Yoga class cancelled due to cultural appropriation

[Katy]

I asked a specific question for clarification. I did not "lecture"; I merely expressed that I do not understand how a multicultural society is supposed to work if aspects cannot be shared between cultures.

As an immigrant (whose culture is different from the majority culture), I would have liked an answer to my question: what exactly constitutes CA?

 

Also, with respect to the multicultural society, this raises another interesting question:

if it is OK for something to be passed from the majority culture to the minority culture, but not the other way around, does that not cement inequalities? It seems to me as if cultural traits migrating only in one direction would reinforce that culture as more powerful - which is exactly not the desired outcome.

 

To be clear, I think this concept is ridiculous.

 

But I think the answer is that if you're white you cannot take anything from any culture that is poor and/or brown.  There are varying degrees of this.  Some seem to think that it is only if someone is offended.  Some seem to think that it is only if the white culture once or currently oppresses the brown culture and causes hurt feelings and resentment. Some seem to think that the brown culture cannot give permission for the white culture to take any aspect of their culture, because they can't evangelize anything, they are oppressed.

 

It's similar to the concept currently being taught that brown or black people cannot be racist because they are oppressed, only white people can be racist.   Yes, these theories exist, but I cannot tell you who came up with them.  Only that they originated in academia in the 1970's, according to the articles I've read.

And yes, IMO I agree that insisting other cultures adapt our culture rather than any sort of blending is ridiculous and racist.

 

So is assuming groups cannot consent to evangelize others.  That's how all religions started.

 

Also, it creates a never ending cycle of victim mentalities that will result in the de-evolving IMO. 

 

A facebook friend shared this video last week.  Is this where our culture is going?

 

 

[Katy]

And then there's this:

 

 

[8circles]

I'm so confused as to why there is even any disagreement here. I'm agreeing with both Sadie and Cammie and regentrude and I'm not really understanding what the big deal is.

 

What I'm taking that to mean that this idea of cultural appropriation probably can't be nailed-down and has to be judged on an individual basis - and doesn't even require consensus.

 

But I think we can all agree that we should be respectful of other cultures, we should be at least aware of the possibility that some people may not appreciate our borrowing/adopting/incorporating, and be willing to consider other people's feelings and opinions, even if we end up disagreeing.

[SKL]

I think there are some people who believe white people (and only white people) - especially those in countries that didn't have white people 1,000 years ago - are not entitled to culture.  White people must be punished, and not having free access to culture is part of the punishment.

[SKL]

There is no way for another person to know what is going on in my mind when I decide to do something related to a culture I wasn't born into.  There should be a fun new term for people making ASSumptions about other people's intentions.

[Sarah CB]

I just got an email from my 10 year old's grade 6 teacher - the subject line was: "Yoga and Christmas Decorations."

 

Uh oh.

[Tanaqui]

I think there are some people who believe white people (and only white people) - especially those in countries that didn't have white people 1,000 years ago - are not entitled to culture.  White people must be punished, and not having free access to culture is part of the punishment.

 

And can you quote anybody, anywhere saying ANYTHING to this effect?

[Rosie_0801]

There should be a fun new term for people making ASSumptions about other people's intentions.

 

I've decided to call them scarecrow opinions because they are kind of like straw man arguments.

[Cammie]

I choose to believe that the people who believe in the theory of cultural appropriation do it from a place of very good intentions.

 

I do understand a desire to be respectful of everyone's opinions and of the right of each person to express those opinions.  This is how cultural appropriation is defined in Wikipedia (I know not the most scholarly of sources...)  I did find it very helpful to help me understand what the objections are that make up the cultural appropriation concept.

 

Cultural appropriation, or cultural misappropriation^[3] is a sociological concept which views the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon.^[4] Generally, an assumption that the culture being borrowed from is also being oppressed by the culture doing the borrowing is prerequisite to the concept.^[3] This view of cultural borrowing is controversial, both in academic circles, and in general society. According to proponents of the concept of cultural appropriation, such cultural borrowings are problematic for a variety of reasons, ranging from group identity, and questions of cultural oppression, to claims of intellectual property rights.

Cultural (mis)appropriation differs from acculturation or assimilation in that the "appropriation" or "misappropriation" refers to the adoption of these cultural elements in a colonial manner: elements are copied from a minority culture by members of the dominant culture, and these elements are used outside of their original cultural context – sometimes even against the expressed, stated wishes of representatives of the originating culture.^{[1][5][6][7][8][9]} Often, in the process, the original meaning of these cultural elements is distorted; such uses can be viewed as disrespectful by members of the originating culture, or even as a form of desecration. Cultural elements, which may have deep meaning to the original culture, can be reduced to "exotic" fashion by those from the dominant culture.^[1][5][10] When this is done, the imitator, "who does not experience that oppression is able to 'play,' temporarily, an 'exotic' other, without experiencing any of the daily discriminations faced by other cultures."^[10]

In North America, concepts of cultural appropriation are particularly prominent in Native American studies, and in studies of Black (American) culture. It is also current in certain circles of fashion criticism.

 

For one - I don't believe the borrowing of cultural elements is a "largely negative phenomenon."

 

Second - I'm not sure I buy the dominant and oppressed cultural dichotomy.  History is too long and changes too many for that label to be slapped on any group.  For example, is a once colonized culture always going to be the "oppressed culture?"  I don't think so.

 

This does fit right in with what I said above about this being more about respect and intention.

 

Yes, I get that cultural elements that have deep meaning in one culture may be used in a disrespectful way by someone...but then it is about respect again.

 

Anyways, it is an interesting idea but one that I feel is not quite fully formed at the moment.

 

 

 

 

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