Cultural appropriation is a concept that has gained prominence in discussions of culture, identity, and social justice. It refers to the borrowing or imitation of elements from one culture by members of another culture, often resulting in a power dynamic where the dominant culture appropriates elements from marginalized or oppressed cultures. While some view cultural appropriation as a form of appreciation and cultural exchange, others argue that it perpetuates harm, disrespect, and the erasure of cultural identities.
Cultural appropriation involves the borrowing, imitation, or adoption of elements from one culture by individuals or groups from another culture. These elements can include clothing, fashion, symbols, language, art, music, rituals, and more.
Power Dynamics
Cultural appropriation often occurs within a power dynamic, where the dominant culture appropriates elements from marginalized or oppressed cultures. This dynamic can exacerbate existing inequalities and perpetuate stereotypes.
Colonial and Historical Context
Many instances of cultural appropriation are rooted in colonialism and historical oppression, where dominant cultures have exploited and extracted resources, knowledge, and cultural elements from colonized cultures.
Question of Authenticity
Cultural appropriation raises questions about authenticity, as it can lead to the commodification and commercialization of cultural elements, sometimes divorced from their original cultural meanings.
Key Characteristics of Cultural Appropriation
Imbalance of Power
One of the defining characteristics of cultural appropriation is the presence of an imbalance of power between the appropriating culture and the culture being appropriated from. This power dynamic can be economic, political, or social.
Lack of Understanding
Cultural appropriation often involves a lack of understanding or respect for the cultural significance and context of the borrowed elements. It may treat aspects of a culture as fashion trends or commodities.
Stereotyping and Reductive Representations
Cultural appropriation can perpetuate stereotypes and reduce rich and diverse cultures to simplistic or caricatured representations. This can reinforce harmful biases and misconceptions.
Monetization and Profit
In some cases, cultural appropriation leads to the monetization and profit-making from cultural elements without benefiting or acknowledging the source culture. This can be seen in fashion, music, and art industries.
Diminished Cultural Ownership
Cultural appropriation can diminish the cultural ownership and agency of the communities whose cultural elements are being borrowed or imitated. It can lead to a sense of erasure and loss.
Examples of Cultural Appropriation
Fashion and Clothing
The fashion industry has faced numerous accusations of cultural appropriation. Examples include the use of traditional clothing items, such as headdresses or saris, in fashion shows or by celebrities who do not belong to the cultures they represent.
Hairstyles
Hairstyles, such as dreadlocks, cornrows, or braids, have been appropriated by individuals from dominant cultures without an understanding of their cultural significance. This has led to controversies and debates over the commodification of these hairstyles.
Native American Headdresses
The appropriation of Native American headdresses by non-Native individuals at music festivals and other events has drawn criticism. These headdresses hold sacred significance in many Native American cultures.
Halloween Costumes
Halloween costumes that caricature or stereotype other cultures have been widely criticized for perpetuating harmful stereotypes and cultural insensitivity. Examples include “Mexican” costumes with sombreros and ponchos or “Geisha” costumes.
Food and Cuisine
Cultural appropriation is also seen in the realm of food and cuisine, where dishes from specific cultures are often adapted, commercialized, or misrepresented without respect for their origins. Sushi burritos and fusion cuisine are examples.
Controversies Surrounding Cultural Appropriation
Appropriation vs. Appreciation
One of the central controversies is the distinction between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. While some argue that borrowing elements from other cultures is a form of appreciation and cultural exchange, critics maintain that appropriation involves a lack of understanding and respect for cultural context.
Freedom of Expression
Another debate centers on the balance between respecting cultural boundaries and the freedom of expression. Some argue that strict limitations on cultural borrowing may infringe on artistic expression and creativity.
Intent vs. Impact
Discussions often focus on the intent of the appropriator versus the impact on the culture being appropriated from. Some argue that good intentions do not excuse harmful impacts, while others emphasize the importance of intent.
Context Matters
Critics stress the significance of considering the context in which cultural appropriation occurs. They argue that appropriating cultural elements within a commercial or fashion context is more problematic than learning and adopting cultural practices with genuine interest and respect.
