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When and how to wear dred locks or braids when one doesn't identify as Black or African American.

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Some African cultures did use tattoos in ceremonious ways. 

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options: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdjNKJa8/

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Being aware that cultural differences and similarities between people exist without assigning them a value – positive or negative, better or worse, right or wrong.

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seeking more clear vocabulary for this concept

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https://thehill.com/changing-america/opinion/479647-lizzo-is-the-latest-to-appropriate-asian-culture-with-dangerous?amp

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On Jan. 26, rising star musical artist Lizzo will make her Grammy debut as both a performer and a nominee. In fact, she's racked up the most nominations out of any artist this year with a total of eight, including in the category of Best New Artist.

It's no mystery why Lizzo has become such a beloved artist over the past year. She's been a refreshing breath of upbeat, self-loving air. She exudes relatability and body positivity, as well as having some really catchy songs to boot and incredible flautist abilities. It is unfortunate, then, that she's now going through a stage that many pop stars seem to go through, made even more disappointing by her own pride in being a powerful black woman and owning her blackness: blatant and unacknowledged appropriation of Asian culture.
The Rolling Stone cover and David LaChapelle
The cover itself is well in line with photographer David LaChapelle's style, which often draws inspiration from art history and plays on biblical imagery. The photos inside the magazine's pages tell a different tale though, as Lizzo is portrayed in one image fully nude save for serpentine body paint - her head, shoulders and hands adorned with accessories one would typically only see in Southeast Asian ceremonial dance. (Lizzo and LaChapelle have not responded to Changing America's requests for an interview.)

Other photos depict Lizzo equally nude playing a flute, with only silver heels on her feet and matching fans on her head, influence taken from geisha culture. Geisha culture plays an influence throughout the photoshoot, like in a photo of the artist draped across a sofa with a fan in her hand and orchids in her hair.

"YASSSSS WE LOVE CULTURAL APPROPRIATION," says Instagram user endy.leonardo_rmrz on Lizzo's post of the Rolling Stone shoot. The comment has already racked up nearly 250 likes as well as replies in agreement. "Ok so I'm not the only one? I was gonna say..." reads a comment by user girl_strange.

Some Instagram commenters such as lifeasoflate go further into detail: "Love me some Lizzo. But is everyone gonn [sic] freak out about the culture appropriation in this photo they way they do with other celebrities appropriating black culture? (Cambodian head dress.)"

" I just don't understand why people think it's okay to use the cultural dress of others and wear it this way," user moe_ngin writes. "Like I love Lizzo and her positivity and her music is amazing and that she is paving her own way. This is just the second time within the last few weeks that I've seen Asian dress used in this way and it is NOT okay."
An ongoing trend Stereotypes played out on stage
Back in 2013 Caucasian pop star Katy Perry took the American Music Awards stage to perform her hit song "Unconditional" fully dressed as a geisha, swirling a paper fan with a face that was painted white. "It's these kind of stereotypical visuals that plays into white fetishization of Asian women," wrote The Atlantic's Nolan Feeney about the performance. "Something Perry doesn't have to deal with when she takes off her costume."

Other pop stars that have been publicly criticized for their appropriation and sexualization of Asian culture include , Ariana Grande , Selena Gomez , Avril Lavigne , Gwen Stefani and Kim Kardashian-West, who came under fire recently after naming her new shapewear line Kimono. The star even applied to trademark the word "Kimono" as well as related terms "Kimono Body," "Kimono Intimates" and "Kimono World." After facing massive scrutiny for the decision, Kardashian-West changed the name of the line to SKIMS.
Appreciation vs. appropriation
The main counterargument for cultural appropriation is that the offender is merely attempting to show their appreciation for the culture. Many celebrities, such as Ariana Grande and Avril Lavigne, have been criticized for ripping off Japanese culture in particular, and replied by citing trips to Japan and a deep love for Japanese culture, geisha culture, or Harajuku culture as their reasons for incorporating certain elements into their performances and videos.

Experts say a good rule of thumb to consider is that appropriation can be thought of as "cherry picking" from someone else's culture - taking elements that you consider to be beautiful or aspirational and neglecting to include or mention others that aren't so pretty. Another common aspect of appropriation is failure to give credit to the culture you're drawing inspiration from in the first place.

There's no issue to be taken when someone finds true inspiration from a culture other than their own, only when the inspired person lacks the foundational knowledge to accurately represent it. Look into the negative and problematic stereotypes of the culture that inspires you - really do your research. Give credit where it is due, and you'll be exhibiting true cultural appreciation.

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Lizzo is the latest to appropriate Asian culture, with dangerous implications

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On Jan. 26, rising star musical artist Lizzo will make her Grammy debut as both a performer and a nominee. In fact, she's racked up the most nominations out of any artist this year with a total of eight, including in the category of Best New Artist.

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In the yoga world, there is a lot of talk about using the word "Namaste" and how there is a lot of appropriation by the western world

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In the yoga world, there is a lot of talk about using the word "Namaste" and how there is a lot of appropriation by the western world

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https://aninjusticemag.com/westernization-and-cultural-appropriation-in-yoga-40e91944b292

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How did a practice that didn't originate in western countries become overwhelmingly white?

picture by: Stephanie Greene

Picture this: a thin, white, able-bodied woman wearing leggings and a sports bra, hands together at the heart center, eyes closed. That's the face of yoga in the western mainstream.

How did a practice that didn't originate in western countries become overwhelmingly white? How does cultural appropriation show up in western yoga?

