Today's rabbit hole was brought to you by an article on a celebrity. She is getting criticized for wearing a bindi (the semi-precious stone dot that rests in the middle of the forehead.) This person is neither a Hindu or Jain follower and so it is seen as sacrilegious. I was intrigued by this and I started reading, the first article that popped up was from a Hindu woman who said that while the bindi definitely had cultural significance for her, it was also a fashion statement. She actually had a set of ten that she could coordinate with her wardrobe. She was proud that an outsider had considered part of her culture beautiful enough to want to emulate it. I love this attitude but it was just the beginning of my thoughts today.
According to Wikipedia, "Cultural Appropriation is the adoption or use of the elements of one culture by members of another culture." Here is where the rabbit hole begins. "One Culture" is a loaded phrase alone. I am not one culture nor do I ever hope to be. If you were to ask what my ancestry is I would say "Heinz 57." I actually have no idea where I came from except that I have an account of relatives coming across the states and seeing Indians hiding in the brush. I guess that makes me bleed red white and blue, but to be honest I'm not thrilled with America's heritage. I guess I like the melting pot idea, but of course, that leaves us with a homogeneous mash-up where we have little individual flavor. I like the idea of a fruit salad. You can be in the fruit salad and still be a grape. You can have your Italian culture and still be an American. What does that make people like me who don't claim a specific heritage? Maybe I'm the sauce that absorbs all of the flavors and fits in between the fruit. Maybe I get to be just a little bit of everyone. I know that this is not a new idea and many people feel this way but it was just jumping off point that I had, there are more.
So is cultural appropriation a bad thing? Is adopting another culture a bad thing? Sometimes we don't always have the best ideas in mind when we choose to borrow cultures. Often the first time one culture is adopted by another is to mock it. We make fun of other languages, styles of dress, and customs, only to find that when we take the time to understand where there these cultural icons came from they seem to be the obvious choice.
One of my first jobs was working in a tourist shop that sold Native American items. I was educated and fascinated by a culture that could have easily faded away, but was instead being held fast by its people. I found many things about the culture that I greatly admire. I like the fact that I can understand that culture better than many an outsider.
When I am not focused on other things I am working on learning Spanish. Oh, I am a very slow learning and lately, it has taken a back seat to many other things. I did find it interesting that one of my go-to helpers in this pursuit wasn't Spanish or Mexican but rather a Chinese guy. Spanish wasn't his second language but rather his third. He understood the language rules better than many others,
Maybe it's because I do not define myself using one culture but I embrace many, but I think cultural appropriation is a compliment. We just should be careful to use it with respect and information.
