Persuasive Essay On The Importance Of Identity In Society

Another example mentioned by the Vice article in 2015 shows a group of UCLA students “wearing blackface and wearing baggy clothes at a ‘Kanye Western’ party on campus.” When this incident spread on the news, major protests arose with the theme statement “Our Culture Is Not a Costume.” Clack, the author of the article, also mentions that similar blackface and brownface “parties” were thrown at fraternities and sororities in Arizona, California, Florida, and South Carolina. What is interesting is that the majority of these recent blackface incidents involved white people, just like in colonial America. These modern recent examples from just these past few years show how long the negative stereotypical practice of blackface has unfortunately stayed alive throughout American history.

Cultural appropriation is something that is starting to become a very big epidemic in America’s society today. Appropriation occurs when a style or high fashion is developed from racist generalizations or stereotypes of other cultures. Many see no problem with this appropriation and some might take it as paying homage to a race, but others may see it as a sign of disrespect.

In recent years, Halloween costumes have created controversy because they touch on the issue of cultural appropriation. Children are simply not aware of how their costumes can unwittingly offend certain cultures or ethnic groups, and parents are also often unsure as to which costume ideas qualify as “culturally respectful”. In the LA Times opinion editorial, “On Halloween, parents have no choice but to wade into fraught cultural politics,” Oppenheimer argues that picking a Halloween costume is a challenging task with many grey areas as to what is considered offensive to various religious or ethnic groups who are often the inspiration behind Halloween costumes. He asserts that all individuals should take care to avoid culturally appropriating, but that there are also grey areas in costume choice where appropriation isn’t as clearly defined. In order to illustrate the nuanced challenge of picking costumes, Oppenheimer utilizes an anecdote to show how societal values have changed within his lifetime. He shares, “When I was 10, I was in love with a musical theater; if you’d forced me to dress up for Halloween, I might have been chosen a character from ‘Dreamgirls,’ a play about African Americans” (Oppenheimer 3). It is evident that he was not aware of what was socially acceptable in society being that he was merely 10 years old. Considering that much time has passed, by reflecting back to his past self, he is able to realize that dressing this way could have touched many sensitive areas of cultural appropriating a race. As there are no specific set of standards established in society, individuals follow and adhere to what is presented in front of them. It is utterly challenging for all individuals to identify what is permitted in society despite the diversity in ethnic groups and age. While the youths are struggling to find the perfect balance to avoid cultural appropriating a group, it is also difficult for adults to distinguish the difference. To advise the individuals in recognizing the difference in regards to the significance of certain Halloween costumes, Oppenheimer utilizes an appeal to authority with an Yale scholar and former preschool teacher, Erika Christakis. It is ideal that, “...when it comes to the

Racial and cultural appropriation has become increasingly significant in society within the past 30 years. “The idea of “cultural appropriation” has recently entered mainstream

In countries that celebrate Halloween such as the United States and Canada, it is a tradition to dress up in various types of costume themes. Some people dress up in cultural costumes or religious costumes. Herman Bhupal and Judy Park from Harvard University have addressed that dressing in cultural or religious costumes for Halloween, “can serve as mechanisms for cultural appropriation” (This Halloween, Choose Respect). Cultural appropriation is the adoption of standards and aspects from another culture when the culture is a minority group. Some people may agree that wearing cultural clothing as Halloween costumes may be offensive to those of whose culture is being mocked as

When people of European decent are made to realize the reason that they can live the kind of life made possible by their skin colour, and ancestors they find it embarrassing. They feel ashamed that their ancestors did something like that, and will apologize. However, there are also many people that will become defensive. They will become insistent on the fact that it was not them that did it. It was their ancestors, so why should they feel guilty about anything. They are generally also the same people that will do things that are considered cultural, and religious appropriation. Such as wearing a native headpiece, or trying to use the n word. They do not see the privilege that they set up for themselves. Many times as a kid when I wore henna to school for my religious holidays kids would call me dirty, and gross. Yet, once a white girl came to class having gotten the henna done also, and the kids told her how pretty it looked, and they wanted to get it done too. Or how in the media when white people have dreads or corn rows it is considered to be ‘chic’, and ‘urban’ but in many schools in America children are not allowed to have that hairstyle because it is not deemed appropriate for school. It is wrong to encourage someone to do something because of their skin tone when the person it was meant for is not being allowed to do

Anyone who knows me, knows me knows that I love to watch reruns of “What not to wear” on TLC, As it teaches me something I clearly know nothing about, fashion. However anyone who is in my Spanish class known that I not only care about my culture but others as well. This school year has been interesting both fashion-wise and politically, from the Kylie Jenner Lip challenge, to Donald Trump running for president. It has been such a weird school year however, that it has pointed out a sad fact about the current fashion world, that is prevalent through the politics we discuss in our everyday lives, and that is cultural appropriation. As cultural appropriation according to the Oxford Dictionary is “A term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another. It is in general used to describe Western appropriations of non‐Western or non‐white forms, and carries connotations of exploitation and dominance.” And despite how much we would like to believe that this issue doesn’t exist in our present day society, if one looks In clothing stores, fashion magazines, and even Halloween parties, cultural theft is occurring. This can be seen especially with indigenous cultures as: elements of indigenous cultures are morphed into fashion trends and costumes for those who will never understand their significance. “Navajo print” leggings, “tribal” jewelry, and “Indian princess” Halloween costumes are examples of gross

Native Hawaiian student Ionatana Tua feels that it is offensive for non-Hawaiian people to host Hawaiian events and share his peopleʻs cultural traditions.

