Understanding Representation And Cultural Appropriation Of The Other

Today, minorities are no longer segregated by color, providing all minorities the same access to resources as whites. As a result, the Pluralist framework is more “up-to-date” with the political changes as well as law reforms.

In Bell Hooks’, “Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor”, Hooks introduces the reader to the state of poverty of many individuals that have to suffer because they are unable to live a normal life due to them being extremely poor and uneducated. She stresses about comparing the higher class people to the poor and how different their lives are in terms of survival rates and healthiness. The higher class people tend to be way healthier and survive longer due to them having many ways of treating their problems, while the poor have absolutely no way of paying their medical bills due to their low income. She makes many valid points referring back and forth to different stereotypes of people (mainly black people) and how each of those

Hooks’ most powerful tools for her argument are her honorable character and firsthand experience with her subject. Before she states her claim, she spends the first third of her essay solidifying her trustworthiness of the subject. In her childhood, despite the negative stigma the poor face, she was taught and states several times that despite her lack of wealth,

Sitting on the porch with her sisters, hooks saw that “next to the white drivers in the front would be the dog and in the back seat the black worker.” This subtle image taught hooks the “interconnectedness of race and class,” and a demeaning message that white people placed animals ahead of African-Americans. Taking the high road, hooks attempted to spark conversation with her white neighbors; however, she was turned down and ridiculed. While trying to be friendly, hooks was told that “they came to this side of town to be rid of lazy blacks.” Time and time again racial and sexist tensions worked against Hooks, but instead of letting injustice get the best of her she made her porch a place of “antiracist resistance.” Hooks’ porch was an oasis in the male/white desert that dried up her life. On hooks’ porch she could experience the peace and joy she had as a child sitting on her porch with her sisters before her father came home. Hooks could have talked back to the white people that mocked her, but instead she chose the high road and conquered race with peace.

Throughout the book, Class Matters Where We Stand, she emphasizes on recognizing the difficulties of how classism, racism, and sexism interlock one another. Although most people like myself think of America as one of the richest and most developed countries in the world, Hooks shows the negative side of our society. Before reading the book Where We Stand Class Matters, I thought of this country as having equality, diversity, and freedom. Hooks describes a contrasting side to my thoughts of our society. Hooks really made me rethink and question my images of American

During the time of World War II, there was a dramatic change in the society of America and its way of life. Men were needed at war and the women were left at home. People were mistrusted and were falsely accused of something they didn’t do. Some people were even pushed away because they were different. These people were the minorities of America. Some of the minorities it affected the most were the African Americans, women, Japanese Americans, and even young adults. What is a minority? A minority, in this case, is a person or group of people who are discriminated against because there is something about them that makes them different. Some of these reasons why they are different are things like race, gender, and even age. However, the real

One of the problems that plagues the literature of minority groups in this country is being represented

A racialized minority is a specific race in a country or state that is not qualified to fit in due to the reason that they don’t speak a specific language, they look different in skin color or dress another way, or don’t have a high education like the majority of the people in the country they have immigrated into. For example, Chicanos are a well-known racialized minority in the United States, and “Chicanos have been defined as alien to the mainstream white society” (Toro 1).

“Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination” written by American author, feminist and social activist, bell hooks, dissects the dichotomy of black and white culture in a westernized society. Hooks utilizes the term ‘whiteness’ throughout her piece as an acknowledgment of the domination, imperialism, colonialism, and racism that white people have asserted among black people. This discipline progressively has evolved from history; through slavery and forth, leaving an imprint in

In Western culture, people seldom realize the amount of cultural appropriation that occurs around them. Westerners are blinded by cultural mockery and cultural appropriation without realizing its offensive effects to minority groups. During the Halloween holiday, in Western culture, people of all ages dress up in a variety of costumes such as horror themed, fairy tale themed, job themed, cultural themed and much more. Harvard University members have argued that a cultural themed costume is a form of cultural appropriation. Also in Western culture, in the music industry, white artists have utilized and exploited aspects from minority cultures to boost their fame. Costumes, props, ideas, music, and others considered as cultural appropriation is often overlooked but it is apparent when closely examined.

Discussions of loving blackness in hooks’ class stems from her reading of Nelia Larson’s novel Passing. hooks wants to discuss Clare’s love of blackness and the consequence of her love for her race. She writes, “I asked the class to consider the possibility that to love blackness is dangerous in a white supremacist culture-so threatening, so serious a breach in the fabric of the social order, that death is the punishment” (9). Death in society can be literal, but it can also take other forms, such as isolation and self-segregation. hooks’ students’ stark refusal to discuss loving blackness is a testament to these impediments and how they have been fixed in the minds of citizens white and black.

Many circumstances oblige people to move from their native country to a foreign one. From this movement of migration have emerged many ethnic groups. An ethnic group is a restraint number of persons living in a larger society and sharing the same distinct cultural heritage. Some people tend to bury their habits and accommodate to the new way of life. However others hold on to their identity and try to identify their race and maintain it. This enriches societies and makes them multi-racial. Therefore, every ethnic group is essential to complete the mosaic. Although they are sometimes threatened, minorities must fight to preserve their principles. Why must they fight? Because racial identification has many positive impacts on the members.

Minority groups in society have faced prejudice and discrimination throughout history and they continue to face it today. Religion and government have immense power to dictate what is seen as “correct behavior” in society. Furthermore, it is when minority groups infringe on these beliefs, that they can face this extreme prejudice and discrimination. Minority groups who have faced these adversities include First Nations and LGBTQ+ groups. Two stories that show the adversities that these groups face are A Word From the Nearly Distant Past by David Levithan and Totem by Thomas King.

Most things in life are not guaranteed. However, a few things are like taxes and cafeteria food being of low quality. Students at Oberlin are complaining about the school’s cafeteria food is racist and “cultural appropriation”. Cultural appropriation is the act of taking another cultural group’s culture. In this case, it is from poorly made Asian foods like sushi and General Tso’s chicken. They claim that because these foods are poorly made, it is an insult to them and their culture. Most people find this case to be absolutely ridiculous and use it as a way to prove that people can get offended over anything.

The debate on cultural appropriation. Should non-Africans be allowed to wear African culture based things. Is it wrong for non Native people to use other cultures in their everyday lifestyle. Is it wrong for people to use African culture.