Cultural misappropriation

someone feel bad about my symbol of illuminati?

Brenna wrote: Its fashion week here in NZ, and there been some feathers flying (if you'll excuse the pun) at the fact that a very well known local designer sent a model down the runway dressed like this...

Attachment h6cc7173.jpg not found

Naturally there has been a lot of discussion on it which I've been watching with interest, and I was wondering what the opinions here are.

Edit - for interest, this is an article thats surfaced several times during the discussions... http://nativeappropriations.com/2010/04/but-why-cant-i-wear-a-hipster-headdress.html

My opinion? She looks good.

My daughter is Mohawk. Can't speak for her directly but I think she'd be upset if this was connected to anything disrespectfull to her culture.

Before we begin to decide who's right and who's wrong here, we should remember that we are debating the use of symbols. Not clothing. Not feathers. Symbols.

A swastika is not always evil, and a cross does not always have to have a religious connotation. They are symbols given meaning by PEOPLE. Symbols mean different things to different cultures. Burning a cross on someone's lawn has a much different meaning to someone who grew up in the 1960's Southern U.S. than it might to someone living in China now.

In any case where it is deemed that a symbol is being misappropriated, I think it is very important to determine what MEANING is being assigned to the symbol by the offended party as well as the party using it. Was this designer intending to honor Native Americans or mock their traditions? Would the same outfit be presented in the U.S. where the meaning may be perceived differently? Do the offended parties all agree on the same meaning of the symbols in question? Would it still be offensive if the model was a Native American woman?

Perhaps the more important question would be 'is there not more important things going on in the world to be worried about right now?'

The attachment argument could go both ways, but I would make this statement:

There are things in the world that do not belong to you. This includes cultural information and symbols. Some cultural statements appear to be mainstream, essentially open to everyone. Other symbols are not. That decision lies with the culture of origin. Obviously, not all members of that culture will agree. No culture is monolithic. But if people are hurt by your appropriation, why is your interest more important than their pain?

I admire a great many cultures from which I am not descended. Part of that respect is knowing where not to tread. If I overstep, I step back.

Symbols must be kept in perspective, but are still very important. Did the designer intend disrespect? Probably not. The designer put that headdress in the runway because she thought it was beautiful. I find this mostly irrelevant. A more important question is this: when she found that she had committed an inadvertent offense, did she make an effort to make right or did she push on? The initial mistake may have simply been naive. Pushing on shows a deep level of entitlement that is very disrespectful and hurtful.

In THIS particullay situation I think they only people that can decide if this is offensive are Native Americans and I suspect within their community opinions may vary widely.

Ex: I'm bald, bald jokes don't offend me. Some bald men are offended by them.

Is there ever a situation where someone isn't offended by somehing in this imperfect world?

I don't think WE should make a big deal about the picture.

Maybe the designer's intent is to recogize beautiful Native women?

Baldness, on its own, is not a cultural feature.

Cabur Senaar wrote: Baldness, on its own, is not a cultural feature.

I resemble this remark...

Depends on the culture...skinheads tend to value baldness...otherwise why constantly shave their heads,( my perspective is that they shave their heads to hide the fact that they aren't the "pure" race they claim, my brother for example is german,irish, and polish)...

The only time an issue exists is when someone makes it an issue...if no one gets offended there are no issues....the moment one or two people get a wild hair up their keisters then all of the sudden it's an issue...you can't please all of the people all of the time...

This is definitely my culture. My spouse and I have been heavily involved in Native American education and worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help the native people of the Americas. I have personally hosted and organized Pow Wows for many years. I have been a guest speaker and held lectures across many states and colleges/universities, mostly the north east United States.

We all have different tolerance levels. I personally do not take offense to this, but I am not sensitive. When a part of a culture becomes "cool" then it will be used. As seen in the picture above.

As a shaman, there are some sacred things I would not like seeing at a non-sacred event. As stated there are many tribes and not all of them chase buffalo and wear war bonnets or sleep in tee pees. I have seen dress up fake “pleather” Indians at events and generally they are shunned or corrected.

The stereotypes can be offensive. I have seen many Natives take offense to such things as this, and I have seen many not. Political correctness can cause more harm than good some times. If I dressed up as a military person or a police officer, some may take offense to that and others may think it is not a big deal. But if you go walking down the street wearing a medal you did not earn, most veterans will take offense.

I prefer to educate. Explain to them what they are doing “wrong” and how they may be offending the people they are emulating. My best recommendation is, if in doubt ask. Most natives are proud of their heritage and will explain things if approached. Be respectful to each other. Again I always go back to, what is the intent? Why did they dress up that way? Was it to honor the native people? Or was it to poke fun at a perceived obsolete culture? These are two completely different intents, with two totally different reactions.

Please remember, there are tribes and native people still suffering and being persecuted today in our time. The “fight” is not over to many of them and they struggle in very bad living conditions.

I can't wait for the people of Nîmes to complain about all those non-nimois wearing denim because it's offensive to their culture and traditions.