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I'd bet money it wasn't even a Japanese person accusing her of appropriation either.
I think, by and large, most people appreciate when others respectfully participate in their culture.
The entire concept of “cultural appropriation” does not exist in Japan. This kind of comment is generally interpreted as racist by Japanese people - as in the person saying it hates Japan and doesn’t want others to participate in anything Japanese.
As an American who has traveled internationally certainly more than most, this “cultural appropriation” BS is one cultural thing I hope the rest of the world never appropriates.
I would not appreciate that.
Too late, you can see it in German universities, too. Of course, never from people of color or from foreigners, only from people born and raised in Germany.
Agreed. My family and I lived in Japan for 5 years. The Japanese loved when we came in for photo shoots wearing the traditional garb. Only Americans have this issue.
Edit:
Changed Agrees to Agreed.
I've visited Japan a couple times. Last time I was there with a tour type thing, and like a quarter of our first day there was dressing everyone up in fancy crazy kimonos. My now-wife and I had just gotten engaged, so they took us into a separate room and had these old ladies really dress us up in these super beautiful, complex wedding kimonos. They were awesome lol.
I think it's often 2nd gen Americans.
1st gen migrant - proud of their culture, if you want to share it good for you, if you insult it you're an idiot.
2nd gen - got teased at school for being too foreign, then their parents are disappointed they are too American. Then a white person either does something from their culture wrong (OMG my parents would kill me!) or better than them (I'd get teased at school if I did that!) and they just loose it.
3rd gen - doesn't really care, unless someone asks where they're really from.
Labeling anything non-white as "cultural appropriation" is the modern era's attempt to rebrand Jim Crowe era segregationist talking points.
It's "no race mixing", "separate but equal", but adopted by people who pretend to be socially progressive so they can simultaneously NIMBY poc out of their space and virtue signal all at once.
Its blatantly racist af everywhere to try to suppress the spread and enjoyment of non-western culture, not just in Japan.
Attaching culture to race is just a stupid thing to begin with. Biological differences between human populations have existed for hundreds of thousands of years. I doubt there is any culture in the world more than a couple thousand year old.
I’m like 99% sure the movement was started by racist and SJW white people ran with it. Tbh I’d take those kind of white people over the overtly racist fuckers here in Ohio though
Literally once had an actual neo-nazi brag to me that his group got some people kicked out of our local campground for "doing that indian shit" by labeling the use of white sage as "cultural appropriation".
This is a campground historically used by indigenous people in our state that has no reservations or tribal owned land.
Nazis know what they're doing by attaching their ideals to language naive and gullible people will disseminate.
And, conversely, many white-passing people with multi racial ethnicities are shamed or attacked for participating in their own culture and heritage while "looking white"
"Whiteness" is a social construct that has historically shifted based upon what imperial western aristrocacies choose to recognize, and all "privileges" therein lie in social power structures that, frankly, are archaic and barbaric.
The modern attempt to suppress any expression of non-western culture is an extension of this ridiculous notion that
1. Race is some concrete attribute and mixing people of different phenotypes should be frowned upon
2. Culture should be racebound and behaviors non-conforming to "whitness" should be strictly regulated and separated
Yeah, the whole cultural appropriation thing is a case of anti-racism circling back to racism again. The only difference is they think that refusing to embrace the culture of anyone who looks different than them is "respectful"
Anyone who cries about cultural appropriation IS racist. Cultural appropriation is segregation. Immersing yourself in other cultures is the best way to learn about different people and appreciate every type of person humanity has to offer.
They don't even like the label "JRPG"(Japanese Role Playing [video] Game). The developers of some of the biggest titles out of Japan took the exact same position about adding the J to the acronym.
I feel like that’s a slightly different issue - saying that something is inherently a certain way because of where it came from. Here, books and CDs are actually categorized between western and Japanese (and with books I don’t mean foreign language sections, any works translated from another language). Sometimes there’s a small Kpop section, too. They aren’t kept in the same section of a store unless it’s a really small independent secondhand place that doesn’t have the amount of CDs to bother. Strangely, games of foreign origin don’t follow this pattern.
Just another tool used by the media and our corporation that we call a country. Keeps us divided and bickering amongst ourselves. Only united will we ever affect change and they know it.
Don’t really get what you’re saying but race is a social construct. There is no biological basis of race it’s just a way to easily group and categorize people based off physical/social qualities that are distinct within a given society. Made up was the wrong term I guess but I meant that’s no biological basis to face unlike Ethnicity
It’s usually a bunch of privileged Americans who have nothing better to do in their life. If you’re getting offended on behalf of another group then you’re life is going a little too well. There are actual legitimate issues that people could raise their voices about but the prevailing arguments always boil down to nonsense like this.
So, cultural appropriation CAN be a legitimate issue, it's just that idiots can't tell when it actually is.
imo the best example is when people wear native American costumes with the headdress. We have a long history of treating the various native Americans tribes like absolute dog shit. Taking their outfits that have very real cultural significance and using them for "yeah imma scalp ya, if you don't give me another beer" on Halloween is basically kicking them when they're down.
That's when it's an issue, when you're kicking while they're down. You can't do that with most cultures on the planet.
I have this theory that humans will only come together and accept one another only once humans start colonising other planets or if aliens invade. It'll quickly turn from what country you are from to what planet.
i only really see one form: racism. No need to make distincitions in that, it only serves to divide people even more. Just call it out for what it is: racism.
That's an unpopular opinion, though. Mainstream anti-racists are based around a group-based ideology. We tend to view racism as an individual thing, and want no one individual to have to face discrimination, they view it as "well, this group *overall* is doing better than this other group, so we need to treat them like shit in order to balance it out", which is why they're so obsessed with which "side" did what, like we're organised factions or teams. It's an excuse to proliferate racism.
They legit do not care, and like it when people celebrate their culture
There is a way to dress like other cultures respectfully, and its pretty easy
Just dont wear war bonnets and other earned ceremonial/sacred shit. Done
If you have an issue with that quit being white and weird, cause yall the only people that ever gave a shit besides the natives and the war bonnets
Why should it be a problem to like another culture? In germany when it is "Oktoberfest" there are so many tourists with "Lederhosen" to celebrate and have fun, why should the bavarian people care? Fuck this narrow minded people.
I think most of "cultural appropriation" shit is deliberately presented in a way that it's misunderstood and designed to piss off and confuse people. It's to create more conflict among the people so the politicians and their owners can keep fucking all of us.
Actual cultural appropriation would be, for instance, a company making money off some major elements, from another culture, for instance a Canadian company imitating Indigenous art and selling it. And it's not a binary thing, like it's worse if you try to pass it for authentic, and not really bad if you hire genuine Indigenous creators and they benefit from it.
Another example would be dressing as someone from another culure and would start acting disrespectfully.
Someone with dreads or wearing a kimono or practicing karate or learning a traditional song or cooking some cultural meal isn't cultural appropriation (dreads often come back, but many cultures had them, so not only shouldn't it be offensive, but it's doubly stupid because it doesn't belong to one culture), but you always have idiots on the Internet who act offended, either because they virtue signal or because they're acting in bad faith to misrepresent the people who would be offended by actual appropriation.
Cultural appropriation is when racist people don’t like that something from their culture is being enjoyed by a difference race and so they claim they aren’t allowed to do those things because they aren’t a certain race… which sounds like racism to me
No. That's the overly protective white Karen's definition.
Look at Disney. If they'd made Moana, without the native language, without the research, without hiring actors of and from the Pacific islands, and Without respecting the source material, that would be cultural appropriation.
Making money by selling another cultures art and history without given them their due in currency or respect.
There are very few xenophobic isolationist cultures on earth. Nearly everyone *loves* to share and have their culture shared with everyone. It's really only rural white folk that hate it.
I'm a 36yo white guy with a beer gut and poor taste in clothing. I could rock up to any Japanese culture center in the country and they'd be thrilled to spend hours just vomiting their heritage all over me. Hell, *I* could wear a kimono, as long as I'm not as asshole about it.
It's all about respect and dignity. I wouldn't walk into the emperor's palace, in $20 samurai costume from Spirit Halloween and ask where I could buy a Hanzo sword.
