Read on Twitter
thread on cultural appropriation since some stans throw that word around like it's the newest buzzword (with focus on east & south asia)
cultural appropriation is when an oppresor class takes the culture of an oppressed class & removes the cultural significance from it, it's important to highlight oppressed/oppressor in order to differentiate appropriation from appreciation or cultural exchange
with this definition in mind, when we look at the history of east & south asia, there's centuries of trade between the regions which resulted in an exchange of clothes, jewelry, traditions and even religion. (Bhuddism is parallel with Hinduism & started in India)
now let's compare another region: south asia and europe. the relationship between these 2 regions is of colonizers & the colonized. There wasn't a mutual exchange of goods & services. It was theft from the oppressor class of the oppressed class.
this same concept applies to black culture and all of Asia, Asian cultures have no ties with black culture so when Asian people use black cultures as aesthetic it's one sided and not a mutual exchange therefore appropriation
so because of this history when white people use South Asian cultures in their media it's appropriation, but when East Asians and South Asians borrow from each other in kpop or bollywood it's merely a result of centuries old mutual exchange of arts & culture.
