User:Laurie Vazquez/Themes In The Cultural Appropriation of Food, Clothing, and Music

Many elements, characteristics, foods, items, types of clothing, and genres of music generate from certain cultures. Other cultures often take them and spin them into their own twist for many different reasons. Doing this, however, causes identity to become lost in translation. In this work of research I will be discussing the origins of certain culture characteristics, how they are used, what cultures have adopted them and why, and also what the origin culture thinks of this said adoption. This research focuses primarily on food, clothing, and music. The goal is to raise awareness to actual origins of these items, develop ideas on why they are appropriated, and determine what is considered appropriation.

Cultural appropriation is something many view as inevitable because items are going to change and be shared over time naturally. Cultural appropriation is often a group that is more privileged taking from a weaker or smaller group, and more often than no this is without that lesser groups permission or opinion. There are many benefits to culture appropriation however this research study is actually intended to discuss why culture appropriation exists and the true origins of certain misplaced items.

Creative Destruction by Tyler Cowen discusses many topics around cultural appropriation and how far spread elements have become. The text also discussed why we should care and effects it can potentially pose. Cowen states that, "The practical benefits of these developments are obvious, and they have been accompanied by explosions of cultural creativity, as discussed in the last chapter. Yet despite this significant upside we cannot help but feel that something cultural is lose at the same time."

Cultural Appropriation is something we see so often because the world is constantly changing. New technology, new advancements, and the want for more causes people to want more. To satisfy this need for more, people begin to draw from outside their own resources and they begin to look at others. Other times, cultural appropriation stems to actually save a minority culture from losing some of their identity. In an Article by the Atlantic, Jenni Avins mentions Susan Scafidi who is a lawyer and wrote Who Owns Culture? who once said, "Cultural appropriation can sometimes be the savior of a cultural product that has faded away," (The Dos and Don'ts of Cultural Appropriation, 2015).

Elizabeth Cummings write in an article for the InterExchange that, "The U.S. is often called melting pot because its people come from many different backgrounds and cultures, and there are such a wide variety of beliefs, values, and traditions," (10 Things to Know About U.S. Culture).

Food
Food is a very large symbol of every culture. This is becomes food is crucial for the survival of any group and any species. Food is something used to bring people together, display characteristics of a culture, and to continue tradition. Culture appropriation can been seen in food and is often no different than other types of culture appropriation. Many still consider it inconsiderate and offensive. This can contribute to stereotyping. There are many examples of stereotyping and appropriating in food. Some of these include associating egg rolls with the Chinese culture, rice and beans with the Latino culture, and pizza with the Italian culture. This is just to name a few. Food unites cultures together, promotes survival, and creates a difference in characteristics among other cultures. Most groups in society have developed their own different types of food, unique tastes, or methods of preparation. This is often unique to their necessities and what they have access to. But what about those who haven’t, or those who we have wrongly drawn after? In this section, I will discuss findings on the globalization of cultural appropriation in the food segment.

It can be noted that people who are more privileged have the upper-hand in deciding what is trendy or in, in any subject. In an article published by Right Now Phylisa Wisdom states that, "Here is what we know to be true about cultural appropriation of food: the people with various privileges (race, class, educational, and/or established networks) get to decide what’s trendy or in demand, and then food lovers either hope economic benefits will trickle down to those who have been eking out a living on the same thing for decades, or we turn a blind eye. In many cases, those who do have a history in an appropriated cuisine or practice are not compensated for their labour or ideas," (Cultural Appropriation in Food, 2016). This leads us to see a bigger picture. Smaller, more local cultures, are being forced to live off their land and make any combination of food they can with the little ingredients they have to survive. Certain food enthusiasts are trying to give back, with generally good intentions, to these smaller communities. This is done by embracing those cultures through dishes and serving them on a larger scale. This is in hopes that the turnout will be so well that the money will trickle all the way down the economy line back to the struggling local culture who originally developed the dish. This works on a large scale with a simple idea. Once the food idea is taken and created from the small culture, it is sold to others outside the culture thus returning the money back into the smaller areas. However, when the economy does not seem to function this way, everyone seems to turn their heads more quickly than they originally turned to look.

Italian Cuisine
My first observation from the food examples will begin with pizza and spaghetti. We all know a typical Papa John’s, Papa Murphy’s, and S’barro’s to hold the Italian flag colors to represent Italy and it’s cuisine. While there very well may be items directly from Italian cuisine, the main one being promoted is not; pizza. The origin of pizza has a very interested trace throughout history and this has lead me to a unique approach in my research. Why does society all too often associated with pizza as being from Italy? Why in the cities of New York City and Chicago, the best place to get a slice of pizza is automatically assumed to be 'Little Italy'? This seems to be because that is how it always has been, Pizza was thought to be originated from Italy, but was it really?