At a birthday party there is an African American boy wearing a sombrero while hitting a piñata. Down the street, there is a Russian girl who dances with a Japanese fan that her neighbor gifted. These two children, according to the current media, are displaying cultural appropriation. In America, citizens have the rarity of experiencing what many call the “Melting Pot” of different cultures and ethnicities. To many other countries, the different cultural exposures are not of such a common privilege. Cultural appropriation is what sets us back from connecting to other cultures around the world. I understand that it may bring misunderstanding of what certain clothing items and practices really mean respect and value wise. However, demonstrating

The article, “We're A Culture, Not a Costume”; analyzed by Mediha Din starts with a story about a friend named Julie who always throws a neighborhood Halloween party. For this party she goes all out and even has a contest and who has the best costume. The winner of the costume for the annual party was a corrupt cop. She was dressed up as a sexy cop with a pig nose and tail, and a small Ziploc bags with powder. The article then goes and explains who is a sociologist view the costume. Din throws in the words like prejudice, discrimination, and racism. Prejudice refers to attitudes. Discrimination refers to treatment. Racism is a discriminatory belief or action based on race. Next the article, gives examples of business using Native American culture

Cultural appropriation is shown in many ways among the public. When a member of the majority takes an element of a minority culture and attempts to make it their own, they are appropriating the minority’s culture. Appropriating a culture is disrespectful and can lead to loss of valuable meaning of cultural practices. This is shown in many ways, such as the use of blackface or wearing a significant piece of Native American history as a fashion accessory. Each of these elements is an example of appropriation of a minority culture and is never acceptable and needs to be stopped.

For example, black, Asian and Latina women tend to be born with gorgeous, plump and pouty lips. However, they are constantly getting critiqued and taunted for them, plus I cannot recall how many times I’ve heard comments like “Oh my God, check out how gross her huge lips are.” But when the glorified Kylie Jenner, a reality star of the famous “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” starts injecting her papercut lips with lip-fillers at the age of sixteen, she becomes a worshipped “icon”, resulting in many young girls (and boys) around the world partaking in the infamous “Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge”. This is a dangerous challenge which involves one sucking their lips into a shot glass until their lips are big and round, just like Jenner’s artificial ones. But is this fair? When a black, Asian or Latina woman embraces her naturally plump lips, she is greeted with mock and denigration but a white woman gets praised for having artificially big lips? Similarly, earlier this year, Karlie Kloss, a white model, posed as a geisha for the Vogue’s March 2017 “diversity” issue. Naturally, she was praised by many, but some backlashed at Vogue for displaying cultural appropriation. Why didn’t they hire a Japanese model? Why did they find it perfectly socially acceptable to whitewash a culture that is not theirs? Is this fair? This is inappropriate on so many levels; however, these examples only represent a tiny fraction of the

Every fall, Americans are excited by the return of cooler weather, changing leaves, seasonal lattes, and the endless possibilities for Halloween costume choices. Whether it be for attending a party, going trick or treating, or just handing out candy, a majority of Americans choose to dress up and celebrate the holiday. Choosing a Halloween costume used to be an untroubled task, yet it has become an increasingly difficult decision in recent years. In times of an “easily offended society,” choosing an appropriate and non-upsetting costume has now become tedious and wearisome. Much of this is because Halloween costumes contribute to and promote cultural appropriation in our society. The Cambridge English dictionary defines cultural

It may also be considered offensive to those who are of the American Indian heritage to have others who know nothing about their culture to assume that they are pleased with the honoring of their native heritage. Hypothetically, if a person did not know much about a Norwegian lifestyle, it would be offensive if they started describing the culture to others or assuming that Norwegians would like a certain statue or symbol to resemble their heritage that would last for numerous years down the road. It would not be fair to those of Norwegian lifestyle to have to live surrounded by the false accusations and assumptions of others that not only offend, but bring pain to some people. So how is it fair that people do that through the use of mascots every day for those of a different culture than their own? It is one thing for someone to represent their own culture in a way they please, but for another person

Cultural appropriation is a huge topic, within today’s society, many question what is cultural appropriation and what is not. The definition of cultural appropriation is, “....the use of ideas, symbols, artifacts, images, objects, etc., derived from contact between different cultures. It often implies a negative view towards the minority culture by the dominant one and is often culturally insensitive”(Biron). Examples of cultural appropriation would be portraying a culture through stereotypical depictions of them or wearing a culture as a ‘trend’. Another example would be wearing a headdress to portray a Native American or wearing a sombrero and a poncho to depict a Mexican. Just those words sound degrading and racist each of these ethnicities. Many think it is socially acceptable to be insensitive to a culture, because they classify the appropriation as them appreciating the culture. Cultural appropriation shows only the stereotypical view of culture and has no regards to the actual culture. Many look at the cultures as inspiration for ideas, but that does not mean to steal the ideas completely. Cultural appropriation is not only insensitive, but also racist. Blackface, for example, was used to portray an African American by painting the face of an non-black actor black. The NFL team Redskins uses an offensive and racist word to label their team; their mascot is a “Native American” wearing headdress. First and foremost, not all Native American cultures wear headdresses, these depictions of Native culture show natives as all the same. Minorities have faced appropriation for decades, but why did this problem only recently come about?