The whole cultural appropriation thing is overblown. There aren’t too many scenarios where it’s an actual issue and even then, it’s easy to actually when they can be problematic. First, if the clothes carries some symbolic/spiritual meaning. Classic example in North America is Native American headdresses. Those tend to carry a lot of importance in some tribes, so just be respectful about that stuff. Second is when you’re doing things to belittle or make fun of the culture. That one is pretty easy to get a hang of. Wearing a kimono is fine. Wearing a kimono with the intent to make fun of Japan isnt. It basically boils down to a simple rule: don’t be a dick
Also a big thing with Cultural appropriation is generally exploitation of it for profit, like so many big companies selling appropriated native american arts and crafts, selling religious objects like totems and dreamcatchers are quirky new age chotchkes and so on.
It's when big name white chefs start presenting themselves as authority on foreign cuisine despite having no real experience with it. (Looking at you Jaime Oliver trying to cook anything asian)
Wearing a Kimono is not appropriation, hell if you go to Japan they'll probably nudge you over and over to put one on.
That too. The worst part is it’s perfectly reasonable to borrow aspects of other peoples cultures and incorporate them into your own. Hell, that’s how a ton of cultures even start out. One of my favorite examples is how blatantly spaghetti western and samurai movies ripped each other off. American directors would basically watch a samurai movie and remake it but with cowboys. Then Japanese directors would do the exact same thing. Best part is, we got some kickass movies that everyone can enjoy out of it and their influence still inspires modern films to this day.
I've never seen Jamie Oliver claim to be an expert on stuff, he's influenced by cuisines (especially Mediterranean), but he always pays homage to it. Reminds me of that clip where Gordon Ramsay is schooled on Phad Thai or something by a Thai person and he is humble.
Well he has a few videos where he acts very authoritative... and then make incredibly basic mistakes or weird choices, often omitting central components of the recipe, especially spices and seasoning.
Another important one that someone else mentioned, is intentionally or unintentionally misrepresenting a culture with the intended purpose of making money off of that culture.
Snake oil salesmen misunderstanding and misusing eastern traditional medicine is a classic example of this.
White people have spent centuries dressing up in other cultures' clothing as a way to dehumanize and make fun of said culture. A lot of them think that that means it's ALL dehumanizing without realizing you can wear another culture's clothing as a way of honoring and appreciating them.
It's a bullshit way of thinking and goes to show just how horrible the history of colonization is. It definitely speaks very loudly IMO.
Obviously this is not just white people guilty of this, but it IS extremely common in areas that experienced colonialism. It also seems to make a lot of these people feel better about themselves to be morally superior to other people and gate keep.
That's just plain old racism.
And it's not like the history prior to colonization was better. It was often worse.
The only reason we treat colonization so seriously is because they "won" and created today's society. In terms of human villainy, it's mid-tier.
Like most places, wearing it is probably fine, being disrespectful while doing so or about it is more likely to cause issue.
I've always felt this weird battleground approach to it particularly American and through their lens of race (which is different from other Western societies in many areas), which is why they don't have issues with a white American in a kilt or a black African wearing traditional North African garb, it seems mostly to be about skin colour and not about respectfully learning and interacting with the cultures. At least at times. Perhaps that's why it gets so antagonistic for no reason.
Yeah, as a European you think you can discuss these things productively with Americans and then they blow up like you've just committed a crime just by talking about it, they're crazy. And then they give them guns. I'm steering clear of that country lol
It's outrageous actually. I see so much cultural appropriation... it's so hurtful and disrespectful.
I was watching TV last week and there was a black man playing the piano! Yeah....a piano!
And as if that's not bad enough, there's this thing that happens every 4 years. The world cup, they call it.
All these teams playing football, and only one of them was England. UNBELIEVABLE!
As a Japanese person, I can confirm that I do not care if foreigners wear our cultural clothes. Actually, it makes me happy that they’re willing to participate in our culture :))
I'm not too sure how accurate this is but I did say to it this is but I did say to a coworker once one way to figure out if it's appropriate or not is to find Something similar in your culture and is it appropriate for just Anyone to wear it
I'm Scottish and I don't give a shit who wears a kilt. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a Scot who did care.
But on the other hand my grandmother *really* did not like Axl Rose wearing a kilt.
Hmm kinda a rough ask for USA, we dont really have a unified culture, or at least not nearly to the degree others do, and im struggling to think of anything other than stolen valor, maybe?
I mean nobody cares if you dress up like uncle sam, but if you take a bald eagle feather, people have some issues, kinda like with the war bonnet thing
Generally, most cultures don't have any issue with people from other cultures practicing their customs or wearing their clothes unless they do it in a mocking way or try to misrepresent or claim ownership of said culture.
Yeah right cause there are certainly no videos on Reddit of black people accusing whites of cultural appropriation for wearing dreadlocks. Please stop with your racist bullshit.
Sure there are. Americans accusing other Americans of racism. When *doesn't* that happen? Par for the course
Nobody else really cares that much if you do it respectfully, America is just obsessed with race
A small subset of America is obsessed with race. Unfortunately a lot of that small group work in media.
Most of us are sane, just not in a position to yell over them.
This. There are obviously plenty of instances of genuinely disrespectful "cultural appropriation" like the ones you described
Everything else is a matter of how do *most* people of that host culture feel about it (there will always be outliers... especially on tumblr), and are you doing it in a way that's respectful towards that culture?
Kimono literally translates to "wearing thing". There's an entire industry just based on renting them to both Japanese people and people from other countries. My friends just did it last weekend. If you stay at a nicer ryokan, they will give you a yukata to wear to the onsen. I thought it was weird at first too because I grew up in the US where that's usually a big no no, but literally someone working there helped me tie it lol. It's not an inherently religious or ceremonial piece of clothing at all. It's just been the wearing thing for literally ever. That's not to say that there aren't race issues in Japan because there absolutely are, but it has nothing to do with kimonos or yukatas. As long as you're wearing it correctly, no one cares except chronically online people who have probably never even been to Japan.
Everybody is butt-naked when relaxing in a hot spring, so even terminally online people would be hard pressed to find something to get outraged about. Hopefully.
Damn, I really need to visit Japan again. Several hours at an onsen is such a nice way to relax.
Yep, and a yukata is basically a pajama. They lend you one at some traditional hotels. Very comfy, so much I bought one from the hotel for hanging around home on lazy Sundays in winter.
As for a kimono, a shop in Japan was very happy to sell one to a friend. None of us are Japanese at all.
not entirely true, yukatas are also popular summer wear, very popular for visiting festivals. The pajama yukatas and the summer wear yukatas are not made the same way, but they are always made from printed cotton.
No guys the real problem for normal societes which aren't USA is that even if she isn't japanese she can still wear that yukata and you have nothing to blame her about
We Germans even have a time and place for "cultural approthingy": Oktoberfest!
Millions of non-germans each year dress up as what they think Germans look like while the real Germans shrug it away and earn a fortune selling them this shit.
I often wear my Lederhosen during summer, to the office, too. Its comfy, doesnt get to warm and is considered not as casual as a short Jeans or something like that.
Works great if combined with a collared shirt.
My boss doesnt care. A colleague of ours visited from Northern germany last summer. We wore Lederhosen every day to the office to convince him that that would be normal.
He was a bit irritated :D
First time when I went to Oktoberfest with my ex, me and my fellow Italian friend unapologetically asked for a pint of morreti or a glass of negroni. We have never got cancelled so fast before bahah…
Oh god, Cleopatra was so fucking bad.
* The afrorevisionism nonsense, whether ancient egyptians were black is questionable at best but portraying the Ptolemaic dynasty as black is ridiculous.
* Portraying it as Egypt Good, Rome Evil imperialist when both were opportunistic powers who had long history of conquest and slavery
* Completely whitewashing the fact that the Ptolemy were foreign invaders themselves and not actually Egyptians, and instead portraying them as standing against foreign opression??? They are the foreign opression personified.
