Sensitivity Writers. AKA: avoiding cultural appropriate in writing

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sure it is.
The first arbitrary selection is which cultures can be appropriated and which not. No one complains when German culture is appropriated (Oktoberfest, Lederhosen, etc.). The general response is that it is ok to appropriate "white" cultures because they are "in power" or something like that. But for example the Greek were not "in power" for a long time, but are still fair game.

All of those mentioned are considered a part of the dominant European/Western culture, to which most of the people in the USA or Europe can lay some kind of claim to. There are literally hundreds of millions of Caucasians who could- but do not- complain about the use and depiction of their culture.

The second arbitrary selection is which culture "owns" what. Are dreadlocks part of "black culture" and no whites are allowed to have them as it was claimed?

Dreadlocks, while not unique to any one culture, are strongly linked to the religious beliefs of a particular subset of blacks. It is understandable that they complain about outsiders adopting the style. And, F.Y.I., some are not only displeased with the Caucasians who so, but anyone.

What about Vikings (ignoring for now that as white people no one cares if they are appropriated), who owns them? The Swedes? Norwegians? Danish? British? French? Ukrainian?

They are free to complain. No one is stopping them.

And, for the record, some do. Especially some of the neopagans I’ve met.

Can an african american safely use things from an central african culture even though he never visited it just because of his skin color? What about cultures that have been gone for centuries?

How many Irish Americans go nuts on St. Patrick’s Day without having ever left the USA? How many Italian Americans strongly embrace their roots without having visited Italy?

Considering that many of us have absolutely no way of determining which African cultures we can genuinely claim as part of our ancestry because that knowledge was forcefully and deliberately eradicated whenever possible, you might want to reconsider your articulation of a double standard.

There are Africans who are just as prickly about the use of kente or batik patterns as there are Scots who bristle at non traditional plaids.

Personally, because I know my non-African heritage far better than I can ever know my African roots, I minimize my use of symbology from that continent. So I have an eye of Horus pendant, an ankh or two, but that’s it.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Dreadlocks, while not unique to any one culture, are strongly linked to the religious beliefs of a particular subset of blacks. It is understandable that they complain about outsiders adopting the style. And, F.Y.I., some are not only displeased with the Caucasians who so, but anyone.

How many Irish Americans go nuts on St. Patrick’s Day without having ever left the USA? How many Italian Americans strongly embrace their roots without having visited Italy?

Considering that many of us have absolutely no way of determining which African cultures we can genuinely claim as part of our ancestry because that knowledge was forcefully and deliberately eradicated whenever possible, you might want to reconsider your articulation of a double standard.

There are Africans who are just as prickly about the use of kente or batik patterns as there are Scots who bristle at non traditional plaids.

Personally, because I know my non-African heritage far better than I can ever know my African roots, I minimize my use of symbology from that continent. So I have an eye of Horus pendant, an ankh or two, but that’s it.

But this kind of thinking keeps people locked inside their own cultures. It feels like a form of ethno-nationalism.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

No, I think if anything the fretting has made me more skeptical of peoples complaints and I have had to remind myself to hit the reset button and take every argument and criticism I hear seriously. But after a while the constant criticisms on these grounds start to water down other, more legitimate complaints, because I think it gets easier for people to dismiss it as an overreaction (even if it isn't). I think the things that have increased my awareness and my empathy have nothing to do with people saying this or that is cultural appropriation, and everything to do with knowing people from other places, reading about other cultures, and generally having an open mind. I've always been very open to other cultures and points of view. And I think if anything the increase in this kind of concern about appropriation has made me feel more reluctant to engage with other cultures (an impulse I resist, but you can feel it when you try to explore things). In my experience it has just made people incredibly self conscious and hesitant.



I think my answer to the above is no.



Being culturally aware hasn't harmed me at all. But that isn't the same thing as the dialogue about cultural appropriation. Being culturally aware is good. But adhering to the dogma surrounding cultural appropariton concerns isn't the same thing as that. In fact, I've found talking to people in cultures outside the US and Europe that appropriation is even less of a concern. Like I said, cultural sensitivity matters. I not denying the importance of avoiding being offensive and of respecting people. But I think cultural appropriation offers a very simplified solution to that problem, and I think it is a solution that actually separates people, makes movement between cultures more difficult and creates resentment.

Methinks you’re overthinking.

Why would the existence of complaints make you more skeptical that people might have a point?

Why would criticism of cultural appropriation make one less likely to experience another culture? I got to travel the world as an army brat, and go to cultural events of all kinds. Almost no one has given me the hairy eyeball for being the black guy at* the Polish fest, the local Irish-Native American festival, Oktoberfests, the annual Native American convention, Lebanese cultural & culinary fairs, etc. No, they’re all happy to see someone dipping their toes in.