Intersectionality
The intersectionality of cultural appropriation is another facet of the debate. It acknowledges that the experiences of individuals from marginalized communities may differ based on factors such as race, gender, and ethnicity.
Impact of Cultural Appropriation
Cultural Insensitivity
Cultural appropriation can perpetuate cultural insensitivity and reinforce stereotypes, making it challenging for members of the appropriated culture to see their identity respected and valued.
Marginalization and Erasure
It can lead to the marginalization and erasure of the cultures being appropriated from. This includes erasing the historical and cultural significance of certain practices or symbols.
Economic Exploitation
In some cases, cultural appropriation results in economic exploitation, where appropriated elements are commercialized and commodified without benefitting the source culture or acknowledging its contributions.
Loss of Cultural Meaning
Appropriated cultural elements may lose their original cultural meaning and significance when detached from their context and used solely for fashion, entertainment, or decoration.
Impact on Identity
Cultural appropriation can also impact the identity and self-esteem of individuals from the appropriated culture, as they witness their culture being commodified and misrepresented.
Addressing Cultural Appropriation
Education and Awareness
Promoting education and awareness about cultural appropriation is crucial. Encouraging individuals to learn about the cultural significance of borrowed elements can foster understanding and respect.
Respect for Cultural Boundaries
Respecting cultural boundaries and seeking permission or guidance when engaging with elements from another culture can help prevent appropriation.
Amplifying Marginalized Voices
Amplifying the voices and perspectives of individuals from marginalized cultures is important in addressing cultural appropriation. It allows these communities to assert their agency and educate others.
Critique and Accountability
Encouraging open critique and holding individuals, organizations, and industries accountable for cultural appropriation can promote change and sensitivity.
Promoting Cultural Exchange
Promoting genuine cultural exchange, where individuals from different cultures learn from each other with mutual respect and understanding, can foster appreciation rather than appropriation.
Conclusion
Cultural appropriation is a complex and contentious concept that involves the borrowing or imitation of elements from one culture by members of another culture, often within a power dynamic. It raises questions about power, respect, representation, and the impact of cultural borrowing. While some argue that it can be a form of appreciation and cultural exchange, others emphasize the harm it can perpetuate. The ongoing debates surrounding cultural appropriation reflect the complexities of navigating cultural boundaries, promoting understanding, and respecting the identities and agency of marginalized communities. Balancing cultural appreciation with cultural sensitivity remains a challenge for individuals, industries, and societies as a whole.
Convergent thinking occurs when the solution to a problem can be found by applying established rules and logical reasoning. Whereas divergent thinking is an unstructured problem-solving method where participants are encouraged to develop many innovative ideas or solutions to a given problem. Where convergent thinking might work for larger, mature organizations where divergent thinking is more suited for startups and innovative companies.
The concept of cognitive biases was introduced and popularized by the work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1972. Biases are seen as systematic errors and flaws that make humans deviate from the standards of rationality, thus making us inept at making good decisions under uncertainty.
Second-order thinking is a means of assessing the implications of our decisions by considering future consequences. Second-order thinking is a mental model that considers all future possibilities. It encourages individuals to think outside of the box so that they can prepare for every and eventuality. It also discourages the tendency for individuals to default to the most obvious choice.
Lateral thinking is a business strategy that involves approaching a problem from a different direction. The strategy attempts to remove traditionally formulaic and routine approaches to problem-solving by advocating creative thinking, therefore finding unconventional ways to solve a known problem. This sort of non-linear approach to problem-solving, can at times, create a big impact.
Bounded rationality is a concept attributed to Herbert Simon, an economist and political scientist interested in decision-making and how we make decisions in the real world. In fact, he believed that rather than optimizing (which was the mainstream view in the past decades) humans follow what he called satisficing.
The Dunning-Kruger effect describes a cognitive bias where people with low ability in a task overestimate their ability to perform that task well. Consumers or businesses that do not possess the requisite knowledge make bad decisions. What’s more, knowledge gaps prevent the person or business from seeing their mistakes.
