Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vog Obam. Here, let's talk about the
Speaker 1: complex definitions and pitfalls of cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.
Speaker 1: In May of twenty nineteen, Nordstrom had to apologize for
Speaker 1: advertising a turban designed by Gucci that they were selling
Speaker 1: for seven nine dollars, which closely resembled sacred turbans worn
Speaker 1: by people of the Seek faith. Simwren Jeet Singh, a
Speaker 1: senior fellow with the New York based Seek Coalition, told
Speaker 1: the Associated Press, we feel that companies are commodifying and
Speaker 1: capitalizing on something that is dear and sacred to people
Speaker 1: around the world. Nordstrom stopped carrying the product, though Gucci
Speaker 1: has not yet responded to the criticism. In February, Gucci
Speaker 1: got in trouble for featuring a black sweater that could
Speaker 1: be pulled over the chin and nose. The sweater had
Speaker 1: to cut out for the mouth, framed by giant red
Speaker 1: lips that called to mind images of black face for
Speaker 1: many people. Gucci ended up removing the offending garment. The
Speaker 1: health food restaurant Sweet Green also recently came under fire
Speaker 1: for using the hip hop lyrics of black artists to
Speaker 1: promote items on their menu in predominantly wealthier, wider neighborhoods.
Speaker 1: The rise of social media has significantly contributed to public
Speaker 1: outcries against what some people see as the exploitation of
Speaker 1: cultures that historically have been marginalized. For instance, Brazilian model
Speaker 1: Alessandra Ambrosio was heavily criticized on Instagram for posting a
Speaker 1: picture of herself wearing a sacred Native American headpiece as
Speaker 1: a fashion item to Coachella Music Festival. Others argue that
Speaker 1: the movement has gone too far and persecuting people who
Speaker 1: mean no harm. So where's the line? On the most
Speaker 1: basic level, cultural appropriation happens when a member of one
Speaker 1: culture uses the products, hair, clothing, customs, et cetera of
Speaker 1: another culture of which they are not a member. This
Speaker 1: in itself is not fundamentally wrong, says philosophy professor Eric Mathis,
Speaker 1: who teaches at Wesley College and has written about cultural appropriation.
Speaker 1: If it was, would all be in deep trouble given
Speaker 1: how interactions between cultures have been going on for millennia.
Speaker 1: So when does it cross the line from something benign
Speaker 1: or even productive to something that causes harm. The reality
Speaker 1: is that there's simply no hard and fast rule. It
Speaker 1: depends on the context, and a few key factors make
Speaker 1: the determination power, intent and outcome. For example, if you're
Speaker 1: a white American and a close friend of yours invites
Speaker 1: you to their traditional Indian wedding, it would likely be
Speaker 1: fine for you to don traditional Indian clothing for the occasion.
Speaker 1: Your intent would be to honor your friend's wish and
Speaker 1: show respect for their traditions. Now say, before the festivities,
Speaker 1: you're running a last minute errand and bump into a
Speaker 1: white American friend They can't get over how great you
Speaker 1: look in your sorry and snap a photo they posted
Speaker 1: on Instagram without mentioning the wedding tag you and add
Speaker 1: a hashtag Bollywood. You and or your friend might be
Speaker 1: in trouble for appropriating or perhaps mocking a culture. In
Speaker 1: this case, the style of dress that in the US
Speaker 1: has historically been marginalized. And let's take it one step
Speaker 1: for there, say the sorry you're wearing was designed by
Speaker 1: a big name Western brand. Did the companies seek consent
Speaker 1: from an Indian culture to use traditional designs in their clothing.
Speaker 1: This is where the logic of cultural appropriation gets messy.
Speaker 1: Of course, you can't ask a culture for consent. Cultures
Speaker 1: are fluid and often have ill defined boundaries. If you're
Speaker 1: a celebrity with millions of followers around the world, the
Speaker 1: possibility offending someone is compounded, as when Beyonce performed at
Speaker 1: an Indian wedding in twenty eighteen wearing an Indian inspired
Speaker 1: outfit including a deeply v necked in a high side
Speaker 1: slit dress plus quasi traditional jewelry. As Mathis said, taking
Speaker 1: a picture of something that might be viewed as wrong
Speaker 1: in one context and broadcasting that to the entire world
Speaker 1: is inevitably going to result in disagreement. What's important in
Speaker 1: these cases of cultural exchange is due diligence. Mathis notes,
Speaker 1: if someone from a marginalized culture raises a concern, you
Speaker 1: should investigate to find out why. The best source for
Speaker 1: this information is always going to be people from that culture.
Speaker 1: Other people, even with the best of intentions, might misrepresent
Speaker 1: the issues at hand. Mathis also advises against speaking out
Speaker 1: on behalf of other cultures, though I would personally say
Speaker 1: that if you do your research and perhaps consult with
Speaker 1: a friend or a public representative from that culture, it
Speaker 1: can be helpful for someone of a dominant culture to
Speaker 1: check their friends and family's behavior, though what constitutes good
Speaker 1: ally ship is a whole other episode. Critics say that
Speaker 1: this whole movement against cultural appropriation is causing some people
Speaker 1: to be less open to cultural exchange at Jenny Avans,
Speaker 1: in an article for the Atlantic, said, no matter how
Speaker 1: much I love Cablenet sweaters and gree Aer cheese, I
Speaker 1: don't want to live in a world where the only
Speaker 1: cultural inspiration I'm entitled to comes from my roots in Ireland,
Speaker 1: Switzerland and Eastern Europe. There are legitimate reasons to step
Speaker 1: carefully when dressing ourselves with the clothing, arts, artifacts, or
Speaker 1: ideas of other cultures, but please, let's banish the idea
Speaker 1: that appropriating elements from one another's cultures is in itself problematic.
Speaker 1: Mathis agrees that in some case as an overabundance of
Speaker 1: caution can also cause harm. For example, say you're traveling
Speaker 1: through New Mexico and stop at an arts and crafts show.
Speaker 1: Because of how much negative attention there's been lately about
Speaker 1: Coachella attendees wearing Native American headdresses. You wind up not
Speaker 1: buying anything from the Native American booths for fear of
Speaker 1: acting offensively, but arts and crafts are how many Native
Speaker 1: Americans support themselves in their families. In fact, the U.
Speaker 1: S Government passed the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which
Speaker 1: outlaws marketing products in a way that suggests they were
Speaker 1: created by Native Americans if they were not. The intent
Speaker 1: was to protect the livelihoods of Native crafts people. Learning
Speaker 1: about the art you're buying and the traditions behind it
Speaker 1: can help you purchase and display the art respectfully. Critics
Speaker 1: have also accused the movement against cultural appropriation for being
Speaker 1: overly sensitive. Here, Mathis pushes back. He said, when you
Speaker 1: think about the changes in contemporary culture that allow for
Speaker 1: the possibility of making clear and public statements about ways
Speaker 1: in which you've been marginalized or oppressed, that's a good
Speaker 1: thing in a context in which people feel free to
Speaker 1: talk about those experiences. If it leads to people sometimes
Speaker 1: going overboard, that's a cost we can deal with. Today's
Speaker 1: episode was written by Daniel Duvies and produced by Tyler Clang.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How
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Speaker 1: sticky but important topics, visit our home planet, how stuff
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