What's Wrong With Cultural Appropriation? By Maisha Z

Our culture is a reflection of who we are outside the surface of our appearance. Cultures usually consist of life long traditions passed down from generation to generation. Many people take their culture personally and are affected by the society and how it is represented. Because of this, cultural appropriation and cultural exchange is becoming a rising issue in our time today. Some people may label some instances as cultural appropriation, however cultural appropriation can be confused with cultural exchange. Though the two may seem rather similar, there is a very thin line between cultural appropriation and cultural exchange. The reason why it is so difficult to spot whether or not it is cultural appropriation or cultural exchange is because

Though this is a real issue, I think that there are times when we misinterpret cultural appropriation and it can cause unnecessary and extra disputes among other cultures. Because we all have the sense of fairness, we seem to classify it as injustice when people are adapting rituals and trends from the minority class. But in reality, some people unintentionally display cultural appropriation. But the reason we over look this fault is because of stereotypes and social class. For example, in “What’s Wrong with Cultural Appropriation?” by Maisha Z. Johnson she lists and explains nine reasons she believes cultural appropriation is harmful. Her third reason is because it makes things ‘cool’ for white people-but ‘too ethnic’ for people of color. For example dreadlocks, afros, and braids are very know in the black community. I think often times, we all have the idea of a double standard, so we see it as inequity and unfair when someone of the high class is praised and admired for something that was once suppressed. The African American community is often looked down upon and seen as “dirty” because they don’t have long, straight hair like the Caucasian American community. But when Kylie Jenner, a popular Caucasian American reality star was spotted embracing dreadlocks, she was positively recognized for her fashion choice. Living in a white-dominant world, Johnson says that its odd and unfair that the white community is being praise for things that discriminate the black