In an article from The Asia-Pacific Journal we can learn two interesting new concepts. The first revolves around spaghetti and the second leads to pizza. The Mr. Pizza pizza chain was designed in a spoof so that people could see how pizza was actually taken from its rightful owners, the Koreans. Nakamoto and Epstein, from the article in The Asia-Pacific Journal, state that, "Quarrels about which nation had the right to claim the earlier kingdom as part of its own history drove not only fierce scholarly debate but a significant deterioration in relations between the two countries," (The True Origins of Pizza: Irony, the Internet and East Asian Nationalisms, 2011). To begin, they were using an analogy to represent how there is international dispute over the origin of pizza the same way that there was an international dispute between lands and kingdoms in a time before. I mention this to show the severity of the conflict over ownership. This international dispute is caused because one country truly believes that they posses the right to pizza. This is an issue of cultural theft. In food we see cultural theft when it is transitioned from one culture to another.

Chinese Cuisine
Have you ever heard a child mention the words, "Chinese chicken nuggets?" This seems to be a term children have learned from their parents over time through Chinese buffets becoming Americanized, or at least a term noted in my research. This has become a very important one however because it highlights cultural appropriation for what it is - adopting some elements from a culture to blend into another. The term Chinese chicken nuggets had actually been referring to Chinese dumplings. However, those same dumplings are almost the polar opposite of an American chicken nugget. The Chicken dumpling is often much better quality meat and often times they incorporate other elements besides meat. It seems the term transitioned into Chinese chicken nugget because of the outer appearance and to make it seem relatable to the American culture that it is present in. So is it this what we should consider cultural appropriation, especially in the negative aspect? The answer I found here is yes. The Chinese culture should not have to be subject to new names or twists on their own food to fit the current setting it is in. People should become educated as such on what it really is. However, this is up to the beholder and if they find it offensive or not to distort the name of one Chinese dish.

Clothing
Cultural appropriation has become a very interesting topic among society because of how quickly it evolves - even day to day. Certain groups of society have even lived to see a trend thrive, die, and then circle around again. But what happens when a trend is not necessarily derived from the culture sporting it? This raises many new thoughts and questions about whether or not an action with clothing can be considered cultural appropriation or not. This section will focus on a variety of items from different cultures as well as their history, intended use, who has taken use of them, and what the origin culture is.

Henna
Henna is often used to dye different parts of the body and different objects with beautiful and intricate designs. They are often seen in weddings, ceremonies, and simply day to day use. They have been seen throughout cultures in the Middle East, Africa, and India and now some how they are being seen all over the United States and other non-traditional countries. In the United States henna is often used as fun decorative pieces for costumes and it is even often used at music festivals where many people incorporate other cultures into their outfits. The use of social media has had a huge hand in it and there are even henna artists who have gone viral for their intricate work. This is promoted through shares and often inspires many other people to then want to use this same artwork on themselves. Celebrity use is also another huge factor that has played a role in promoting the use of henna in cultures other than the original.

In an article by Her Culture they discuss the beauty of henna. The writer, Isabel Oberlender, states, "Sifting through the illuminated webpages of social media sites such as Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter, it is practically inevitable to come across a photograph of skin adorned with the intricate, brown-red patterns of henna. Many celebrities, including Rihanna, Ariana Grande, and Gigi Hadid, have openly sported the traditional designs and have therefore given way to the increasing popularity of henna," (Henna: Cultural Appreciation or Cultural Appropriation?, 2016).

Latina Culture - Hoop Earrings
Probably one of the last things we would expect to see appear in a cultural appropriation would be associated with the ears, but here we have found it. Latina Culture is often described by the area they live in, usually the city. Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City all have their own takes. In this section we are going to review how deep the way a culture dresses truly stems from within them. In any culture, not just the Latina culture, people use their dress to describe how they are feeling, to protect themselves, to group themselves, and more. From the beginning of civilization certain groups of people seemed to dress together.

In Latina culture, something very small that has banded them together, and something that would otherwise seem insignificant to many other people, is the use of hoop earrings. Often a young Latina girl receives gold jewelry including gold hoops from a very young age. However, when they get older they make it something of their own identity and begin to use different types of hoop earrings including very large ones. In an article from the Chicago Tribune cultural appropriation is attempted to be seen from the view of cultural sharing. Clarence Page, the writer of the article, states that, " Unfortunately, when taken to extremes, the fight against cultural appropriation can turn into a divisive fight against one of this land's most under appreciated opportunities: cultural sharing," ('Cultural appropriation'? Try cultural sharing, 2017). Cultural sharing is a theme that is often present when discussing the positives of cultural appropriation. It is used as a reason for why things are being appropriated. While the article makes interesting takes on weave and cornrows, perhaps the most important is that of the hoop earrings in Latina culture.

