In sections of the media concerned with representation and social justice, it seems we can barely endure a week without a newsworthy incident about 'cultural appropriation'. While examples of cultural appropriation can be found in just about any cultural facet or artefact1, the true complexity of cultural appropriation is often not fully appreciated or sufficiently articulated.

Cultural appropriation involves the use of one culture's elements by a group or individual that does not belong to that culture. However, this definition is lacking because such an interaction may be labelled simply as cultural exchange. And that argument would be difficult to defeat because, firstly, who 'owns' a culture? And secondly, borrowing from one culture and lending to another has been the way of the world since human society began, according to recorded history and anthropologists.

So what makes cultural exchange different from cultural appropriation? As with most points of cultural contention, the difference is power. In particular, the power of the privileged to borrow and normalise a cultural element of another group, while the group whose culture has been appropriated is often demonised and excluded because of that very cultural element.

A recent example of cultural appropriation is the wearing of hairstyles associated with global black culture. From cornrows and Senegalese twists to knots and dreadlocks, which are all rooted in the African diaspora2 and many of which have been a part of African cultures' heritage for centuries, black hairstyles in the current culture have been deemed 'fashionable' by celebrities. On the face of it, it appears harmless. But in truth, it ignores the racial dynamics at work where black women are discredited or overlooked for wearing black/African hairdos. This is power. This is cultural appropriation.

As a Nigerian, I could easily empathise. A few years ago, the popular English chef, Jamie Oliver, came out with his own recipe for Jollof rice, a West African dish. While West Africans themselves often debate who makes the best rice, many all over the diaspora took to the Internet to reject Jamie Oliver's recipe and let him know, thanks, but no thanks. If Jollof is to be the international sensation it ought to be, it will not be Jamie Oliver who makes it so.

For those speaking from positions of power, the idea of cultural appropriation may be seen as an affront to their historical liberty to participate in cultures freely – a liberty that has often resulted in everything from cultural annihilation and loss to colonisation. That history occurred the way it did, has set us up for a cultural moment in which exchange between cultures cannot be viewed as simply occurring in a vacuum. This fact is certainly lost on novelist Lionel Shriver, who recently gave one of the most culturally tone-deaf speeches at the Brisbane Festival.

Shriver's words were nothing short of uneducated, lacking in empathy, and an intentional misappropriation of the concept. In her address, Shriver commented, 'I hope that the concept of cultural appropriation is a passing fad,' and went on to wear a sombrero3, while staking out her claim to do so, and discussing how writers of fiction are entitled to imagine the lives of others. Her arguments suggest that awareness and cognisance of cultural appropriation would mean that fiction writers lose this right.

Shriver, like so many others, misses the point of cultural appropriation. A sombrero is a cultural artefact of a culture she does not belong to, and without understanding it carefully and approaching it cautiously, she can misuse this artefact to represent or misrepresent a culture. But what Shriver fails to realise is that an entire nation of people is symbolised only by that artefact because of the power of those from privileged cultures to exchange in such a manner.

For those who care about culture, cultural appropriation is no passing fad. It is the concept that gives a label to the experience of being from a culture that has been disabused of its power by other cultures who now seek to borrow from it, at no cost, and with no reverence for history. If it's cultural exchange you want, it's up to you to make every effort to learn as much as possible about a people's history and its artefacts. If you participate fully and graciously in another culture, to call it cultural exchange means that you are aware of your distance from and relationship to it. And if you choose to borrow, hopefully you do so in such a way as to revere the culture and its people, and amplify the beauty of that culture, with an honest understanding too of its shortcomings but, most importantly, ensuring that members of that culture are seen, heard and appreciated. That's the difference between cultural appropriation – 'borrowing', or even stealing, from another culture – and cultural exchange, a fairer and more reciprocal transaction.

GLOSSARY:

1artefact: made/manufactured thing that represents a culture/symbol

2diaspora: scattering of nations

3sombrero: wide-brimmed Mexican hat

Questions 

QUESTIONS: TEXT A

1.1 State, in your own words, the point the writer is making in paragraph 1. (2)

1.2 Provide an outline of the argument presented by the writer in paragraph 2. (2)

1.3 Refer to paragraph 3.

Explain the role that power plays in cultural appropriation. (2)

1.4 Refer to paragraph 4.

How do celebrities influence the perception of cultural appropriation? (2)

1.5 Suggest why the writer includes the aside, 'thanks, but no thanks' (line 32). (3)

1.6 How does the language used in paragraph 6 indicate the writer's attitude to 'cultural appropriation'? (3)

1.7 Critically comment on Shriver's hope that 'cultural appropriation is a passing fad' (lines 45–46). (3)

1.8 Is the writer justified in saying, 'If you participate fully and graciously in another culture, to call it cultural exchange means that you are aware of your distance from and relationship to it' (lines 62–64)?

Substantiate your answer by making close reference to paragraph 9. (3)

1.9 Complete the statement below. Choose the answer and write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (1.9) in the ANSWER BOOK.

The overall tone of TEXT B is …

A

B

C

D

flippant.

matter-of-fact.

dismayed.

resentful.            (1)

1.10 How does the image support the headline 'RESPECT OR THEFT?'? (2)

1.11 'MAKES REAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE INVISIBLE'

Discuss the impact this statement is intended to have on the reader. (3)

Last Edited by: Mr T Naidoo