Saturday, November 19, 2005
More on the Harajuku Girls
I used to post on the Poets and Writers Message board. We had one particularly intense discussion about cultural appropriation, which left me mentally exhausted. The arguments seem to fall along two lines.
One, you should write whatever you are moved to write, even if it is outside of your natural cultural perspective, because this is what artists do. Just make sure you do your research.
Two, it's best not to attempt to stray too far from your natural, cultural orientation, because you will be appropriating, and you will fail.
That's a bit extreme, but it sort of sums up the gist of the argument.
Not surprisingly, in retrospect, I fall sort of in the middle. I end up seeing both points of view. On the one hand, I think that, of course, artists must feel passionately about their stories and must employ whatever means necessary to tell a story. At the same time, I know what it is to feel uncomfortable with cultural appropriation, and it makes me feel cautious.
My suspicion, though I haven't exactly tested out the theory, is that where you fall in this argument probably depends on your race. If you are part of a minority, you are more sensitive to feeling exploited. If you aren't part of a minority, then it's harder for you to understand what said discomfort is all about anyway.
One, you should write whatever you are moved to write, even if it is outside of your natural cultural perspective, because this is what artists do. Just make sure you do your research.
Two, it's best not to attempt to stray too far from your natural, cultural orientation, because you will be appropriating, and you will fail.
That's a bit extreme, but it sort of sums up the gist of the argument.
Not surprisingly, in retrospect, I fall sort of in the middle. I end up seeing both points of view. On the one hand, I think that, of course, artists must feel passionately about their stories and must employ whatever means necessary to tell a story. At the same time, I know what it is to feel uncomfortable with cultural appropriation, and it makes me feel cautious.
My suspicion, though I haven't exactly tested out the theory, is that where you fall in this argument probably depends on your race. If you are part of a minority, you are more sensitive to feeling exploited. If you aren't part of a minority, then it's harder for you to understand what said discomfort is all about anyway.
