3B
Wednesday, February 1, 2017 // The Statement
In Excess: The Missing Link in the
Appropriation Debate
B Y T E S S G A R C I A , S E N I O R A R T S E D I TO R
COVER PHOTO BY CAROLYN GEARIG, DESIGN BY CLAIRE ABDO AND KATIE SPAK
ILLUSTRATION BY KATIE SPAK
T
he white girl in the headdress does not
know why she is wrong.
It’s 2017, and the cultural appropriation
debate is losing its substance by the minute. I do not
want to hear a single person complain about someone
stealing from their culture unless they are willing to
do something about it. Don’t just rant, Social Justice
Warrior; fight for your heritage. Enlighten. Empty
criticism does little to support your cause.
Somewhere, there is a young white woman who
does not understand the significance of the cornrows
she is wearing. Telling her she is a bigot will do
nothing but encourage anger. Complaining about
her in a Buzzfeed article is not going to motivate any
form of positive change. There is no tangible benefit
to ostracizing a naive individual.
Show her why her actions were offensive.
Acknowledge the presence of what is likely helpless,
palpable ignorance caused by life in a white-washed
community. Brief her on the origins of the tightly
set braids, and explain to her why she should care.
Give her the option to change her perspective so
that she may learn (if she chooses — unfortunately,
not everyone will) to appreciate the rich cultural
history from which she unknowingly stole.
At present, most of the conversation surrounding
cultural appropriation is chock full of “I’m sick of”s
and “I hate”s. Energy that could have been spent
educating is wasted on tweet after tweet of pure
anger and exasperation. Of course, a certain amount
of anger has its rightful place in this movement. It’s
only human to be upset when someone steals what is
yours. Yet when it comes down to it, we are speaking
in shallow circles that allow for minimal progress,
and it is disheartening.
There are exceptions to this rule. Young activists
like Amandla Stenberg provide substantive advice
for tackling appropriation in their posts on social
media. Thanks to publications like Teen Vogue,
along with the availability of diverse perspectives
thanks to the internet, discussions of culture are
slowly becoming more common.
Yet a grave disparity still exists between the
appropriator and the appropriated. Few lines of
cultural communication have been forged — the
conversation remains somewhat exclusive to the
affected, rather than inviting potential cultural
poachers to walk in a new pair of shoes.
It is impossible for one person to know everything
about every culture. Friction will always occur.
What matters is how we choose to approach that
friction. To educate is to grab hold of an issue by its
roots, infecting it with the power of openness and
information. After all, we cannot appreciate what
we don’t know.
Invite the ignorant to join you, Social Justice
Warrior. Encourage appreciation. Cultures will
always be divided to some degree, but unless we
allow for a certain level of openness, these divisions
will only deepen. The fear of offending is enough
to prevent the majority from asking questions
as well as to keep the minority from calling out
appropriation in a productive way. A lack of honest
communication is keeping both sides of this debate
from learning from their own mistakes.
I fully acknowledge my privilege in writing this
article. I am lucky enough to have had my Argentine
roots exploited on only the rarest of occasions
— and even then, I’m white. I reap the benefits of
an appearance that often causes me to forget that
half my family does not look like me. I will never
understand what it’s like to grow up being made fun
of for my facial features, the food I eat or the way I
wear my hair, only to see it promoted in an all-white
ad campaign years later.
That is the background from which this opinion
stems. I recognize that there is no one concrete
solution to the appropriation debate, but we must
begin taking risks. Even if we’re unsure of our
strategies in raising awareness, they could lead us in
the right direction.
An outsider will never understand your culture
the way you do. However, if she learns to value
its customs and traditions as she would her own,
perhaps she’ll finally think twice before making that
DIY Chippewa headdress she saw on Pinterest.