Cultural appropriation involves adopting elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture. It can negatively impact minority groups when sacred cultural items are exploited, disrespected, or misrepresented by those in positions of greater social power. Whether cultural appropriation is acceptable depends on what is being borrowed, whether it has religious or spiritual significance, the level of understanding and respect the borrower has for the culture, and if the element is accurately represented. Mainstream cultural appropriation of minority cultures is problematic because the mainstream holds more power to influence global perceptions, and minority groups are often victimized by the appropriation of their cultural identities and practices.

1. “IM JUST
HONORING
YOUR
CUILTURE”
The Mainstream and
Cultural Appropriation
“Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of elements of one culture
by members of a different culture.” ("Cultural appropriation", 2016)

2. What is being appropriated? Object with significant spiritual or religious meaning?
Equal Power? Are elements of a minority culture being exploited or disrespected?
Respect Does he/she appropriating have knowledge or respect for the culture?
It Depends…
Misrepresentation is the object used or displayed in a way the culture didn’t intend?

3. What is being appropriated?
Cultural appropriation takes many forms and pieces of culture that can be appropriated vary
whether it’s clothing, symbols songs or other literary compositions.

4. https://quote.ucsd.edu/comm100c/2014/08/22/mistaking-appropriation-for-appreciation/
Plains Indians earned these as a place of great respect in their tribe. Originally
they were sometimes worn into battle but they are now primarily used for
ceremonial occasions.
Feathered War Bonnet

5. Modern Cornrows
Has been a popular hairstyle amongst the African American
culture since the 70’s and originated in Africa thousands of
years ago.
http://modernmancollection.com/style/the-man-with-the-million-faces/

6. The morale judgment on the whole
concept of Cultural appropriation
however, cannot be determined based
purely on what is being
borrowed/adopted and the impacts
they can have vary; as argued by
Denise Cuthbert (Cuthbert,
1998,pp.257-260)
Beg, borrow or steal: The politics of cultural
Appropriation

7. Equal Power?

8. When we are talking about mainstream there is no equal power and this must be
considered when arguing negative or positive impacts of cultural appropriation.
In the case of negative impacts of cultural appropriation it is nearly always the minority
culture that is victim to the mainstream culture of the Western World.
“normative Caucasians are generally in the position to influence global perceptions of
cultural identity” (VanLang, 2016).
No.

9. Level of Respect

10. My hairstylist and my
makeup artist are actually
really big into the whole
culture — they’ve been
around, they’ve traveled,
they’ve gotten me into
various books.
“
.”
Selena Gomez --
http://theaerogram.com/selena-gomez-steps-
cold-drinks-wearing-bindi/

11. The fact that I had “been
there” justified my choice to
wear Tibetan clothing.
But just “being there”
did not give me the
information I needed to
understand my own possible
role in cultural appropriation.
(Kleisath, 2014, p.247)
“
.”
The Costume of Shangri-La: Thoughts on White Privilege,
Cultural Appropriation, and Anti-Asian Racism

12. Misrepresentation

13. Most cultural and religious reasons behind
women wearing Burqas are all based
around the concept of covering themselves
up.
Lady Gaga
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/lady-gagas-burqa-is-
good-for-muslim-women-8756228.html

14. Mainstream and Cultural Appropriation
Cultural Appropriation is such a broad topic and takes many forms and can
have many different impacts on cultures depending on what it is, who is
appropriating it, do they have an understanding of the culture and whether it’s
misrepresented or not.
The examples previously shown outline these aspects of the issue and
demonstrate how Mainstream and Cultural Appropriation can negatively impact
minority cultures and how we perceive their identities.
Thank you.

15. Bibliography
D236bkdxj385sg.cloudfront.net. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
"Cultural Appropriation". Wikipedia. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
Cuthbert, Denise. "Beg, Borrow Or Steal: The Politics Of Cultural
Appropriation". Postcolonial Studies 1.2 (1998): 257-262. Web.
Kleisath, C. Michelle. "The Costume Of Shangri-La: Thoughts On White
Privilege, Cultural Appropriation, And Anti-Asian Racism". Journal of Lesbian
Studies 18.2 (2014): 142-157. Web.
VanLang, Christopher. "Why Are White People Never Offended By Cultural
Appropriation? - Quora". Quora.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.