![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annwfynSo, I've just been reading racism_101, which is a brand new shiny anti-racism community, designed to be a little more basic than ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
debunkingwhite and was mostly formed in the aftermath of the huge Sci-Fi online drama, Racefail '09, which I know very little about for various reasons* and as such has, I think, a lot of talking to do about the issues which came up there. As a result the entire community is this huge great pile of very earnest discussions about cultural appropriation and it's beginning to drive me nuts.
OK, first of all, I believe in cultural appropriation. I really do. I cringe when I see Gwen Stefani doing...well...anything. But especially wearing that damn bindi along with a bikini top and tight jeans. Those Japanese girls she pays to stand behind her and giggle these days also make me want to claw my own eyes out. Buying Native American spirituality for $17.99 online strikes me as deeply icky, and I do have total sympathy for anyone of any specific culture who wants to walk up to the outsider decked out in the trappings of their society and say "you know, you're really doing it wrong".
However, I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that cultural appropriation is something which really shouldn't be discussed online.
Or rather, the theory should. Whilst writing this I just found the most fabulous essay online here, which I really liked, and I do think that the idea that cultural appropriation exists should, but what is happening onracism_101 quite a lot is this endless conversation about whether [insert complicated shade of grey issue] is cultural appropriation or not. And to my mind, that is really the kind of conversation you cannot helpfully have with strangers on the internet.
The main issue, from my point of view, is that 'culture' is not a monolithic solid entitity, any more than people are. 'Culture' is fluid, changing, infectious. It rubs off on you. People live in different places, children are born with mixed heritage, cultures impact on each other and interact with each other. There is cultural exchange as well as cultural appropriation. There is positive and valid cultural exchange as well.
Is it cultural appropriation for westerners to practice Buddhism? Ummm...it probably can be, but equally it probably often isn't. Either way, a bunch of earnest white people on an internet community are highly unlikely to be able to tell you whether you're sincere in your faith, if you're respectful in your practice, or (and mostly importantly) what the theological approach is to converts from a religious standpoint. I sincerely doubt that anyone in that community is a Buddhist theologian or teacher. All they can do is throw noise. Ditto for 90% of these conversations. Is it cultural appropriation if a white American couple give their kid a Japanese name? Maybe. What if they were living in Japan at the time and had lived there for many years? Maybe, but probably not. What if they had lived there for ten years, but had got home the week before? Who the hell knows? Some Japanese people might roll their eyes. Others probably won't care. Either way, it isn't an issue that can really helpfully be resolved by a bunch of random people online. It's something you need to think about for yourself.
I'm not saying that there isn't cultural appropriation. I think there is. I think there are lots of ways to be offensive about nicking someone's culture, but I also think that there are polite and respectful ways to interact with another culture, and that realistically, no one except you will really know which one you're doing.
I don't know if I'm right or wrong with my rules for me. I have them, and I should really talk about them here at some point. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I think some would call me overly earnest and PC and others would say I'm reeking white privilege and entitlement. But I think that's kinda the standard for me these days.
Anyway, that's my philosophical ramble for the day. I really need to run now as I have to get to the bank.
*I'm not a sci fi fan, I wasn't aware of it for ages, I became aware, I tried to read some of the links onrydra_wong's LJ and got very lost, very quickly, I didn't know who any of these people were, I gave up.
racism_101, which is a brand new shiny anti-racism community, designed to be a little more basic than debunkingwhite and was mostly formed in the aftermath of the huge Sci-Fi online drama, Racefail '09, which I know very little about for various reasons* and as such has, I think, a lot of talking to do about the issues which came up there. As a result the entire community is this huge great pile of very earnest discussions about cultural appropriation and it's beginning to drive me nuts.OK, first of all, I believe in cultural appropriation. I really do. I cringe when I see Gwen Stefani doing...well...anything. But especially wearing that damn bindi along with a bikini top and tight jeans. Those Japanese girls she pays to stand behind her and giggle these days also make me want to claw my own eyes out. Buying Native American spirituality for $17.99 online strikes me as deeply icky, and I do have total sympathy for anyone of any specific culture who wants to walk up to the outsider decked out in the trappings of their society and say "you know, you're really doing it wrong".
However, I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that cultural appropriation is something which really shouldn't be discussed online.
Or rather, the theory should. Whilst writing this I just found the most fabulous essay online here, which I really liked, and I do think that the idea that cultural appropriation exists should, but what is happening on
racism_101 quite a lot is this endless conversation about whether [insert complicated shade of grey issue] is cultural appropriation or not. And to my mind, that is really the kind of conversation you cannot helpfully have with strangers on the internet. The main issue, from my point of view, is that 'culture' is not a monolithic solid entitity, any more than people are. 'Culture' is fluid, changing, infectious. It rubs off on you. People live in different places, children are born with mixed heritage, cultures impact on each other and interact with each other. There is cultural exchange as well as cultural appropriation. There is positive and valid cultural exchange as well.
Is it cultural appropriation for westerners to practice Buddhism? Ummm...it probably can be, but equally it probably often isn't. Either way, a bunch of earnest white people on an internet community are highly unlikely to be able to tell you whether you're sincere in your faith, if you're respectful in your practice, or (and mostly importantly) what the theological approach is to converts from a religious standpoint. I sincerely doubt that anyone in that community is a Buddhist theologian or teacher. All they can do is throw noise. Ditto for 90% of these conversations. Is it cultural appropriation if a white American couple give their kid a Japanese name? Maybe. What if they were living in Japan at the time and had lived there for many years? Maybe, but probably not. What if they had lived there for ten years, but had got home the week before? Who the hell knows? Some Japanese people might roll their eyes. Others probably won't care. Either way, it isn't an issue that can really helpfully be resolved by a bunch of random people online. It's something you need to think about for yourself.
I'm not saying that there isn't cultural appropriation. I think there is. I think there are lots of ways to be offensive about nicking someone's culture, but I also think that there are polite and respectful ways to interact with another culture, and that realistically, no one except you will really know which one you're doing.
I don't know if I'm right or wrong with my rules for me. I have them, and I should really talk about them here at some point. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I think some would call me overly earnest and PC and others would say I'm reeking white privilege and entitlement. But I think that's kinda the standard for me these days.
Anyway, that's my philosophical ramble for the day. I really need to run now as I have to get to the bank.
*I'm not a sci fi fan, I wasn't aware of it for ages, I became aware, I tried to read some of the links on
rydra_wong's LJ and got very lost, very quickly, I didn't know who any of these people were, I gave up. 