The Boundary Between Cultural Appropriation and Appreciation
by Gyubin Lee
Khloe Kardashian has been accused of cultural appropriation recently, following the precedent of her sisters Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian being accused of ‘blackfishing’. The term ‘Blackfishing’ might not be as well known, but it shares a similar meaning to catfish - it refers to someone who uses things like hairstyling and makeup to create and enhance certain features to make it appear as if they have black heritage or are racially ambiguous. Much like her sisters, Khloe has also faced backlash for cultural appropriation. People were not happy when she posted this photo on Instagram, with the caption, "Habibi Love”, meaning "my darling" in Arabic. While she was in Dubai when the photo was taken, burqas were not required in the area, especially for visitors. Numerous commenters on Instagram suggested that Khloe saw the burqa as a costume rather than a culture.
“I’m really upset that I’ve offended anybody,” she said on an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians. “I’m even more bothered that the commenters think I’m poking fun at their culture. I didn’t realize how offensive it was. I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong. I really just have to be more aware of what I write, even if I think it’s tongue in cheek, and I have to be more sensitive to that. I’m sorry to anybody I offended. That was the last thing I ever wanted to do.”
Even though Khloe accounted for her deed and apologized, she became public censure and many people condemned her for perceiving other cultures simply as a ‘fancy attire’.
Just like her sister, Kylie has also been attacked for wearing cornrows a few times. The Darkest Minds star Amandla Stenberg commented on a photo of Kylie in braids saying, "When you appropriate black features and culture but you fail to use your position of power to help black Americans by directing attention towards your wigs instead of police brutality or racism."
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from minority cultures, but celebrities seem to constantly appropriate cultures whether it’s in a music video, at a festival, or just on their Instagrams.
However, the definition or standard of cultural appropriation is very ambiguous, and this problem naturally leads to the problem of freedom of expression. This argument can be seen parallel with political correctness. In other words, by compelling to respect something, it interferes with others’ freedom of action and thus becomes a claim that disrespects the other person.
In particular, the concept of cultural appropriation itself is a Western concept, so Asians, including Koreans, often feel very confused when Westerners attack, saying, 'This is cultural appropriation'.
For example, when Avril Lavigne's 2014 music video for "Hello Kitty" was released, it was criticized as cultural appropriation in the West. In the video, the Japanese gyaru culture was featured, and the lyrics said "Minna Psycho, Arigato, Kawaii" in Japanese. However, the Japanese, who were the party of the issue, said nothing about the video. The Japanese weren't feeling bad, nor taking any offense, but Americans were criticizing it.
Some foreigners also accuse K-POP singers of having dreadlocks as cultural appropriation. On the contrary, there are quite a few cases where people criticize that it is cultural appropriation for Westerners acting like Koreans and following Korean cultural styles. However, Koreans don't really think it's wrong whether or not Westerners adopt Korean style unless it is intended to be ridiculed or deprecated. Most Koreans think that it is an act of interest in Korean culture from other countries, and they rather show pride in it.
Critics of cultural appropriation say that if culture cannot claim intellectual property rights and there is no malicious intent such as racism, derogation or ridicule, then there should be nothing to hinder freedom of expression.
Moreover, it is not easy to set cultural boundaries in a situation where there are many mixed races between various ethnicities for a long time.
Even in the controversy over the derogation of black people for political correctness, all black people are different. When an opinion criticized Kylie Jenner for having made a black man as a bridesmaid in the W.A.P music video, Cardi B, who sang the song, rather defended Kylie Jenner. Cardi B is a black and white mixed race, but her cultural identity is black. In addition, there is a case of appearing as a cover model for black cultural magazines due to her black identity, but having a white ethnicity like Mariah Carey.
Not everyone now has an exact genealogy to clearly confirm at this point. The people who raise the controversy about cultural appropriation are mainly Americans, so they don't pay much attention to the problem of powerless minorities. It doesn't matter if Westerners enjoy wearing Tibetan costumes. Of course, there is no controversy in the beginning as the Tibetans, who are the parties concerned, do not make a problem of it. In such a diverse world like these days, people shouldn’t take advantage of minority cultures, and we should try to abolish the stereotype towards them that is entrenched deeply in our society. However, as it is such a multiracial society, we should not indiscriminately criticize people experiencing other cultures. From now on, public figures should try to respect other cultures, and the public should respect the freedom of expression and continue cultural exchanges with a more permissive attitude.
external link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation#:~:text=Cultural%20appropriation%20is%20the%20adoption,culture%20appropriate%20from%20minority%20cultures.