Can We Talk About Us?

Remember Ariana Grande’s line about buying her hair being claimed to “solve racism”?  And Miley Cyrus’ exploitation of black culture for personal gain? And Vanessa Hudgens’ festival couture? And Kim Kardashian’s “Kimono”? Though these are all explicit examples, the question is still raised.

When does appreciation become appropriation?

When I was a kid in Girl Scouts, we would participate in World Thinking Day. On (or around) February 22nd, troops from around the council would choose a country to represent. The troop would research the cultures and customs of that country including traditional games, foods, and dances. On the day, the different troops would come together and share what they learned about the countries they chose with the other girls. Over my years, I remember spending weeks learning about Kenya, Chile, Japan, and many others in addition to being exposed to and taught about cultures that I would not have access to otherwise. World Thinking Day was a life changing experience, and I fully support its learning opportunities.

However, if you were to take a photo of a bunch of little girls wearing traditional khanga fabrics and post it online with no context, there would be immediate backlash. The backlash, no matter how extreme, would be rooted in a single question.

Do you know what this cultural symbol means and its importance?

The girls in our troop answered yes to this question. We learned about the religious and spiritual meanings of khanga. We passed on that learning to the girls who visited our booth, and we all walked away with a sincere appreciation of the importance of the fabrics. When I see different African fabrics being worn today, I smile, but I do not say anything. Though I have had the opportunity to learn what this cultural symbol means, I will never truly and fully understand the experience and motivations of the person wearing it.

But I want to.

The world is more connected than ever, and humans are exposed to so many cultures through the different forms of media. I see two things happening from that. On one hand, we see people who claim a cultural symbol as their own expression and an opportunity to seem “exotic” rather than taking the time to learn the significance of it. On the other hand, we see people who aren’t taking the opportunity to learn why certain icons hold value and meaning out of fear of seeming ignorant. We are alienating ourselves in our connected state by not taking the time to sincerely appreciate the people and the cultures that surround us.

One person does not have the ability to understand each individual, unique perspective. It’s a truly an impossible task. However, we can take the time to understand the people around us and the cultural and societal elements that have shaped us into who we are as individuals. We should be appreciative of humans as much as their culture because we are the ones preserving it and passing it on to generations to come.

I know I will never truly understand your individual experience, but I want the chance to learn and appreciate everything that makes you who you are.

So can we talk about us?