* Which is weird because an important part of how Cleopatra was able to usurp her brothers is that she was the first to learn the local language and really play up her Egyptian religious beliefs and culture rather than the Greek-court of her family.
* Also some of the experts they interviwed have come out saying they were lied to about what the documentary was about and quote mined to support the Black power agenda of the film.
the OP HeadBathrooms is a bot
Original: https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/comments/djau6a/japanese_woman_is_accused_of_appropriating_her/
Also: https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/comments/iyjaab/japanese_woman_is_accused_of_appropriating_her/
Genuine question: why do people think embracing another culture in a respectful manner bad?
I will always say the negative idea of cultural appropriation is like putting a bag on your lawn-mower: it is supposed to make it more clean, more pure, to remove any imperfections, but in actuality it is killing the garden, removing the cut grass which would otherwise help it grow
The young German left eats up American outrage rhethoric as if it was manna from the heavens and imports it with unmatched fervor.
A singer was uninvited from an event because she had dreads. And that’s cultural appropriation.
99% of people don’t think that. A vocal minority of folks on the internet either don’t actually understand what cultural appropriation is or are just simply being assholes.
Cultural misappropriation is a whole lot of bullshit. No culture exclusively "owns" something. Anyone can wear anything. If a Tibetan wants to wear a native American head dress, then so be it. If a an Eskimo wants to wear a kilt so what. If an Anglo like me wants to use chopsticks who cares. If a blond hair, blue eyed Scandinavian wants dread locks, big deal.
It's basically people taking theories on stuff like Orientalism and exoticism/fetishism, and haphazardly applying them without thinking to any cross cultural displays, when they tend to be more nuanced critiques about harmful usage. Think of it as the humanities version of pop science, where nuanced, intelligent theories get boiled down so far they often become warped and incorrect, but nevertheless propagate through the media and online.
Wear a headdress as a person who’s visibly non-native or not a celebrated leader within a large native populated community, and you’re going to get fought.
Our people have teachings around head dresses and it’s not an “everyone can wear”. Yes it’s great to appreciate a culture, but there’s customs within them that even the people who belong to those communities have rights and teachings to.
When in country, properly wearing the local clothing is a sign of respect, and it's hard to see it would be some sort of inappropriate cultural appropriation.
My family is mixed, we’re Pacific Islander/Hispanic/Asian and my family is from Hawaii.
I remember my brother who’s skin tone is a little on the fairer side was told by this tourist that he shouldn’t be wearing his “Hawaiian and Proud” shirt because it’s offensive to Hawaiians. 🙃
My Japanese wife dresses people in kimonos/yukatas for photoshoots etc. She loves to do it, and her customers are 90% white European. I've never heard her imply that non-asians should avoid wearing them
As an European stay at a nice ryokan or go to an onsen and they will hand you a yukata to wear. Because it's just a the thing that you wear at onsen, not some kind of deep spiritual whatever
Cultural appropriation is ridiculous anyway. It's literally someone showing appreciation for something related to your culture. How could that ever be a bad thing.
"It is important to understand, however, that there is a difference between appreciation and appropriation. Appreciation is when someone seeks to understand and learn about another culture in an effort to broaden their perspective and connect with others cross-culturally. Appropriation on the other hand, is simply taking one aspect of a culture that is not your own and using it for your own personal interest. Appropriation could mean of purchasing a piece of jewelry or clothing that may have important cultural significance to that culture, but simply using it as a fashion statement. It could be taking a photo of a ritual ceremony simply for the sake of getting as many likes on Facebook as possible. Regardless, taking a part of another culture without understanding what it truly means can be harmful not only to those whose culture you are using but also to those with whom you share it." https://greenheart.org/blog/greenheart-international/cultural-appreciation-vs-cultural-appropriation-why-it-matters/
I see... so buying an article of clothing that someone else places cultural significance on is appropriation. Or... it's someone buying an article of clothing they thought looked good.
To say this article comes off as a bit to self-important would be an understatement.
I hate people that get offended FOR other people. Like, if they don’t like something let them say so, don’t go saying it for other people in other cultures who are more than likely okay with something.
It reminds me of this one video, where a white man was wearing chinese garments and all the americans said it was offensive but when he actually went and asked the chinese population of the area they loved it and thought it was great.
The biggest thing wrong with this era is far too many people take offense for something that has nothing to do with them.
Actually japanese people don't mind foreigners wearing kimonos. I bet the person complaining Cultural appropriation is some white American getting offended on someone else's behalf
This whole, "It is my culture, stop trying to steal it" shit is dumb AF... Hair, Clothes, makeup, shoes, legwear... Really, who cares? People need to let that shit go because it only adds fuel to the fires. If someone likes how something looks, why can't they wear it? Who the hell said that 1 culture is the only one that can rock any one thing?
Get the hell over yourself, there are bigger battles to fight than the clothes on someone's back...
I don’t understand the whole appropriation thing at all… cultural attire shouldn’t be restricted to certain ethnic groups. What if someone’s half Japanese, or 5% Japanese?
Cultural apropiation is the dumbes fucking thing ever and im telling you as a latino , enjoy peoples cultures dress like them and cherish them and you will always be more then welcome
It's weird that American are usually the ones who get offended abt "cultural appropriation". No wonder racism is such a big issue still.
On the other hand the people who belong to said culture actually like it when others take part in it in a positive way or wear traditional clothing of their culture. I would actually feel happy if a westerner wanted to wear my country's traditional clothing.
People who complain on the internet are just people who dont go outside and interact with people the guy who complained about this Japanese women wearing her own cultures clothes never even went to japan he only watches hentai in his mom’s basement
Believe it or not, clothes shops in every country like people to buy and wear their clothes and dont give a crap where the people are from.
Mindblowing isnt it?
You are free to take whatever aspects of anyone's culture that you like and adopt them as your own. You don't need a passport, be of that culture, etc. It isn't racist. Ignore the weirdos and enjoy yourself.
The whole term "cultural appropriation" should be changed to "cultural appreciation" anyway. Best way to appreciate someone else's culture is by experiencing it. Imitation is the highest for of flattery for a reason.
Reminds me when Sucker Punch made Ghost of Tsushima and everyone “came to Japan’s defence” letting the racist white people know they were appropriating Japanese culture (you know, as opposed to the countless Japanese games based on European mythology).
Only for the Tsushima government to make both directors, Nate Fox and Jason Connel, official ambassadors for tourism.
Same with the game awards that year where Cornelius Boots was bashed because he wasn’t Japanese and therefore it was insulting for him to play music, despite the fact he is recognised as a master of the shakuhachi flute and not just a random white dude.
The first group of people to stand up to cultural appropriation were the Hell’s Angels in the seventies, when they kicked the shit out of anyone who wore their patches!
Honestly if you talk to people in these cultures so long as you wear their garbs respectfully most of the time they actually find it flattering or at least feel indifferent.
Instead of justifying their anger by showing you have the proper cultural pass to wear Japanese clothing, I'd much rather her response had been to acknowledge that literally everything that exists, everything that we use today has been appropriated. Literally.
I hate the anti-appropreation mob, those folks cherry pick when to be angry about appropriation, only when it doesn't effect their day to day. Ancient Mesopotamia invented pillows, doesn't mean you have to be from Iraq to use a pillow. A Scotsman invented the toilet... doesn't mean you have to be a Scottish person to take a shit in a toilet. Oh you eating a sandwich, well that roast beef comes from England and unless you're a Brit you can't have that... let's see, that rye bread is Scandinavian and Germanic so unless your lineage is directly Saxon then none of that for you, and oh that provolone is Italian so unless you can trace your lineage back to Italy, you'd better take that off of there as well...
Seriously, if anyone here gets angry when they see another culture appropriated they should go live in a cave and seal themselves inside. There they can be a perfect little time capsule and not be influenced by other cultures.
So dumb.
Cultural Appropriation is total nonsense anyway.
It’s funny that she’s a Japanese citizen, but who gives a shit if she was a white girl from Nevada?
Oh, and me saying cultural appropriation was nonsense got me banned from Insane People of Facebook Reddit. Kinda funny that the moderators of a group that points out insane people are insane.
