. 

African Americans in general have taken on certain kinds hairstyles to be considered as their own, such as cornrows and baby hairs. As a white Hispanic girl with curly hair, sometimes I find it difficult to tell if I’m “allowed” to get in on the natural hair movement that many mixed-race women and women of color have been embracing lately. Some mixed-raced Latinas may be able to get away with sporting cornrows, but as someone who appears to be a white woman of Anglo-Saxon descent it’s difficult to see where I fall. Am I supposed to walk around with a sign that says “I am Cuban-American. My ancestors did not enslave your ancestors”?

Granted there are times when celebrities completely disregard a culture’s background and simply wear certain styles because they think it’s cool or sexy. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna come tend to come to mind as examples. Perry’s “Dark Horse” video is just a bunch of random cultural messages slapped together without even trying to make a statement or anything of artistic substance.

A lyric in Lady Gaga’s song “Aura” reads verbatim “she wear burqa for fashion.” So not only is she trying to make light of a garment that women are forced to wear in some parts of the Middle East, she uses incorrect grammar to imitate a foreign accent. Not cool.

Yeah…not really sure what’s going on here.

And let’s not forget the time Rihanna came under fire for trying to look sexy in traditional clothing in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi mosque asks Rihanna to leave after photo shoot clashed with “sacredness.” http://t.co/1jgq2Duh5q pic.twitter.com/SjjrIx7Pxi

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) October 22, 2013

While I’m not sure if we can always dress without appropriating any cultures whatsoever, there are few instances where it is a big no-no. With Halloween coming up, try to be conscious about what kind of costumes you choose to wear. For example the sexy version of any kind of ethnic-wear is probably not the most politically correct thing to wear. Most importantly, this holiday should be about having fun, so think about how un-fun it would be to feel like your own cultural identity is under attack.

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Katherine Fabian (@kafernn) is a recent graduate of Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center and is currently applying to law schools, freelance writing, and teaching yoga. She hopes to one day practice fashion law and defend the intellectual property rights of designers.

Featured image courtesy of [Chris Beckett via Flickr]

Katherine Fabian

Katherine Fabian is a recent graduate of Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center. She is a freelance writer and yoga teacher who hopes to one day practice fashion law and defend the intellectual property rights of designers. Contact Katherine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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