Unfortunately, the term “cultural appropriation” is one that is relatively unheard of in our generation. Appropriation refers to the act of taking or stealing something away from the rightful owner without permission. Certain aspects of foreign cultures are considered exclusive to that culture, and often have a lot of meaning embedded within the concept. Certain customs belonging to cultures are often deep-rooted and require background knowledge and appreciation of the custom or customs in order to be expressed in the proper context. Cultural appropriation is the lack of respect for cultural customs by adopting it into a foreign society as a fashion statement or using it in improper context.
It has become common in our society to exploit aspects of a culture and use them as fashion statements or costumes; predominantly around Halloween. Lately, the bindi, a decorative mark worn between the eyes by Hindu women, has been adopted by American society in the fashion industry. What many don’t realize is that the bindi has a spiritual meaning behind it, as it is mostly worn by married women, represents a third eye, and is believed to ward off bad luck. The bindi and other cultural symbols should only be worn in proper context by those who belong to the respective culture, otherwise it robs the culture of its individuality and disregards the meaning behind the custom.
Around the beginning of October, Halloween costumes start to pop up in store windows, and among them are Native American headdresses labelled “Indian costume,” and brightly colored ponchos paired with a sombrero and a fake mustache. Not only is the costume blatantly stereotyping entire groups of people, but it’s also undermining the significance of essential parts of a culture. In the Native American culture, the headdresses, also known as warbonnets, are typically worn into battle or for ceremonial purposes by male leaders who have won great respect in the community. To simply purchase a costume that fits the basic stereotype of Native American garb and wear it as part of a costume with little to no understanding of the meaning behind it, is incredibly disrespectful to an entire culture.
Wearing a piece of clothing with significant value in another culture is not “honoring” that culture, nor is it done out of respect. Members of a culture who wear pieces of clothing that hold meaning do so in proper context, and always out of understanding behind the custom. Blatant misuse of cultural clothing and other aspects shows ignorance and lack of respect for meaningful customs, and is clearly unethical. Clothing and other articles of significance in a culture all have background and meaning that is often centuries old. Other cultures are to be celebrated with respect, which means that fashion statements and costumes should not be modeled after them. These “costumes” are not costumes at all, but rather ways of life that should not be objectified or degraded through misuse and ignorance.