|
Building on what Quantumfate said, it looks like the most objectionable forms of appropriation involve taking something from someone else's culture and using it as a form of non-verbal communication towards members of your own in-group. On the other hand, you have something like non-Italians eating spaghetti and meatballs not because doing so presents an image of themselves as (something) but because it's loving delicious. Are we on the right track here?
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2015 17:25
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 12, 2024 00:29 |
|
|
Quantumfate posted:That's an interesting idea- but I wouldn't know that it's upset over an appropriation of their culture as much as an undermining of it. It's also a whole different kettle of fish because the "Gamer Girl" freakout is used to exclude women from certain spaces - women who have been a part of "nerd culture" just as long as the men excluding them.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2015 17:51
|
|
|
JeffersonClay posted:I'm having trouble making any distinction between a white woman wearing a sari and a white woman eating a samosa. Is the latter cultural appropriation? What about using chopsticks or a neti pot? Yoga? Meditation? Surfing? What I understand is that pretty much everything we do around other people is a form of communication. When we wear an article of clothing, even one as simple as a T-shirt, we are communicating something to others. If you wear an article of clothing from another culture, depending on what it is, you might be communicating something different than what the item communicated in its original context. So if you go around wearing a kimono in the USA, you're communicating that you're "exotic" or "different" or maybe even kind of cheeky, when that's not what that garment is meant to communicate. By using that garment to communicate cheekiness/humor, it's possible that those who use it to communicate something more serious, like "formal," or "ceremonial" have their message diluted. On the other hand, if, as I did, you go to Japan and buy a pair of tights with anime kitty faces printed on them, when you wear them in the states, you're communicating cuteness - exactly the same as the native Japanese girls who wear the same tights (obviously adjust for appropriate gender). So in your example of the white woman wearing a sari, I believe where the issue comes is when the white woman wears the sari to communicate that she's exciting/exotic - or maybe even sexy. Women who use the sari to communicate "traditional" or "modest" are unhappy because the strength of the message they're trying to send is being confused or weakened. On the other hand, if you're eating a samosa, all you're saying is "this is freaking tasty," which I think we can all agree on. Yoga/meditation can fall on either side, especially since there are so many different ways to do those things. Ultimately, there comes a point where the original meaning can end up completely destroyed (like how "gay" doesn't mean "happy" anymore and only annoying people split hairs about it). For people in a position of relative powerlessness, I can see how that can be infuriating.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2015 18:16
|
|
|
On the whole engagement ring discussion, I don't think the practice has become totally pointless yet as some have theorized. I and most of my female friends would indeed desire an engagement ring because in our society women still have the most to lose from a relationship. Social implications like "used goods," etc aside, being in a long term relationship has economic costs for a woman. Basically, the fact that women tend to make less means it makes more sense to put all your eggs in the dude's career basket, leading to a vicious cycle where the male partner starts to make more and more than the female partner. That's the real cost to the woman if the relationship goes south. I know that I have given up some career opportunities in order to stay in the same locality so that my boyfriend can continue to advance in his own career. If he can't cough up a measly ring I can show my parents, colleagues, and friends if we get engaged, I'll feel humiliated. In other words, I'll end up giving up tens of thousands of dollars on his behalf. He should show how serious he is by tossing out a few thou to the altar of the diamond God or whatever. I don't think most women can or will articulate it that way, but there is a sense that the dude has to provide a real and material sacrifice to show that he means business. In that regard, not too much has changed, and not much will until women earn as much as men AND men's careers are equally likely to take a back seat. Anecdote - my sister had a POS bum of a boyfriend who would ask her to marry him every time they had a fight. They broke up after maybe 2 years of lovely dating. Maybe if he had coughed up a ring...well, he'd have to have a steady job first. Which brings me back to that ring thing.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 5, 2015 09:18
|
|