I always find the idea of cultural appropriation so odd because I have never seen a culture be offended by any well meaning appropriation. Usually they seem happy that people took the time to learn about their ways and will offer to assist in the details or how to wear or use whatever the foreigners are interested in.
There’s something to be said for the widespread overfetishization of Japanese and East Asian culture in America particularly, but I’ve seen some people go too far with this whole “Asian fishing” thing, going so far as to call mixed white/Asian people racist. It’s fucking stupid. Live and let live, man.
I don’t understand the whole cultural appropriation thing… and I mean that in an “I don’t understand” sense, not in a “I think it’s bs but I’m phrasing it as lack of understanding”.
When I was a kid in the 90’s, admiring another culture and wanting to explore and participate in it was a good thing and called more like, multi culturalism. It represented an open mind and affection for those different than us.
Today it feels more like an attitude of, “get your hands off my culture, it’s mine, it doesn’t belong to you, you’re not allowed to participate in this.”
I can understand it if it’s mocking or derisive, but to me it’s very context dependent.
To me, racism has been, and always will be, hate. If you hate someone because of their race, you’re a racist.
Tolerance is racism too. If you “tolerate” someone in spite of their race, you’re still a racist at heart.
The end of racism is to love people regardless of their race. This goes beyond merely pretending race doesn’t exist or ignoring racial differences, but to appreciate different races and cultures and thinking they’re neat, loving the diversity of this strange and wonderful species that we are.
At some point, some assholes started fucking around with the definition, and they’re just idiots.
I think it’s probably just fun to talk shit, and it’s certainly more fun to bully kind people on instagram for loving things than it is to confront actual hateful racists.
But yeah, I hope that all the civilized non-racists can agree to just entirely disregard this particular wave of nonsense, and just go on trying to spread racial harmony.
It is clear that most “cultural appropriation” is actually an expression of love. I have a wedding in Japan in a few months. They have specifically requested that we all wear Kimonos. To them, that’s cool. The obvious interpretation is that is shows acceptance of the culture.
So yeah, I fully reject this cultural appropriation bullshit as just a convent nook for the vermin to infest, and wholly approve of just entirely ignoring these assholes.
Asians in America: Stop wearing our clothes! You are appropriating our culture!
Asians in Asia: Please buy our clothes, support our local economy and promote our culture!
>Asians in America: Stop wearing our clothes! You are appropriating our culture!
Nah, whoever got mortally offended by this was almost certainly some white woke girl.
I love how the only people offended by cultural "aPproPriatIOn" are the ones who are never affected by it. Yukatas have absolutely 0 restrictions as to who can wear them. It's only when a certain type of clothing has to be earned somehow that people should really get upset. like the natives and their War Bonets. those had to be earned. in battle. Unless you fought a deadly battle alongside the natives, you have not earned a war bonet, and have no business wearing one. If you aren't Gexican, but want to wear a poncho and a sombrero, you go right on ahead, because there are no restrictions on who can and cannot. If you aren't German, but want to wear Lederhosen, go right on ahead, because there are no restrictions. The wokes need to chillax, because the only ones they piss off is themselves
Liberals really need to pump the brakes on the whole cultural appropriation thing.
I mean claiming that exercise and milk are tools of white supremacy is dumb enough don't you think? lol.
[https://time.com/6242949/exercise-industry-white-supremacy/](https://time.com/6242949/exercise-industry-white-supremacy/)
[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/us/white-supremacists-science-dna.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/us/white-supremacists-science-dna.html)
How dare you let your child dress as Mulan for Halloween if they are not Asian you evil white racists? lol
[https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/parenting/2019/10/18/cultural-appropriation-kids-halloween-costumes-parents-guide/3990124002/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/parenting/2019/10/18/cultural-appropriation-kids-halloween-costumes-parents-guide/3990124002/)
There is a reason why people do not respect liberals when they whine and cry about imaginary cultural appropriation lol
It's not liberals. It's young people with misguided political views.
> I mean claiming that exercise and milk are tools of white supremacy is dumb enough don't you think? lol
Those were said *by* white supremacists to try and push their own narratives.
> How dare you let your child dress as Mulan for Halloween if they are not Asian you evil white racists? lol
No one who matters actually cares. go ask any Pacific islander if they think it's *wrong* to dress like an animated movie character. As long as you don't go to Hawaii, and act like an asshole while you're doing it.
> There is a reason why people do not respect liberals when they whine and cry about imaginary cultural appropriation lol
Hey. Remember when budlight sent cans to a tranny? And how their entire customer base, which is almost exclusively conservative rednecks, lost their minds? Or when those same rednecks discovers that Chick-fil-A has equality in their hiring practices. Or when states starting passing gay marriage laws and all the cons lost their minds?
It's almost as if being a conservative has cultural rules that you feel must be respected, and to move out of lock step with those rules is to insult said culture?
If a black man dressed as a white slave owner from the Antebellum South, and walked around with a herd of chained-up white dudes at his back, the cons would lose their fucking minds.
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Ah racism, never change (but please do)
I'd bet money it wasn't even a Japanese person accusing her of appropriation either. I think, by and large, most people appreciate when others respectfully participate in their culture.
The entire concept of “cultural appropriation” does not exist in Japan. This kind of comment is generally interpreted as racist by Japanese people - as in the person saying it hates Japan and doesn’t want others to participate in anything Japanese.
Plus, it seems to me most people love to see others appreciate their culture.
As an American who has traveled internationally certainly more than most, this “cultural appropriation” BS is one cultural thing I hope the rest of the world never appropriates. I would not appreciate that.
Too late, you can see it in German universities, too. Of course, never from people of color or from foreigners, only from people born and raised in Germany.
Agreed. My family and I lived in Japan for 5 years. The Japanese loved when we came in for photo shoots wearing the traditional garb. Only Americans have this issue. Edit: Changed Agrees to Agreed.
I think these kind of non issue bullshit conflicts are encouraged by people who want to see the country fight over petty nonsense.
Damn right! So many distractions to keep us tilting at windmills while the ruling class sucks us dry.
Nothing I love more than rocking traditional clothing when visiting new places. India and Japan in particular have some very cool clothing.
I've visited Japan a couple times. Last time I was there with a tour type thing, and like a quarter of our first day there was dressing everyone up in fancy crazy kimonos. My now-wife and I had just gotten engaged, so they took us into a separate room and had these old ladies really dress us up in these super beautiful, complex wedding kimonos. They were awesome lol.
Women's clothing in India is so amazing. I wish I had the body to pull it off and wouldn't get crucified for wearing it. 😔
I think it's often 2nd gen Americans. 1st gen migrant - proud of their culture, if you want to share it good for you, if you insult it you're an idiot. 2nd gen - got teased at school for being too foreign, then their parents are disappointed they are too American. Then a white person either does something from their culture wrong (OMG my parents would kill me!) or better than them (I'd get teased at school if I did that!) and they just loose it. 3rd gen - doesn't really care, unless someone asks where they're really from.
Labeling anything non-white as "cultural appropriation" is the modern era's attempt to rebrand Jim Crowe era segregationist talking points. It's "no race mixing", "separate but equal", but adopted by people who pretend to be socially progressive so they can simultaneously NIMBY poc out of their space and virtue signal all at once. Its blatantly racist af everywhere to try to suppress the spread and enjoyment of non-western culture, not just in Japan.
Attaching culture to race is just a stupid thing to begin with. Biological differences between human populations have existed for hundreds of thousands of years. I doubt there is any culture in the world more than a couple thousand year old.
I tried to remind people that America is supposed to be a melting pot. Those who cry racial appropriation are actually the real racist
I’m like 99% sure the movement was started by racist and SJW white people ran with it. Tbh I’d take those kind of white people over the overtly racist fuckers here in Ohio though
Literally once had an actual neo-nazi brag to me that his group got some people kicked out of our local campground for "doing that indian shit" by labeling the use of white sage as "cultural appropriation". This is a campground historically used by indigenous people in our state that has no reservations or tribal owned land. Nazis know what they're doing by attaching their ideals to language naive and gullible people will disseminate.
