In the post-modern culture we live in in which it is a common sight to see a white guy eating tacos and listening to hip-hop­, it’s surprising to hear people complaining about “cultural appropriation.”
A recent high profile case illustrating this involved trendsetters Vanessa Hudgens and Kendall Jenner sporting bindi forehead gems. The bindi’s cultural heritage is rooted in South Asia and the Hindu religion. The forehead gem statement in the pop culture world is nothing more but just that, a forehead gem.
A bindi in its normal state is a ‘decorative mark worn in the middle of the forehead by Indian women. It’s religious significance is to be said the ‘seat of conceal wisdom’ or in other words the third eye.
In our modern times the bindi is merely used as a decoration no longer affiliated with its background. A trend that was started way before in the mid 1990s by celebrities like Gwen Stefani who popularized them back in her day.
It’s the mix of cultures. Just like the way the cross which is used in so many different religions and cultures is now used on various clothing brands, or Henna tattooing which traditionally was used for cosmetic purposes in South Asia. It’s just been modernized and the people who do use it usually just do it for cosmetic uses.
I see no problem as it’s being used as a fashion statement, just as everything else eventually is. The other side of this argument if it’s appropriate, I’ve seen people get shamed for expressing where they are from wearing their culture’s clothing, or anything specific of their culture. It sparks up the whole conflict of them not “belonging to this country”.
To those who feel the need to make someone feel ashamed of having pride in their culture, I get the “oh, this celebrity is doing it, it’s trendy, it’s boho” but that isn’t an excuse either. It’s respecting the fact that we all are different but we are all human. We come from different places but from the same place at the same time. It’s accepting and appreciating one another.
Yes there are limits to where you take it, but in my view you can appreciate someone’s culture and admire it. It’s a lot like our taste in food. The food we eat doesn’t always match up along ethnic and racial lines. Think about Italian pasta at your local Johnny Carino’s or Teriyaki chicken at the mall.
I don’t see why some people are scorned for this. This view of ‘Culture Appropriation’ is warped and screwed up like “you aren’t allowed to eat that food because it’s not your culture.”