Page also states that, "Yes, some Hispanic students accused white women who wear hoop earrings of appropriating Latina culture, according to online magazine Inside Higher Ed. Three Latina students reportedly started the controversy by writing "White girl, take off your hoops" on a campus free-speech wall," ('Cultural appropriation'? Try cultural sharing, 2017). This is extremely important and intense because we begin by discussing and studying cultural appropriation, and we leave with a new affirmative action issue. The Latina culture in this case was so offended of the white female using hoop earrings, that they reversed that hate. They never stopped to consider the reasons the white women were using them, which is what we are addressing today. When they chose to write their comments on that free-speech wall, they clearly felt they had every right to do so and that they had protection under that right. However if this stands true - the same way the Latina culture does not want to be offended by other cultures using things that are precious to them they should not retaliate violently or harmfully. In this case the words are being the harmful aspect. With this in mind, any woman who is using something that was originally derived from another culture, needs to respect that there is potential for someone from that culture to be offended. They cannot decided whether or not something offends that person, instead they need to be conscious and aware when they are using these things. This again leads to the notion that cultural appropriation is decided by the person rather than the group as a whole.

Kimonos
There is a swap market located in Plantation, Florida that has generated some new thoughts on cultural appropriation, contrary to many I previously found in my observations. Are cultures marketing their possessions to us because they want to now or because they have to? Is it because they want to spread their culture and they know people will buy and use it or is it simply as a marketing strategy? In that swap market there were Japanese women selling traditional kimonos and accessories at low prices - and people who were not Japanese were buying them. It is unknown whether or not they were buying them for costumes or another purpose, but they were selling.

A kimono is typically used as a more traditional Japanese garment and its name generally stands for a thing to wear. In an article from The Japan Times kimonos and cultural appropriation is discussed. The writer, Shaun O'Dwyer states that, "Japanese-Americans, Japanese residents in the United States and their supporters counter-protested at the museum and on social media in vain. Counter-protesters pointed out that very few of the protesters were Japanese, and that they had no right to dictate what counted as racism or cultural appropriation against Japanese or Japanese-Americans," (Of kimono and cultural appropriation, 2015). What this shows us here is another example of the idea that cultural appropriation cannot be determined by those who are appropriating but rather it can be determined by the group who is the minority and is being affected.

Music
Cultural appropriation is also seen in music. It is often seen as a blend of many elements from different cultures into one piece of work. In this section we will focus on two different extremes of music. The first being Japanese rap along with it's origins, where it was truly derived from, and thoughts the origin group might have about this appropriation. The second being rap in the American culture along with how it was appropriated and how the groups who this music has been drawn from feel about this new appropriation.

Asian Rap
Something that has really drove this research study is the fact that Japan and it’s music has adopted such a unique rap culture. But what really makes this interesting is the motives and background for the adoption. Is this adoption of foul and derogatory language, nudity, and gang involvement actually an interpretation of what Japanese culture potentially views Americans as.

In America, we have adopted a huge rap culture. It began with a great hip-hop and rap culture in the late 1900s to early 2000s and then fast-forward to 2017 and we have suddenly seen a complete turn around. Rap music in some instances has made it cool to kill people and be violent, to hold many women, to be nude dancing around. What we have not yet come to realize is that we must hold ourselves accountable for the image we put forward of ourselves and that this image can give off the wrong portrayal of our own culture to others.

Asian rap culture has made a new name for itself with artists leading its industry such as Anarchy, Evisbeats, Issugi, KOHH, and more. Asian rap culture also holds many similarities to the same rap culture here in the United States. They often are trying to portray an image of something they are seeing, feeling, or wanting to be. In an article published on The Daily Dot K-pop is discussed as well as its origins and extremes. I will be mentioning two different sections because I have found both relatable to the Asian rap culture. Sherry Tucci writes in The Daily Dot article that, "Being a fast-growing global presence, it only makes sense that K-pop would learn and borrow from one of the most successful music industries in the world. But in the quest for hard-hitting single, all too often artists become guilty of cultural appropriation - a nagging issue plaguing the genre's evolution," (When K-pop culturally appropriates, 2016). Are we, as the United States, becoming victim to what we often do to many other minority cultures - cultural appropriation? The Asian rap culture is essentially taking what they see from us and developing it into their own style of rap to fit the vision they have.

Tucci also writes that, "A concept ranges anywhere from broad themes like love, youth, or partying, to specific ideas such as secret agents. Regardless of the choice, the music, lyrics, choreography, and clothes all contribute to convey the idea," (When K-pop culturally appropriates, 2016). This describes the vision people are attempting to portray when they culturally appropriate, and in this case with music.