Issues on Cultural Appropriation

“5 things white people need to learn about cultural appropriation”

Amirah Abualeez

October 6, 2014

Dear Editor,

I would like to start off with stating that although there are some points in your article that I agree with, I have found some issues that have raised several questions. It is no doubt that culture appropriation becomes a problem especially when the culture being appropriated is a minority. I agree with the fact “Cultural appropriation is not okay. In fact, it comes with strains of prejudice and, within a larger system of colonial whiteness, racism.” With that being said, that very sentence has a problem of its own. You have specifically targeted the white population and have stated that cultural appropriation roots from white prejudice. When in reality, all cultures are equally guilty of appropriating other cultures. To add on to that, you have specifically based your article off of the media and show business industry, targeting stars such as “Katy Perry”. You then continue to list five things that these stars should follow in order to “appreciate culture rather than appropriate it”. I believe that although your article had a good message behind it, it was poorly executed and showed hints of racism and ignorance on the authors side.

To start off, you begin your article by stating, “If you’re Katy Perry, for example, you believe it’s A-OK to don corn rows and gel down your baby hair, put on some long fingernails and so-called sassy mannerisms with a ‘blaccent’ and slang to portray how you believe certain black women behave and speak.” Firstly, I did not hear the so called “blaccent” that Katy Perry attempted. I also don’t believe that Katy Perry incorporating watermelon in her music video is a racist appropriation of black culture. Katy Perry likes watermelon. I like watermelon. It is small comments like these that make it seem like you did not know what you were writing about and instead you were targeting these acts “just for fun”. Cultural appropriation is a serious topic but you have twisted it into something that is silly and that people will not take seriously. The music and media industry is a large industry and artists do not portray other cultures in a racist persona. They portray other cultures in order to reach a wider variety of audience. Iggy Azalea does not change her Australian accent for interviews because she is racist. She changes her accent because that is what the business requires. Please do your research next time and open your mind to other ideas and points of views before stating yours publically.

In conclusion, I have found both good and bad things in your article. I do agree with the fact that in order for artists and other cultures to be able to “appreciate instead of appropriate other cultures”, one must have solid knowledge on that culture through research and personal experience so their acts cannot be misconstrued as racist or disrespectful. With that being said, I also believe that you need to do your research too. Just because a culture or an individual may seem like they are appropriating a different culture, does not mean that they don’t appreciate or respect that culture. Culture appropriation becomes an issue when there is racism, disrespect, and prejudice involved. I believe your article has some good intentions behind it, but it needs to be better executed.

Thank you,

Amirah Abualeez

Raha International School 

References: 

Clifton, Derrick. "5 Things White People Need to Learn about Cultural Appropriation." The Daily Dot. N.p., 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.