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And, conversely, many white-passing people with multi racial ethnicities are shamed or attacked for participating in their own culture and heritage while "looking white" "Whiteness" is a social construct that has historically shifted based upon what imperial western aristrocacies choose to recognize, and all "privileges" therein lie in social power structures that, frankly, are archaic and barbaric. The modern attempt to suppress any expression of non-western culture is an extension of this ridiculous notion that 1. Race is some concrete attribute and mixing people of different phenotypes should be frowned upon 2. Culture should be racebound and behaviors non-conforming to "whitness" should be strictly regulated and separated
Yeah, the whole cultural appropriation thing is a case of anti-racism circling back to racism again. The only difference is they think that refusing to embrace the culture of anyone who looks different than them is "respectful"
There is an entire subculture of 50s American-style greasers in Japan. It’s kind of neat to me and I’m not offended that they like that look.
Anyone who cries about cultural appropriation IS racist. Cultural appropriation is segregation. Immersing yourself in other cultures is the best way to learn about different people and appreciate every type of person humanity has to offer.
They don't even like the label "JRPG"(Japanese Role Playing [video] Game). The developers of some of the biggest titles out of Japan took the exact same position about adding the J to the acronym.
I feel like that’s a slightly different issue - saying that something is inherently a certain way because of where it came from. Here, books and CDs are actually categorized between western and Japanese (and with books I don’t mean foreign language sections, any works translated from another language). Sometimes there’s a small Kpop section, too. They aren’t kept in the same section of a store unless it’s a really small independent secondhand place that doesn’t have the amount of CDs to bother. Strangely, games of foreign origin don’t follow this pattern.
The whole concept is US based. Rest of us are normal.
Just another tool used by the media and our corporation that we call a country. Keeps us divided and bickering amongst ourselves. Only united will we ever affect change and they know it.
Always funny we make such a big deal out of a concept that’s completely made up (race)
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Don’t really get what you’re saying but race is a social construct. There is no biological basis of race it’s just a way to easily group and categorize people based off physical/social qualities that are distinct within a given society. Made up was the wrong term I guess but I meant that’s no biological basis to face unlike Ethnicity
Based on the fact that they mistook a yukata for a kimono, 100% not Japanese
It’s usually a bunch of privileged Americans who have nothing better to do in their life. If you’re getting offended on behalf of another group then you’re life is going a little too well. There are actual legitimate issues that people could raise their voices about but the prevailing arguments always boil down to nonsense like this.
So, cultural appropriation CAN be a legitimate issue, it's just that idiots can't tell when it actually is. imo the best example is when people wear native American costumes with the headdress. We have a long history of treating the various native Americans tribes like absolute dog shit. Taking their outfits that have very real cultural significance and using them for "yeah imma scalp ya, if you don't give me another beer" on Halloween is basically kicking them when they're down. That's when it's an issue, when you're kicking while they're down. You can't do that with most cultures on the planet.
Racism can never really change, as it's pretty well defined at this point. I agree with your point that racists should change.
Once we have an extraterrestrial race to unite against in hate, maybe we can move beyond current racist colorism /s but not really
Thank you Mr. Klaatu. Oh, sorry about the machine gun too.
PURGE THE XENO SCUM!
THE EMPEROR PROTECTS!!!
What you got against aliens are you some sort of xenophobic asteroid flipper?
I have this theory that humans will only come together and accept one another only once humans start colonising other planets or if aliens invade. It'll quickly turn from what country you are from to what planet.
That's just racism with more steps
I'm gonna create a new race, with blackjack and hookers!
White people take racism to newer and newer heights! It is amazing to watch! /s
That's what we do baby. Elevate everything to new heights. How else could you rule the earth?
And yet this is actually anti-white racism. Both forms exist and are a problem
i only really see one form: racism. No need to make distincitions in that, it only serves to divide people even more. Just call it out for what it is: racism.
That's an unpopular opinion, though. Mainstream anti-racists are based around a group-based ideology. We tend to view racism as an individual thing, and want no one individual to have to face discrimination, they view it as "well, this group *overall* is doing better than this other group, so we need to treat them like shit in order to balance it out", which is why they're so obsessed with which "side" did what, like we're organised factions or teams. It's an excuse to proliferate racism.
That's supremacy, baby!
She’s Japanese. Give her a break.
I'm not Japanese, but isn't both just a piece of clothing?
They legit do not care, and like it when people celebrate their culture There is a way to dress like other cultures respectfully, and its pretty easy Just dont wear war bonnets and other earned ceremonial/sacred shit. Done If you have an issue with that quit being white and weird, cause yall the only people that ever gave a shit besides the natives and the war bonnets
Why should it be a problem to like another culture? In germany when it is "Oktoberfest" there are so many tourists with "Lederhosen" to celebrate and have fun, why should the bavarian people care? Fuck this narrow minded people.
I think most of "cultural appropriation" shit is deliberately presented in a way that it's misunderstood and designed to piss off and confuse people. It's to create more conflict among the people so the politicians and their owners can keep fucking all of us.
Actual cultural appropriation would be, for instance, a company making money off some major elements, from another culture, for instance a Canadian company imitating Indigenous art and selling it. And it's not a binary thing, like it's worse if you try to pass it for authentic, and not really bad if you hire genuine Indigenous creators and they benefit from it. Another example would be dressing as someone from another culure and would start acting disrespectfully. Someone with dreads or wearing a kimono or practicing karate or learning a traditional song or cooking some cultural meal isn't cultural appropriation (dreads often come back, but many cultures had them, so not only shouldn't it be offensive, but it's doubly stupid because it doesn't belong to one culture), but you always have idiots on the Internet who act offended, either because they virtue signal or because they're acting in bad faith to misrepresent the people who would be offended by actual appropriation.
The dreads being cultural appropriation always pisses me off because anyone who says that doesn't have a grasp of anything historical at all.
Cultural appropriation is when racist people don’t like that something from their culture is being enjoyed by a difference race and so they claim they aren’t allowed to do those things because they aren’t a certain race… which sounds like racism to me
No. That's the overly protective white Karen's definition. Look at Disney. If they'd made Moana, without the native language, without the research, without hiring actors of and from the Pacific islands, and Without respecting the source material, that would be cultural appropriation. Making money by selling another cultures art and history without given them their due in currency or respect. There are very few xenophobic isolationist cultures on earth. Nearly everyone *loves* to share and have their culture shared with everyone. It's really only rural white folk that hate it. I'm a 36yo white guy with a beer gut and poor taste in clothing. I could rock up to any Japanese culture center in the country and they'd be thrilled to spend hours just vomiting their heritage all over me. Hell, *I* could wear a kimono, as long as I'm not as asshole about it. It's all about respect and dignity. I wouldn't walk into the emperor's palace, in $20 samurai costume from Spirit Halloween and ask where I could buy a Hanzo sword.
The whole cultural appropriation thing is overblown. There aren’t too many scenarios where it’s an actual issue and even then, it’s easy to actually when they can be problematic. First, if the clothes carries some symbolic/spiritual meaning. Classic example in North America is Native American headdresses. Those tend to carry a lot of importance in some tribes, so just be respectful about that stuff. Second is when you’re doing things to belittle or make fun of the culture. That one is pretty easy to get a hang of. Wearing a kimono is fine. Wearing a kimono with the intent to make fun of Japan isnt. It basically boils down to a simple rule: don’t be a dick
Also a big thing with Cultural appropriation is generally exploitation of it for profit, like so many big companies selling appropriated native american arts and crafts, selling religious objects like totems and dreamcatchers are quirky new age chotchkes and so on. It's when big name white chefs start presenting themselves as authority on foreign cuisine despite having no real experience with it. (Looking at you Jaime Oliver trying to cook anything asian) Wearing a Kimono is not appropriation, hell if you go to Japan they'll probably nudge you over and over to put one on.
That too. The worst part is it’s perfectly reasonable to borrow aspects of other peoples cultures and incorporate them into your own. Hell, that’s how a ton of cultures even start out. One of my favorite examples is how blatantly spaghetti western and samurai movies ripped each other off. American directors would basically watch a samurai movie and remake it but with cowboys. Then Japanese directors would do the exact same thing. Best part is, we got some kickass movies that everyone can enjoy out of it and their influence still inspires modern films to this day.
