Cultural Appropriation: What Is It

In today’s society, anything that a celebrity or brand does will be published for the world to see. Even the simplest things. In some cases, a wrong decision can lead to fans criticizing the role of the celebrity or brand and commenting on how something can be “cultural appropriation.” We live in a world where there is white privilege and Caucasians think it’s okay to style themselves based off of racist generalizations from where the style originally came from.

Cultural appropriation; taking an element from a culture in which a person is not a part of and using it without understanding the meaning of the element from the original culture.

It is a very controversial topic that in recent years, has been seen more in pop-culture. Culture is very diverse, and the aspects included can be very different from another culture. Culture refers to the ideas and things that are passed on from one generation to the next. And it can be passed down for thousands of years.

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Many people might associate culture to different countries around the globe. Cultural appropriation is a choice, like an expression of privilege. We live in a world where there is white privilege therefore the people who appropriate cultural elements are usually white. This is because many white people think they could do whatever they want. People might think the reason they’re doing what they’re doing is because they try to appreciate a culture, but the problem is that it occurs without any true understanding of the meaning behind the act of the original culture. The reason cultural appropriation is so harmful is because it’s an extension of centuries of racism. Racism has been a huge problem in our world today. Many still cannot believe we are in the twenty-first century and racism is still constantly occurring all around us. Many people might believe that cultural appropriation is not such a bad thing after all. Cultural appropriation can be profitable and the people who take an element from a different culture and use it, can be seen as trying to be appreciative of the other culture. In other terms, they can be seen as being open minded and responsive to other cultures. But, the best way to show their “appreciativeness” of a different culture is by acknowledging the origins. When one culture takes an aspect from another culture, they do it because the look might be seen as “cool” and this is where the problem lays. A dominant group takes an aspect out of minority cultures, but the dominant group refuses to truly understand any aspect of the minority culture. Although cultural appropriation is very controversial, it is a topic that should be more closely observed, and many people should be more aware of their actions, so they do not offend indigenous people.

Victoria’s Secret is one of the largest lingerie retailers and is also known for their womenswear and beauty products. Each year, there was a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show which was used to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. Each model was costumed in lingerie and extravagant accessories. This brand has been accused of cultural appropriation several times during their fashion shows. For example, in 2012 model, Karlie Kloss, was wearing a feather headdress, suede fringe, turquoise jewelry, and leopard-print accents to represent a holiday/event during a month of the year. Kloss’ costume was meant to be “representative of Thanksgiving, glamorizing the horrific genocide indigenous people experienced at the hands of European settlers and American colonists” (Matera). The headdress is a well-known symbol of strength and bravery in Native American culture. They were traditionally worn by male leaders who’ve earned a place of respect in their tribe. In this case, the dominant group, being the brand of Victoria’s Secret, took an aspect out of the Native American culture without understanding the meaning behind the aspect of that culture. They thought they had the power to do whatever they wanted but in reality, they were criticized for constantly appropriating cultures. The did it mainly because it was deemed highly fashionable, but it was very disrespectful for the Native American culture. Another time Victoria’s Secret has been accused of cultural appropriate was in 2016 when model, Elsa Hosk, was dressed in modified traditional Chinese-inspired garments to look like lingerie. And the most controversial of all was that she had been wearing a full feather dragon, which was wrapped around the model. In Chinese culture, the dragon is a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for only the people worthy of it. The fact that both models were white and wearing elements from an indigenous group was the reason it was seen as cultural appropriation. The models weren’t wearing the costumes for “respect” out of the cultures but for the sole purpose that it was seen as “fashionable” because it was shown at their fashion show, which is highly popular. I believe that if Kloss was a Native American woman or Hosk was a Chinese woman, it would have not been seen as cultural appropriation because they would’ve been representing their own cultures. But the power that higher up brands think they have, is overpowering and becomes disrespectful when appropriating an important aspect from a different culture.

Sometimes in fashion, big retailers like Victoria’s Secret, believe they have the power to do whatever they like. Instead of taking a step back to realize what their intentions are, they believe anything they do would be ok. Even if a brand didn’t intentionally mean to offend an indigenous culture, they should have asked for opinions from other people and see what their view is on the idea. The fashion industry is one that has faced several accusations of cultural appropriation. The fact that the fashion industry continues to misunderstand the idea of cultural appropriation is unfathomable. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show could show off their products without including elements from different cultures and without offending anyone. I believe they try to go above and beyond for attention or the fact that something looks “nice” or “fashionable”. There is a line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation and companies like Victoria’s Secret should know the difference, so they do not offend anyone. Victoria’s Secret has a lot of power over how they should create the costumes for the fashion show. Many of the costumes that the models have worn are very fashionable without offending an indigenous group, and they should continue to be aware of what they make their models wear because the public will continue to point of the company’s mistakes which can ultimately lead to the brand loosing money.

In pop-culture, we continue to see cultural appropriation. At one point, enough should be enough. Disrespecting another culture is shameful and should have been learned from past experiences, but it continues to happen. The fashion industry needs to be more aware of what they put out to the public and how it might be seen as offensive. We should be appreciating cultures rather than appropriating them.