Occam’s Razor states that one should not increase (beyond reason) the number of entities required to explain anything. All things being equal, the simplest solution is often the best one. The principle is attributed to 14th-century English theologian William of Ockham.
The Lindy Effect is a theory about the ageing of non-perishable things, like technology or ideas. Popularized by author Nicholas Nassim Taleb, the Lindy Effect states that non-perishable things like technology age – linearly – in reverse. Therefore, the older an idea or a technology, the same will be its life expectancy.
Antifragility was first coined as a term by author, and options trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Antifragility is a characteristic of systems that thrive as a result of stressors, volatility, and randomness. Therefore, Antifragile is the opposite of fragile. Where a fragile thing breaks up to volatility; a robust thing resists volatility. An antifragile thing gets stronger from volatility (provided the level of stressors and randomness doesn’t pass a certain threshold).
Systems thinking is a holistic means of investigating the factors and interactions that could contribute to a potential outcome. It is about thinking non-linearly, and understanding the second-order consequences of actions and input into the system.
Vertical thinking, on the other hand, is a problem-solving approach that favors a selective, analytical, structured, and sequential mindset. The focus of vertical thinking is to arrive at a reasoned, defined solution.
Maslow’s Hammer, otherwise known as the law of the instrument or the Einstellung effect, is a cognitive bias causing an over-reliance on a familiar tool. This can be expressed as the tendency to overuse a known tool (perhaps a hammer) to solve issues that might require a different tool. This problem is persistent in the business world where perhaps known tools or frameworks might be used in the wrong context (like business plans used as planning tools instead of only investors’ pitches).
The Peter Principle was first described by Canadian sociologist Lawrence J. Peter in his 1969 book The Peter Principle. The Peter Principle states that people are continually promoted within an organization until they reach their level of incompetence.
The straw man fallacy describes an argument that misrepresents an opponent’s stance to make rebuttal more convenient. The straw man fallacy is a type of informal logical fallacy, defined as a flaw in the structure of an argument that renders it invalid.
The Streisand Effect is a paradoxical phenomenon where the act of suppressing information to reduce visibility causes it to become more visible. In 2003, Streisand attempted to suppress aerial photographs of her Californian home by suing photographer Kenneth Adelman for an invasion of privacy. Adelman, who Streisand assumed was paparazzi, was instead taking photographs to document and study coastal erosion. In her quest for more privacy, Streisand’s efforts had the opposite effect.
As highlighted by German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer in the paper “Heuristic Decision Making,” the term heuristic is of Greek origin, meaning “serving to find out or discover.” More precisely, a heuristic is a fast and accurate way to make decisions in the real world, which is driven by uncertainty.
The recognition heuristic is a psychological model of judgment and decision making. It is part of a suite of simple and economical heuristics proposed by psychologists Daniel Goldstein and Gerd Gigerenzer. The recognition heuristic argues that inferences are made about an object based on whether it is recognized or not.
The representativeness heuristic was first described by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. The representativeness heuristic judges the probability of an event according to the degree to which that event resembles a broader class. When queried, most will choose the first option because the description of John matches the stereotype we may hold for an archaeologist.
The take-the-best heuristic is a decision-making shortcut that helps an individual choose between several alternatives. The take-the-best (TTB) heuristic decides between two or more alternatives based on a single good attribute, otherwise known as a cue. In the process, less desirable attributes are ignored.
The bundling bias is a cognitive bias in e-commerce where a consumer tends not to use all of the products bought as a group, or bundle. Bundling occurs when individual products or services are sold together as a bundle. Common examples are tickets and experiences. The bundling bias dictates that consumers are less likely to use each item in the bundle. This means that the value of the bundle and indeed the value of each item in the bundle is decreased.
The Barnum Effect is a cognitive bias where individuals believe that generic information – which applies to most people – is specifically tailored for themselves.
First-principles thinking – sometimes called reasoning from first principles – is used to reverse-engineer complex problems and encourage creativity. It involves breaking down problems into basic elements and reassembling them from the ground up. Elon Musk is among the strongest proponents of this way of thinking.