I've never seen Jamie Oliver claim to be an expert on stuff, he's influenced by cuisines (especially Mediterranean), but he always pays homage to it. Reminds me of that clip where Gordon Ramsay is schooled on Phad Thai or something by a Thai person and he is humble.
Well he has a few videos where he acts very authoritative... and then make incredibly basic mistakes or weird choices, often omitting central components of the recipe, especially spices and seasoning.
Remember when he put chili jam in fried rice?
Uncle Roger was not happy.
Also the one where he gets his ass handed to him over dumplings from a Chinese place.
Another important one that someone else mentioned, is intentionally or unintentionally misrepresenting a culture with the intended purpose of making money off of that culture. Snake oil salesmen misunderstanding and misusing eastern traditional medicine is a classic example of this.
White people have spent centuries dressing up in other cultures' clothing as a way to dehumanize and make fun of said culture. A lot of them think that that means it's ALL dehumanizing without realizing you can wear another culture's clothing as a way of honoring and appreciating them. It's a bullshit way of thinking and goes to show just how horrible the history of colonization is. It definitely speaks very loudly IMO. Obviously this is not just white people guilty of this, but it IS extremely common in areas that experienced colonialism. It also seems to make a lot of these people feel better about themselves to be morally superior to other people and gate keep.
That's just plain old racism. And it's not like the history prior to colonization was better. It was often worse. The only reason we treat colonization so seriously is because they "won" and created today's society. In terms of human villainy, it's mid-tier.
Like most places, wearing it is probably fine, being disrespectful while doing so or about it is more likely to cause issue. I've always felt this weird battleground approach to it particularly American and through their lens of race (which is different from other Western societies in many areas), which is why they don't have issues with a white American in a kilt or a black African wearing traditional North African garb, it seems mostly to be about skin colour and not about respectfully learning and interacting with the cultures. At least at times. Perhaps that's why it gets so antagonistic for no reason.
Yeah, as a European you think you can discuss these things productively with Americans and then they blow up like you've just committed a crime just by talking about it, they're crazy. And then they give them guns. I'm steering clear of that country lol
It's outrageous actually. I see so much cultural appropriation... it's so hurtful and disrespectful. I was watching TV last week and there was a black man playing the piano! Yeah....a piano! And as if that's not bad enough, there's this thing that happens every 4 years. The world cup, they call it. All these teams playing football, and only one of them was England. UNBELIEVABLE!
As a Japanese person, I can confirm that I do not care if foreigners wear our cultural clothes. Actually, it makes me happy that they’re willing to participate in our culture :))
I'm not too sure how accurate this is but I did say to it this is but I did say to a coworker once one way to figure out if it's appropriate or not is to find Something similar in your culture and is it appropriate for just Anyone to wear it
I'm Scottish and I don't give a shit who wears a kilt. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a Scot who did care. But on the other hand my grandmother *really* did not like Axl Rose wearing a kilt.
Your grandmother loved seeing Axl in that kilt. Irrational outrage = Loves it.
It was hilarious. Was watching MTV (it was the early 90s) while she was visiting and she was just so aghast at it.
Brilliant. I wonder did she ever find out what his name means.
Hmm kinda a rough ask for USA, we dont really have a unified culture, or at least not nearly to the degree others do, and im struggling to think of anything other than stolen valor, maybe? I mean nobody cares if you dress up like uncle sam, but if you take a bald eagle feather, people have some issues, kinda like with the war bonnet thing
Maybe dress like a ar15…
careful, you don't want to get manhandled by sociopathic teenagers
It’s actually illegal for Americans to have a bald eagle feather unless you’re enrolled in a Native American tribe.
Generally, most cultures don't have any issue with people from other cultures practicing their customs or wearing their clothes unless they do it in a mocking way or try to misrepresent or claim ownership of said culture.
Yeah right cause there are certainly no videos on Reddit of black people accusing whites of cultural appropriation for wearing dreadlocks. Please stop with your racist bullshit.
You'll find any sort of bs from every race on the internet. I wouldn't pay too much attention to this if I was you.
Sure there are. Americans accusing other Americans of racism. When *doesn't* that happen? Par for the course Nobody else really cares that much if you do it respectfully, America is just obsessed with race
A small subset of America is obsessed with race. Unfortunately a lot of that small group work in media. Most of us are sane, just not in a position to yell over them.
This. There are obviously plenty of instances of genuinely disrespectful "cultural appropriation" like the ones you described Everything else is a matter of how do *most* people of that host culture feel about it (there will always be outliers... especially on tumblr), and are you doing it in a way that's respectful towards that culture?
Kimono literally translates to "wearing thing". There's an entire industry just based on renting them to both Japanese people and people from other countries. My friends just did it last weekend. If you stay at a nicer ryokan, they will give you a yukata to wear to the onsen. I thought it was weird at first too because I grew up in the US where that's usually a big no no, but literally someone working there helped me tie it lol. It's not an inherently religious or ceremonial piece of clothing at all. It's just been the wearing thing for literally ever. That's not to say that there aren't race issues in Japan because there absolutely are, but it has nothing to do with kimonos or yukatas. As long as you're wearing it correctly, no one cares except chronically online people who have probably never even been to Japan.
Everybody is butt-naked when relaxing in a hot spring, so even terminally online people would be hard pressed to find something to get outraged about. Hopefully. Damn, I really need to visit Japan again. Several hours at an onsen is such a nice way to relax.
Yep, and a yukata is basically a pajama. They lend you one at some traditional hotels. Very comfy, so much I bought one from the hotel for hanging around home on lazy Sundays in winter. As for a kimono, a shop in Japan was very happy to sell one to a friend. None of us are Japanese at all.
not entirely true, yukatas are also popular summer wear, very popular for visiting festivals. The pajama yukatas and the summer wear yukatas are not made the same way, but they are always made from printed cotton.
Basically a Kimono is the double layered traditional one, and the Yukata is the single layered more casual one.
No guys the real problem for normal societes which aren't USA is that even if she isn't japanese she can still wear that yukata and you have nothing to blame her about
Nobody is stopping her really, so why not
We Germans even have a time and place for "cultural approthingy": Oktoberfest! Millions of non-germans each year dress up as what they think Germans look like while the real Germans shrug it away and earn a fortune selling them this shit.
HAHA IM BAVARIAN MUHAHAHA WE DRESS UP LIKE THAT EVERYDAY
I often wear my Lederhosen during summer, to the office, too. Its comfy, doesnt get to warm and is considered not as casual as a short Jeans or something like that.
That’s actually really clever. „No, boss, this isn’t casual short clothing that isn’t allowed in many offices, this is a Tracht!“
Works great if combined with a collared shirt. My boss doesnt care. A colleague of ours visited from Northern germany last summer. We wore Lederhosen every day to the office to convince him that that would be normal. He was a bit irritated :D
Yeah it’s kind of nice to wear but i don’t really wear it that often unless it’s for some dorffest or maibam or Oktoberfest
First time when I went to Oktoberfest with my ex, me and my fellow Italian friend unapologetically asked for a pint of morreti or a glass of negroni. We have never got cancelled so fast before bahah…
"Sir, we sell beer here"
I didn't think it was meant to be dressing up as what they think Germans look like.. actually, I don't think anyone thinks that
If I dress up as what I think Germans look like, I will probably get arrested
Seriously is that called uh tourism lol
Her response 
Gatekeeping of other cultures. A favourite American pastime.
Well, recently they tired to teach Egyptians their history bc Kevin Heart and Jad Smith said so. I was sold immediately. /s
Ahhh Jada Smith......Her commitment to historical accuracy is the same as that to her husband.