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Westernization and Cultural Appropriation in Yoga

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Picture this: a thin, white, able-bodied woman wearing leggings and a sports bra, hands together at the heart center, eyes closed. That's the face of yoga in the western mainstream. How did a practice that didn't originate in western countries become overwhelmingly white? How does cultural appropriation show up in western yoga?

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http://thriftshopchic.com/can-i-wear-tribal-prints/

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On Tuesday I showed you my recently thrifted tops for fall. One of those pieces is a "tribal" top from Xhilaration, meaning it features a print drawing from the art of some sort of tribal culture, often indigenous to the Americas or Africa. (This phenomenon also happens with Indian, Polynesian, and Asian cultures, although I haven't seen those labeled "tribal"-I'm thinking henna as decoration, fish hook necklaces and puka shells, Chinese character tattoos...unfortunately the list is pretty long.)

In the case of my shirt, we're talking about a riff on a Navajo pattern:

Similar patterns are easy to find on the Internet:

Laramie Blake wears a biil, a traditional woven dress. Source

Anita Bekay with her prize-winning rug from 2012. Source
Alice Roy in front of a rug she wove. Source

You can google "Navajo weaving" and see a bunch more of these style that look even closer to my shirt, but I chose pictures with the women who create and wear this pattern to make a point: patterns like this mean something in their original context; they weren't created in a vacuum but instead are tied to the lives, beliefs, and values of real people-real people who are at best obscured by such representations and at worst oppressed by the culture that appropriates them.

Thanks Amandla!
What's cultural appropriation, you say? So glad you asked!

I am growing in my understanding of cultural appropriation by White people of Black culture, and thanks to a badass high school history teacher, I've been aware for even longer of the crippling, centuries-long oppression facing Native peoples in the US and how their images and artifacts have been used to turn a profit without their permission. (Thanks Ms. Davis!)

In other words, there's a reason you'll never see me do the "Tomahawk Chop" even though I live in Atlanta.

From KTZ. Source
But, to be honest, I had never realized how very directly connected the fun, funky "tribal" patterns at Target (or in my case at the thrift store) are to the appropriation of Native cultures. In fact, I was waiting for just the right "tribal" print to make it through to the thrift racks so that I could make it my own. Ahem.

Thank God for the Internet, because a guest column on a style blog I read highlighted some particularly egregious examples of high fashion cultural appropriation, and a light bulb went off:

Different color scheme; same shapes, cut, and general pattern.
From Isabel Marant. Source. Source. Source.

Hits a little too close to home in the "let's dress up as Indians!" department.

That first post led me to Native Appropriations, where Dr. Adrienne Keene wrote about the appropriation of Native imagery by non-Native couture fashion, including an instance where a designer blatantly copied from a dress by Northern Cheyenne/Crow artist Bethany Yellowtail with no credit attributed and with no understanding of the spiritual or social significance of the images used without permission:

Maybe you don't see a direct enough resemblance here to merit outrage; after all, there is "nothing new" under the sun and all fashion is basically a riff on what's come before, right? Just like pop drawing on hip hop, right?

It's true that art forms of all kinds are always borrowing from, drawing off of, others' creativity. But to me it comes down to a power difference.

When those of us who have more power in this society make something our own that has its origins in the creativity of a group with less power, that group is never in a position to control how their art, fashion, music, etc. is used.

It becomes a monologue instead of a conversation, and a monologue borrowed without permission at that (one might say stolen or cribbed or plagiarized), a piece performed as one's own without recognition of, or respect for, the place it came from. (See: Iggy Azalea.)

As Dr. Keene suggested, non-Native designers can work with Native designers to produce original content for their fashion lines, highlighting that collaboration and the origins of the imagery they use. But few, if any, ever do.

I can choose to support designers like Bethany Yellowtail (and others mentioned below) and continue to do my homework on issues facing Native peoples and the brutal history of violence and betrayal perpetrated by my country that led to those issues. A B. Yellowtail dress doesn't come with an asterisk explaining my outfit's provenance to the average passerby, though. All they see is a fun, funky "tribal" print making me look hip and chic; no one learns that Native designers are doing amazing things (unless they compliment me on my awesome outfit and I get the chance to tell them). No one is challenged to acknowledge that the rip-off mass fashion patterns that look so similar to what I'm wearing came from somewhere, a "somewhere" that is rarely celebrated or even represented in the dominant culture in a positive way.
More of Bethany Yellowtail's goregous work
And that's not so chic.

I'll be skipping the fast fashion "tribal" prints from here on out, and I'd love your thoughts on wearing the work of indigenous/non-White designers who draw inspiration from their cultural traditions - particularly if you identify as belonging to one of those cultures.

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Resources:
Batik prints
Beyond Buckskin: supporting Native designers through resources, artist profiles, a shop, and a roundup of Native-designed brands-thanks Stephanie!

8th Generation, the first Native company to make wool blankets-they're incredible, check them out!

Just a taste of the oppression of indigenous peoples in the US

Ankara (West African wax-resist fabric)

Kenji Yoshino's similar argument re: wearing ivory

Interesting article on Pendleton's collaboration with Native communities-when does it veer into cultural appropriation?

(Please leave more resources in the comments!)

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Can I Wear "Tribal" Prints? - Thriftshop Chic

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On Tuesday I showed you my recently thrifted tops for fall. One of those pieces is a "tribal" top from Xhilaration, meaning it features a print drawing from the art of some sort of tribal culture, often indigenous to the Americas or Africa. (This phenomenon also happens with Indian, Polynesian, and Asian cultures, although I haven't ...