The ladder of inference is a conscious or subconscious thinking process where an individual moves from a fact to a decision or action. The ladder of inference was created by academic Chris Argyris to illustrate how people form and then use mental models to make decisions.
Goodhart’s Law is named after British monetary policy theorist and economist Charles Goodhart. Speaking at a conference in Sydney in 1975, Goodhart said that “any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes.” Goodhart’s Law states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.
The Six Thinking Hats model was created by psychologist Edward de Bono in 1986, who noted that personality type was a key driver of how people approached problem-solving. For example, optimists view situations differently from pessimists. Analytical individuals may generate ideas that a more emotional person would not, and vice versa.
The Mandela effect is a phenomenon where a large group of people remembers an event differently from how it occurred. The Mandela effect was first described in relation to Fiona Broome, who believed that former South African President Nelson Mandela died in prison during the 1980s. While Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and died 23 years later, Broome remembered news coverage of his death in prison and even a speech from his widow. Of course, neither event occurred in reality. But Broome was later to discover that she was not the only one with the same recollection of events.
The bandwagon effect tells us that the more a belief or idea has been adopted by more people within a group, the more the individual adoption of that idea might increase within the same group. This is the psychological effect that leads to herd mentality. What in marketing can be associated with social proof.
Moore’s law states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years. This observation was made by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965 and it become a guiding principle for the semiconductor industry and has had far-reaching implications for technology as a whole.
Disruptive innovation as a term was first described by Clayton M. Christensen, an American academic and business consultant whom The Economist called “the most influential management thinker of his time.” Disruptive innovation describes the process by which a product or service takes hold at the bottom of a market and eventually displaces established competitors, products, firms, or alliances.
Value migration was first described by author Adrian Slywotzky in his 1996 book Value Migration – How to Think Several Moves Ahead of the Competition. Value migration is the transferal of value-creating forces from outdated business models to something better able to satisfy consumer demands.
The bye-now effect describes the tendency for consumers to think of the word “buy” when they read the word “bye”. In a study that tracked diners at a name-your-own-price restaurant, each diner was asked to read one of two phrases before ordering their meal. The first phrase, “so long”, resulted in diners paying an average of $32 per meal. But when diners recited the phrase “bye bye” before ordering, the average price per meal rose to $45.
Groupthink occurs when well-intentioned individuals make non-optimal or irrational decisions based on a belief that dissent is impossible or on a motivation to conform. Groupthink occurs when members of a group reach a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the alternatives and their consequences.
A stereotype is a fixed and over-generalized belief about a particular group or class of people. These beliefs are based on the false assumption that certain characteristics are common to every individual residing in that group. Many stereotypes have a long and sometimes controversial history and are a direct consequence of various political, social, or economic events. Stereotyping is the process of making assumptions about a person or group of people based on various attributes, including gender, race, religion, or physical traits.
Murphy’s Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Murphy’s Law was named after aerospace engineer Edward A. Murphy. During his time working at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949, Murphy cursed a technician who had improperly wired an electrical component and said, “If there is any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.”
The law of unintended consequences was first mentioned by British philosopher John Locke when writing to parliament about the unintended effects of interest rate rises. However, it was popularized in 1936 by American sociologist Robert K. Merton who looked at unexpected, unanticipated, and unintended consequences and their impact on society.
Fundamental attribution error is a bias people display when judging the behavior of others. The tendency is to over-emphasize personal characteristics and under-emphasize environmental and situational factors.
Outcome bias describes a tendency to evaluate a decision based on its outcome and not on the process by which the decision was reached. In other words, the quality of a decision is only determined once the outcome is known. Outcome bias occurs when a decision is based on the outcome of previous events without regard for how those events developed.
Hindsight bias is the tendency for people to perceive past events as more predictable than they actually were. The result of a presidential election, for example, seems more obvious when the winner is announced. The same can also be said for the avid sports fan who predicted the correct outcome of a match regardless of whether their team won or lost. Hindsight bias, therefore, is the tendency for an individual to convince themselves that they accurately predicted an event before it happened.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