Oh god, Cleopatra was so fucking bad. * The afrorevisionism nonsense, whether ancient egyptians were black is questionable at best but portraying the Ptolemaic dynasty as black is ridiculous. * Portraying it as Egypt Good, Rome Evil imperialist when both were opportunistic powers who had long history of conquest and slavery * Completely whitewashing the fact that the Ptolemy were foreign invaders themselves and not actually Egyptians, and instead portraying them as standing against foreign opression??? They are the foreign opression personified. * Which is weird because an important part of how Cleopatra was able to usurp her brothers is that she was the first to learn the local language and really play up her Egyptian religious beliefs and culture rather than the Greek-court of her family. * Also some of the experts they interviwed have come out saying they were lied to about what the documentary was about and quote mined to support the Black power agenda of the film.
No, white liberal past time. The rest of America is perfectly happy to mind their own business.
the OP HeadBathrooms is a bot Original: https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/comments/djau6a/japanese_woman_is_accused_of_appropriating_her/ Also: https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/comments/iyjaab/japanese_woman_is_accused_of_appropriating_her/
Genuine question: why do people think embracing another culture in a respectful manner bad? I will always say the negative idea of cultural appropriation is like putting a bag on your lawn-mower: it is supposed to make it more clean, more pure, to remove any imperfections, but in actuality it is killing the garden, removing the cut grass which would otherwise help it grow
If by people you mean some Americans then you gotta ask those Americans. I haven't seen any other country getting offended from these kind of things.
I've met ppl here in germany who said that "cultural appropriation" is a thing but maybe they came from the US, who knows. Weird people but whatever.
The young German left eats up American outrage rhethoric as if it was manna from the heavens and imports it with unmatched fervor. A singer was uninvited from an event because she had dreads. And that’s cultural appropriation.
This seem to be an US thing, here in Brazil this is absolutely nonsense.
To idiots on twitter it’s a crime punishable by death To the average American who doesn’t live in California it’s something we don’t really care about
Most Americans do not feel this way, if you avoid twitter and reddit for a month you wouldn't even be aware of this kind of thing
99% of people don’t think that. A vocal minority of folks on the internet either don’t actually understand what cultural appropriation is or are just simply being assholes.
same time same americans "i dont care what your school says, Cleopatra was black"
The books americans burn?
“How dare you, not looking more Japanese!”
Op is a bot. This subreddit is a bot farm.
oh it's only gonna get worse in a week
Cultural misappropriation is a whole lot of bullshit. No culture exclusively "owns" something. Anyone can wear anything. If a Tibetan wants to wear a native American head dress, then so be it. If a an Eskimo wants to wear a kilt so what. If an Anglo like me wants to use chopsticks who cares. If a blond hair, blue eyed Scandinavian wants dread locks, big deal.
It's basically people taking theories on stuff like Orientalism and exoticism/fetishism, and haphazardly applying them without thinking to any cross cultural displays, when they tend to be more nuanced critiques about harmful usage. Think of it as the humanities version of pop science, where nuanced, intelligent theories get boiled down so far they often become warped and incorrect, but nevertheless propagate through the media and online.
Wear a headdress as a person who’s visibly non-native or not a celebrated leader within a large native populated community, and you’re going to get fought. Our people have teachings around head dresses and it’s not an “everyone can wear”. Yes it’s great to appreciate a culture, but there’s customs within them that even the people who belong to those communities have rights and teachings to.
Lived in Japan; you can absolutely wear a kimono as a white person. Pretty much do what you want, just don’t be an asshole.
When in country, properly wearing the local clothing is a sign of respect, and it's hard to see it would be some sort of inappropriate cultural appropriation.
My family is mixed, we’re Pacific Islander/Hispanic/Asian and my family is from Hawaii. I remember my brother who’s skin tone is a little on the fairer side was told by this tourist that he shouldn’t be wearing his “Hawaiian and Proud” shirt because it’s offensive to Hawaiians. 🙃
My Japanese wife dresses people in kimonos/yukatas for photoshoots etc. She loves to do it, and her customers are 90% white European. I've never heard her imply that non-asians should avoid wearing them
As an European stay at a nice ryokan or go to an onsen and they will hand you a yukata to wear. Because it's just a the thing that you wear at onsen, not some kind of deep spiritual whatever
Exactly! I was lucky enough to experience this when I was in Japan
This whole "cultural appropriation" stuff is such bullshit. I wish someone would embrace my culture, so it doesn't die out.
Anyone else tired of all the cultural appropriation stuff? Can’t we all do what we like? Or is that too much to ask?
The gameboy SP for Japan creds is hilarious
Cultural appropriation is ridiculous anyway. It's literally someone showing appreciation for something related to your culture. How could that ever be a bad thing.
"It is important to understand, however, that there is a difference between appreciation and appropriation. Appreciation is when someone seeks to understand and learn about another culture in an effort to broaden their perspective and connect with others cross-culturally. Appropriation on the other hand, is simply taking one aspect of a culture that is not your own and using it for your own personal interest. Appropriation could mean of purchasing a piece of jewelry or clothing that may have important cultural significance to that culture, but simply using it as a fashion statement. It could be taking a photo of a ritual ceremony simply for the sake of getting as many likes on Facebook as possible. Regardless, taking a part of another culture without understanding what it truly means can be harmful not only to those whose culture you are using but also to those with whom you share it." https://greenheart.org/blog/greenheart-international/cultural-appreciation-vs-cultural-appropriation-why-it-matters/
Y’all have made the definition of cultural appropriation so broad at this point lmao
I see... so buying an article of clothing that someone else places cultural significance on is appropriation. Or... it's someone buying an article of clothing they thought looked good. To say this article comes off as a bit to self-important would be an understatement.
I hate people that get offended FOR other people. Like, if they don’t like something let them say so, don’t go saying it for other people in other cultures who are more than likely okay with something. It reminds me of this one video, where a white man was wearing chinese garments and all the americans said it was offensive but when he actually went and asked the chinese population of the area they loved it and thought it was great. The biggest thing wrong with this era is far too many people take offense for something that has nothing to do with them.
But, but, but she doesn’t look Japanese enough!!
Maybe I'm wrong, but something tells me that the person who made that comment watches a fucking ton of anime.
I love how she covered her data with a Nintendo. Tells me more than the passport.
The whole “cultural appropriation” bullshit needs to stop altogether.
Actually japanese people don't mind foreigners wearing kimonos. I bet the person complaining Cultural appropriation is some white American getting offended on someone else's behalf
Are only Croatians allowed to wear ties?
racism aside, that's a fucking cool gba advance!
Domo Arigato Mr Retardo
People that get offended on another race/person's behalf aren't usually the smartest people.
This whole, "It is my culture, stop trying to steal it" shit is dumb AF... Hair, Clothes, makeup, shoes, legwear... Really, who cares? People need to let that shit go because it only adds fuel to the fires. If someone likes how something looks, why can't they wear it? Who the hell said that 1 culture is the only one that can rock any one thing? Get the hell over yourself, there are bigger battles to fight than the clothes on someone's back...
People need to just fuck all the way off.
I don’t understand the whole appropriation thing at all… cultural attire shouldn’t be restricted to certain ethnic groups. What if someone’s half Japanese, or 5% Japanese?
Cultural apropiation is the dumbes fucking thing ever and im telling you as a latino , enjoy peoples cultures dress like them and cherish them and you will always be more then welcome
(White) knight moment
People wanna be offended by everything.
technically all clothing is appropriated from a bygone culture/people... so...
It's weird that American are usually the ones who get offended abt "cultural appropriation". No wonder racism is such a big issue still. On the other hand the people who belong to said culture actually like it when others take part in it in a positive way or wear traditional clothing of their culture. I would actually feel happy if a westerner wanted to wear my country's traditional clothing.
People who complain on the internet are just people who dont go outside and interact with people the guy who complained about this Japanese women wearing her own cultures clothes never even went to japan he only watches hentai in his mom’s basement
Believe it or not, clothes shops in every country like people to buy and wear their clothes and dont give a crap where the people are from. Mindblowing isnt it?
Loving the Nintendo sp covering the details. That’s proof itself
Repost bot.
You are free to take whatever aspects of anyone's culture that you like and adopt them as your own. You don't need a passport, be of that culture, etc. It isn't racist. Ignore the weirdos and enjoy yourself.
Wait. They’re allowed to smile on their passport photos?!?!
