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Students wearing others’ ethnic costumes during the annual Racial Harmony Day.

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Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Arden, and other New Zealand women donning headscarves to support Muslims after mosque shootings in Christchurch.

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Tourists wearing the Korean traditional dress, hanbok, at a former palace which is now open to the public. 

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Brazilian model and actress, Alessandra Ambrosio, wearing a Native American feathered headdress for Coachella.

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Gucci model wearing a turban resembling the religious headpiece of the Sikh community.

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Learning Intention and Success Criteria 

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Learning Intention and Success Criteria 

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1. We are learning to distinguish between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation.

2. This is because we need to respect and show appreciation of everyone's traditions and culture, in appropriate ways.

3. I know that I have learnt when I can view images and identify if the action/gesture shows cultural appreciation or cultural appropriation.

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American singer, Katy Perry, dressed as a Japanese Geisha at a Video Music Awards performance.

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American singer, Katy Perry, dressed as a Japanese Geisha at a Video Music Awards performance.

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This is an act of cultural appropriation because Katy Perry is borrowing a culture that is foreign to her for the sake of entertainment.

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Cultural exchange and appreciation are the core values of Greenheart Club. Learning to understand a culture that is different than your own is so important in becoming a global citizen and leader. Through our participants, we've heard so many wonderful stories of people of different backgrounds coming together to exchange ideas through service.

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.

So, how can you explore and take part in a culture without exploiting it for your own use? Here are a few great ways!

Still unsure? Use the infographic below to check yourself and make sure that you are respecting and appreciating other cultures in an appropriate way!

At Greenheart Club, our participants are actively engaged in mutual exchange and cultural appreciation. What are some ways that you show your appreciation of other cultures?

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Cultural Appreciation vs. Cultural Appropriation: Why it Matters

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By Kelsey Holmes, Greenheart Club Program Assistant Cultural exchange and appreciation are the core values of Greenheart Club. Learning to understand a culture that is different than your own is ...

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3E3N1N2 Introduction to Arts and Culture Part 2

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Cultural Appreciation vs Cultural Appropriation

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Experiencing and participating in cultural traditions are some of the best parts of your Greenheart Travel program. Whether it's trying on a kimono for a Japanese tea ceremony on a teen summer language camp or drinking mate in Argentina during your Teach English in a Homestay, you'll learn about your hosts and the country's culture.

Likely, you've heard of the term cultural appropriation. If you haven't, its most simple definition is, "when somebody adopts aspects of a culture that's not their own." A quick Google search will show you this topic is highly debated.

But isn't the point of going abroad to experience another culture?

Absolutely. But just like in the Greenheart Travel Atlas we urge you to be conscious, respectful travelers, we also urge you to engage in the host country's culture. In other words, appreciate vs. appropriate.

Sometimes, it's easy to spot. You (hopefully) cringe when you see people at a music festival wearing Native American headdresses and party-goers donning sombreros and faux mustaches on Cinco de Mayo. In these situations, there's a clear unbalanced "exchange" happening, by that, there is no exchange. It's taking another culture's traditions and removing them from their historical and cultural significance. In those examples, "borrowing" is more like appropriating.

This is especially hurtful in places whose cultures have been ridiculed for centuries. In this article, the authors reference law professor Susan Scafidi's explanation that "[cultural appropriation is] most likely to be harmful when the source community is a minority group that has been oppressed or exploited in other ways or when the object of appropriation is particularly sensitive, e.g. sacred objects."

When you're traveling, it's a bit complicated.

You may wonder if it's a bad idea to wear a Sevillana dress at the verbena (festival) in your Spanish town, meditate at a Buddhist temple with your Thai host family or dance Chile and Peru's cueca when you come back home to the U.S.

In the end, it's not up to us to give you a list of "do's" and "don'ts, because as we said, it's not cut and dry. You must choose for yourself, but two fundamental aspects are respect and context. Ask yourself: Do I understand why this is significant? Am I doing this to honor the culture, rather than imitate it? Am I learning about a culture or perpetuating stereotypes?

Here is an example:

Here is a photo of a traveler wearing a traditional Bedouin scarf while riding a camel in Morocco. Without context, there are clear warning signs. However, at the time, the camel trek guides insisted everyone adopt their attire to protect from the intense Saharan sun and pelting sandstorms. There is a clear invitation.

Now, had this person touted this picture around social media making orientalist jokes, now that would be problematic. So is dressing up as a "Moroccan person" on Halloween.

When it comes to respect, consider your motivations.

Does your desire to wear a Sevillana dress come from a place of curiosity and admiration, or are you doing it for the 'gram? Do you want to seem unique to friends back home, or are you moved by the historical context the outfit was created in? Have you listened to your family's abuela tell stories of the verbenas of her youth, or have you laughed at traditional outfits from afar with your other non-Spanish friends? Will you see it as an opportunity to experience, or will you return home claiming you're the authoritative voice on Spanish traditional dress?

Those are the questions you should be asking.

We want you to embrace the culture during your Greenheart Travel program, but as one article writes the key is "engaging with a culture as a respectful and humble guest, invitation only."

So dive in - but always with respect, compassion and admiration.

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Cultural Appropriation vs Appreciation While Traveling

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Experiencing and participating in cultural traditions are some of the best parts of your Greenheart Travel program. Whether it's trying on a kimono for a Japanese tea ceremony on a teen summer language camp or drinking mate in Argentina during your Teach English in a Homestay, you'll learn about your hosts and the country's culture.