So go looking for a local African, Hispanic or Asian cultural event and forget your worries. Go looking for a good time, and you’re probably going to find one.





* heavy metal shows are a little different in that regard, though.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Sure it is.
The first arbitrary selection is which cultures can be appropriated and which not. No one complains when German culture is appropriated (Oktoberfest, Lederhosen, etc.). The general response is that it is ok to appropriate "white" cultures because they are "in power" or something like that. But for example the Greek were not "in power" for a long time, but are still fair game.
Entirely arbitrary.

I don't think it's arbitrary at all, and here's why. A few weeks ago I actually had a conversation with two of my Native American friends. They were talking about how they were sick and tired of white people using terms like "spirit animal", since that was a Native belief that held a sacredness to them. I mentioned how I am of Germanic and Celtic heritage, and that my heritage also has something like a spirit animal (the fylgjur), so couldn't I also lay claim to that?

Here's how the conversation landed. We both agreed that pretty much in both cases, white Christian colonialism subjugated and assimilated both of our cultures into theirs (white colonialism of the United States, and what the Romans did to the pagans). The difference? And a big one? In my case, that was 1500 years ago. In their case? It was recent, and still going on today. There are Native Americans alive today who have had to experience this blatant attempt of eradication of their beliefs and heritage through assimilation. I don't think that should be lost in the context of this conversation.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

But this kind of thinking keeps people locked inside their own cultures. It feels like a form of ethno-nationalism.

How? It isn’t like growing dreads suddenly gives you insight into Rastafarianism.

As Al Roker pointed out, you don’t have to put on blackface to dress up in a costume honoring Ray Charles.* Likewise, Al doesn’t put on white makeup to Don Caucasian themed costumes.

You can experience a culture without emulating it. In fact, doing so first greatly reduces (but does not eliminate) the possibility of giving offense.





* not that he’d notice.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I don't think it's arbitrary at all, and here's why. A few weeks ago I actually had a conversation with two of my Native American friends. They were talking about how they were sick and tired of white people using terms like "spirit animal", since that was a Native belief that held a sacredness to them. I mentioned how I am of Germanic and Celtic heritage, and that my heritage also has something like a spirit animal (the fylgjur), so couldn't I also lay claim to that?

Here's how the conversation landed. We both agreed that pretty much in both cases, white Christian colonialism subjugated and assimilated both of our cultures into theirs (white colonialism of the United States, and what the Romans did to the pagans). The difference? And a big one? In my case, that was 1500 years ago. In their case? It was recent, and still going on today. There are Native Americans alive today who have had to experience this blatant attempt of eradication of their beliefs and heritage through assimilation. I don't think that should be lost in the context of this conversation.

And I bet, given that, they’d have less of a problem with YOU rocking your totemic animal than, say, a Caucasian from Sidney.

 

[Bedrockgames]

How? It isn’t like growing dreads suddenly gives you insight into Rastafarianism.

No there isn't any instant pathway.

Why would the existence of complaints make you more skeptical that people might have a point?

It isn't the existence of complaints. It is the proliferation of complaints under the banner of cultural appropriation, which often seem like frivolous complaints compared to more serious conners about offensive material. I think what happens is people start to file any concern under the same grouping as that, and they start taking concerns overall less seriously. There is a big difference between using the N word for example and a Kate Perry video. But the more people hear complaints about a celebrity borrowing from Egyptian culture, the more the dismissive they become overall.

 

[Bedrockgames]

As Al Roker pointed out, you don’t have to put on blackface to dress up in a costume honoring Ray Charles.* Likewise, Al doesn’t put on white makeup to Don Caucasian themed costumes.

But you would need to play his music, listen to his music and emulate his music if you were a musician who wanted to understand and honor him. I think regardless of whether your a kid in Japan, the Midwest or Africa, and no matter what your skin tone, it is a good thing to do that. And I think the whole cultural appropriation thing puts that under so much scrutiny it makes people not even want to try.

 

[Sacrosanct]

And I bet, given that, they’d have less of a problem with YOU rocking your totemic animal than, say, a Caucasian from Sidney.

As long as I don't call it a spirit animal, apparently. The terminology matters

 

[Bedrockgames]

You can experience a culture without emulating it. In fact, doing so first greatly reduces (but does not eliminate) the possibility of giving offense.
* not that he’d notice.

But there is nothing wrong with emulating culture. If you see something in a culture you like and want to incorporate into a work, I do not understand this new mentality that you somehow shouldn't do that. That is how new ideas come about. What you are advocating is keeping cultural ideas locked in their original context. Or at the very least gate kept by people within that culture so they only evolve at a rate set locally. I look back on the history of the world and think what an awful place we'd live in today if that is how things were done. Ideas need to spread, and people need to absorb them, rework them, and turn them into new things. Otherwise ideas decay.