Letter to the Editor

Cultural Appropriation as bad as ever

Talitha Liu

16 July 2014

Dear Editor,

I refer to the article, You Can’t ‘Steal’ a Culture: In Defense of Cultural Appropriation, by Josh McWhorter. As a frequent reader of your magazine, I was appalled at the lack of sensitivity displayed here.

 

The idea that cultural appropriation is not a problem because 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery' is nothing but laughable. Indeed, it brings us to the main problem - the issue is not the copying of the source culture, it is the effects it has upon the source culture. As a second generation Chinese that has been living in America for over 20 years now, cultural appropriation still has an unpleasant knack of reminding me that 'I am not really American' by pointing out that my people will only ever fit into the stereotypes the whites have created for us. It makes me feel like I don't belong here, in my home.  

 

Just last year, Katy Perry displayed a blatant example of cultural appropriation in an AMA performance of  her song 'Unconditionally'. The four minute long concert was a confusing hodgepodge of Chinese and Japanese culture - featuring the singer herself wearing a cross between a Cheongsam and Kimono, backup dancers draped in revealing modified Japanese dresses, while carrying out traditional Chinese fan dances. Not only does this make perpetuate the 'you're all Asian, it's the same thing' notion, more worryingly it presented Chinese and Japanese traditions without understanding any of the meanings behind them. The insensitive spectacle was further dismissed with statements like, 'it was not her intention to be racist' or worse, that 'it was only a cultural celebration'. These statements support Perry's trivialization of the source cultures, making us into another accessory in her wardrobe. If it really was mean to be a celebration, why were there no Asian dancers on stage? Even worse is that there were 9.47 million viewers watching this, having it ingrained into them (again) that Asians are either a)very good at math or b)prancing around diminutively in kimonos.

 

I showed your article to many fellow Asian-Americans, and they all found it to be grossly inaccurate. Many of them held that 'no one is listening' to their struggles with this issue. Despite the many editorials attacking cultural appropriation in the media, the major players in the industry - Iggy Azalea (in 'Bounce'), Selena Gomez (in 'Come and Get It') and Katy Perry - just to name a few, are repeatedly stealing parts of minority cultures to exploit in their performances and videos.

 

I recognize that your article says a culture can never be 'stolen'. But that was never the problem. The issue is that our minority cultures have turned into fetishes for viewers, exotic traditions and expressions whose real meaning is totally forsaken. And at the end of the day, when Katy Perry gets bored of this façade, she takes her makeup off and doesn't have to deal with the stereotyping she has perpetuated. No one looks at her and says - 'Oh, you're Asian, so you must be good at math right?'. In this sense it is simply not fair.

 

Instead of writing articles that make people feel like cultural appropriation is okay, I recommend you take action encouraging people to realize that these actions are wrong. Encourage a boycott of the offending artists, educate people as to what constitutes cultural appropriation and why it is so harmful. I'm not asking that humans cease to appreciate each other's cultures entirely, I'm simply asking for some respect.

 

Consider a reversal of the situation. Imagine a Chinese pop group dancing around with burgers and fries, using American culture to get more hits on YouTube. Trivializing you into an accessory. I promise that you can sift through the entirety of Chinese media and never find a performance like that, so why is the reverse occurring so frequently here? Above all, I ask the general population to stop sweeping this issue under your borrowed Arabian magic carpets, and to sit up and face it for what it is.

 

Sincerely,

Talitha Liu




You can read the original article here:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/15/you-can-t-steal-a-culture-in-defense-of-cultural-appropriation.html