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cultural appropriation. The model is wearing a  turban for the sake of fashion. The model is not donning on the turban for the sake of spreading the ideology of the culture behind the turban. Thus this supports why it is cultural appropriation

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This is cultural appropriation because the model is wearing the turban for Gucci, which is a fashion brand. They are not trying to broaden their perspective of the Sikh community nor are they trying to connect with people from the Sikh community.
Thus, this is cultural apprropriation

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cultural appreciation

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This is cultural appreciation because Racial Harmony Day is a day to celebrate the racial diversity and harmony in Singapore. The students are wearing the other races' ethnic costumes with the hopes of learning more about the culture and their tradition to build stronger inter-racial connections.

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this is an act of cultural appreciation because they are not wearing it just for entertainment, they wore it to learn and appreciate korean culture

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cultural appropriation

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This is an act of cultural appreciation because none of them are wearing other cultures clothing to benefit from it. Furthermore, there is exchange between cultures in the picture as they are wearing clothing from different cultures.
So they are learning about other cultures while properly appreciating them.

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this is cultural appreciation
the tourists in the picture are outside a former palace which suggests that they want to understand the culture and not wearing for their own personal preference

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cultural appeciation. The tourists are learning more about korean traditions when they wear the hanbok. Theyre not disrespecting or wearing it inappropriately.

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cultural appreciation as they are wearing it not for entertainment but for learning more about the korean culture

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i feel that it is cultural appreciation, as they are supporting the muslims who have been through the mosque shooting which was a tragedy. they are not borrowing a culture that is foreign to them.

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It is cultural appreciation because the tourists are wearing them so that they can learn more about the culture.

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This is cultural appropriation as the model is wearing the turban for fashion. There is no effort made to broaden their perspective and connect with others cross-culturally. They are using the Sikh's culture for fashion.

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This is an act of cultural appreciation.They are doing so to support the muslim in their time of need.Not for their personal interest or benefit.

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this is an act of culture appreciation because the prime minister have fully understand what the Muslims are are going through . The prime minister sympathise with them and their act of dressing in head scarfs shows their support towards them. This proves their compassion and respect to the Muslims

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this is cultural appreciation because the aim of racial harmony day is to celebrate and respect each other's races and cultures. By wearing other's ethnic costumes, they are able to understand and learn more about other cultures to better appreciate it.

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this is cultural appreciation as these new zealand womens are wearing the headscarves to show support to muslims who are affected by the mosque shootings in Chirstchurch. They themselves are learning and under tanding their culture.

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This is cultural appreciation. The students are wearing clothing which are respective to their own cultures. This is to not only honour their own cultures and practices, but also help to educate other students about it. This would help people to better accept and appreciate other cultures, so that better understanding of cultures could take place among people.

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This is a cultural appreciation as people are wearing this costumes not to mock others. Instead, they are actually wearing it during Racial Harmony Day as a form of respect to the other racial groups and their own racial groups. They also do this to understand more about the culture of others races to prevent any unintentional misunderstanding between races.

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This is cultural appreciation. The prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Arden understood the significance of the headscarves toward the Muslims, and therefore wore it with the intent of showing support and strength to the Muslims after the unfortunate mosque shootings in Christchurch

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this is cultural appropriation.
the Brazillian model and actress is wearing a Native American feathered headdress for Coachella. She is taking another culture’s traditions and removing them from their historical and cultural significance.

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Cultural appreciation as they are doing so to support the Muslims after the mosque shootings, they are not doing it for their own good.

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this is an act of cultural appropriation as the model is borrowing a culture that is foreign to her to participate in Coachella, which is an arts and music festival. The model does not have the intention to broaden their perspective and connect with others cross-culturally. She is only wearing the Native American feathered headdress for fashion.

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This is cultural appreciation. They are wearing the other races ethnic costumes during Racial Harmony Day. They are not taking aspects of anothers culture and using it for their own personal interest. Instead, they can learn, understand and appreciate the different cultures

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cultural appreciation. the tourists are wearing the hanbok because they want to learn more about the korean tradition and culture.

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This is an act of cultural appreciation because the students are trying to understand and learn more about the culture of other races with respect. Through the exchange of costumes, it further strengthens the harmony of different races and sharpens their knowledge of other cultures.

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This is cultural appropriation. The Brazilian model and actress is wearing a Native American feathered headdress. She may not understand the culture at all. She could simply be wearing that clothing just for the shoot instead of trying to understand and appreciate the culture of Native Americans.

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cultural appreciation. They wore it to support the muslims after the shooting at the mosques.

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This cultural appreciation as the culture is not displayed inappropriately like an aesthetic or entertainment and is used as a way to support Muslims during a trying time.

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It is an act of cultural appreciation. the students wear the different costumes while learning more about the different cultures. They did not use other cultures just for their own gain

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This is an act of cultural appropriation, as the model is borrowing a a traditional headdress from a culture that is not her own, for the sake of looking fashionable for the event Coachella. This event is not for the sake of appreciating culture from other countries, but rather an annual music and arts festival.

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This is an act of cultural appreciation as the prime minister of New Zealand andthe others is giving her support to the people who were victims of the shooting. The New Zealand people are there in hope in show the Muslims that theyare not alone and can overcome this conflict.

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This is an act of cultural appreciation because Alessandra Ambrosio is borrowing a culture that is foreign to her to showcase it during a music and arts festival to promote it

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This is an act of culture appropriation. The Brazilian model, Alessandra Ambrosio, uses the feathered headdress belonging to the Native American for Coachella, which she uses the item of the culture for fashion without understanding the background story of the item. Hence, this is not respecting their item and their culture.