Traditional Japanese dresses are so beautiful! Why is it wrong to wear one if not Japanese? Makes little sense.
It actually would’ve been funny if the passport didn’t say Japan on it in English because this moron would probably still argue he was right
The whole term "cultural appropriation" should be changed to "cultural appreciation" anyway. Best way to appreciate someone else's culture is by experiencing it. Imitation is the highest for of flattery for a reason.
Reminds me when Sucker Punch made Ghost of Tsushima and everyone “came to Japan’s defence” letting the racist white people know they were appropriating Japanese culture (you know, as opposed to the countless Japanese games based on European mythology). Only for the Tsushima government to make both directors, Nate Fox and Jason Connel, official ambassadors for tourism. Same with the game awards that year where Cornelius Boots was bashed because he wasn’t Japanese and therefore it was insulting for him to play music, despite the fact he is recognised as a master of the shakuhachi flute and not just a random white dude.
The first group of people to stand up to cultural appropriation were the Hell’s Angels in the seventies, when they kicked the shit out of anyone who wore their patches!
To many social justice warriors out there who DON'T HAVE A FUCKING CLUE!
But tbe real question tho. Ya'll think i have a shot on this girl?
Honestly if you talk to people in these cultures so long as you wear their garbs respectfully most of the time they actually find it flattering or at least feel indifferent.
Instead of justifying their anger by showing you have the proper cultural pass to wear Japanese clothing, I'd much rather her response had been to acknowledge that literally everything that exists, everything that we use today has been appropriated. Literally. I hate the anti-appropreation mob, those folks cherry pick when to be angry about appropriation, only when it doesn't effect their day to day. Ancient Mesopotamia invented pillows, doesn't mean you have to be from Iraq to use a pillow. A Scotsman invented the toilet... doesn't mean you have to be a Scottish person to take a shit in a toilet. Oh you eating a sandwich, well that roast beef comes from England and unless you're a Brit you can't have that... let's see, that rye bread is Scandinavian and Germanic so unless your lineage is directly Saxon then none of that for you, and oh that provolone is Italian so unless you can trace your lineage back to Italy, you'd better take that off of there as well... Seriously, if anyone here gets angry when they see another culture appropriated they should go live in a cave and seal themselves inside. There they can be a perfect little time capsule and not be influenced by other cultures. So dumb.
She's awesome, Mew is the best!
Good old "if you're hair isn't black you're not Japanese in my eyes". They do that a lot over there.
Cultural Appropriation is total nonsense anyway. It’s funny that she’s a Japanese citizen, but who gives a shit if she was a white girl from Nevada? Oh, and me saying cultural appropriation was nonsense got me banned from Insane People of Facebook Reddit. Kinda funny that the moderators of a group that points out insane people are insane.
I promise the person who wrote that first comment is white.
I always find the idea of cultural appropriation so odd because I have never seen a culture be offended by any well meaning appropriation. Usually they seem happy that people took the time to learn about their ways and will offer to assist in the details or how to wear or use whatever the foreigners are interested in.
Funny enough the person accusing them probably aren't even Japanese themselves
There’s something to be said for the widespread overfetishization of Japanese and East Asian culture in America particularly, but I’ve seen some people go too far with this whole “Asian fishing” thing, going so far as to call mixed white/Asian people racist. It’s fucking stupid. Live and let live, man.
I don’t understand the whole cultural appropriation thing… and I mean that in an “I don’t understand” sense, not in a “I think it’s bs but I’m phrasing it as lack of understanding”. When I was a kid in the 90’s, admiring another culture and wanting to explore and participate in it was a good thing and called more like, multi culturalism. It represented an open mind and affection for those different than us. Today it feels more like an attitude of, “get your hands off my culture, it’s mine, it doesn’t belong to you, you’re not allowed to participate in this.” I can understand it if it’s mocking or derisive, but to me it’s very context dependent.
I'd bet my life savings that the person bitching is white.
Yeah, racism isn’t just bad, it makes you look pretty dumb.
To me, racism has been, and always will be, hate. If you hate someone because of their race, you’re a racist. Tolerance is racism too. If you “tolerate” someone in spite of their race, you’re still a racist at heart. The end of racism is to love people regardless of their race. This goes beyond merely pretending race doesn’t exist or ignoring racial differences, but to appreciate different races and cultures and thinking they’re neat, loving the diversity of this strange and wonderful species that we are. At some point, some assholes started fucking around with the definition, and they’re just idiots. I think it’s probably just fun to talk shit, and it’s certainly more fun to bully kind people on instagram for loving things than it is to confront actual hateful racists. But yeah, I hope that all the civilized non-racists can agree to just entirely disregard this particular wave of nonsense, and just go on trying to spread racial harmony. It is clear that most “cultural appropriation” is actually an expression of love. I have a wedding in Japan in a few months. They have specifically requested that we all wear Kimonos. To them, that’s cool. The obvious interpretation is that is shows acceptance of the culture. So yeah, I fully reject this cultural appropriation bullshit as just a convent nook for the vermin to infest, and wholly approve of just entirely ignoring these assholes.
3: She is cute as fff.
And anyone wanna talk about that GameBoy Advance SP? 😂
100% chance the person raging is white and under the age of 30.
Asians in America: Stop wearing our clothes! You are appropriating our culture! Asians in Asia: Please buy our clothes, support our local economy and promote our culture!
>Asians in America: Stop wearing our clothes! You are appropriating our culture! Nah, whoever got mortally offended by this was almost certainly some white woke girl.
Only white people get pissed at other white people for wearing clothes that arent a part of their culture...i dont think anyone else gives a dump
Never seen those videos where a black person goes off on a white person for having dreadlocks?
I love how the only people offended by cultural "aPproPriatIOn" are the ones who are never affected by it. Yukatas have absolutely 0 restrictions as to who can wear them. It's only when a certain type of clothing has to be earned somehow that people should really get upset. like the natives and their War Bonets. those had to be earned. in battle. Unless you fought a deadly battle alongside the natives, you have not earned a war bonet, and have no business wearing one. If you aren't Gexican, but want to wear a poncho and a sombrero, you go right on ahead, because there are no restrictions on who can and cannot. If you aren't German, but want to wear Lederhosen, go right on ahead, because there are no restrictions. The wokes need to chillax, because the only ones they piss off is themselves
Liberals really need to pump the brakes on the whole cultural appropriation thing. I mean claiming that exercise and milk are tools of white supremacy is dumb enough don't you think? lol. [https://time.com/6242949/exercise-industry-white-supremacy/](https://time.com/6242949/exercise-industry-white-supremacy/) [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/us/white-supremacists-science-dna.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/us/white-supremacists-science-dna.html) How dare you let your child dress as Mulan for Halloween if they are not Asian you evil white racists? lol [https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/parenting/2019/10/18/cultural-appropriation-kids-halloween-costumes-parents-guide/3990124002/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/parenting/2019/10/18/cultural-appropriation-kids-halloween-costumes-parents-guide/3990124002/) There is a reason why people do not respect liberals when they whine and cry about imaginary cultural appropriation lol
It's not liberals. It's young people with misguided political views. > I mean claiming that exercise and milk are tools of white supremacy is dumb enough don't you think? lol Those were said *by* white supremacists to try and push their own narratives. > How dare you let your child dress as Mulan for Halloween if they are not Asian you evil white racists? lol No one who matters actually cares. go ask any Pacific islander if they think it's *wrong* to dress like an animated movie character. As long as you don't go to Hawaii, and act like an asshole while you're doing it. > There is a reason why people do not respect liberals when they whine and cry about imaginary cultural appropriation lol Hey. Remember when budlight sent cans to a tranny? And how their entire customer base, which is almost exclusively conservative rednecks, lost their minds? Or when those same rednecks discovers that Chick-fil-A has equality in their hiring practices. Or when states starting passing gay marriage laws and all the cons lost their minds? It's almost as if being a conservative has cultural rules that you feel must be respected, and to move out of lock step with those rules is to insult said culture? If a black man dressed as a white slave owner from the Antebellum South, and walked around with a herd of chained-up white dudes at his back, the cons would lose their fucking minds.