cultural appropriation vs appreciation:

first, cultural appropriation. what is it?
CA is exploiting the culture of a minority for profit, aesthetics and concepts without permission from said culture. it’s often controversial because the dominant culture isn’t part of the minority’s culture and many minorities

are oppressed or have been oppressed because of their race and culture. CA isn’t the same as assimilation because assimilation is forced by the dominant culture making it impossible for the minority to appropriate the oppressor’s culture. CA is often seen as reclamation by the

dominant culture but it’s in no way reclaiming because it’s for the minority to reclaim their culture. you can’t reclaim anything by giving it away to the dominant culture. many minorities work hard to preserve their culture and its a slap in the face for others to take and

reduce it for profit. in many cases, CA is connected to fetishization of the culture and is painted as “appreciation” but often, the dominant culture doesn’t appreciate the people who belongs to the culture which makes it a lie that they appreciate the culture.

if it’s appreciation, surely they’d at least appreciate the people too and not just the culture? that falls under fetishization and/or romanticization of cultures. if you appreciate the culture, appreciate the people too. we don’t exist to only benefit dominant cultures.

and if you’re not part of the culture that’s being exploited, it’s not your place to put the harm on a scale or compare it to bigger problems the minority face because minorities can focus on different problems. downplaying problems to bring up bigger problems isn’t a good idea.

cultural appreciation:
cultural appreciation is when someone seeks to understand the culture to broaden their perspective of different cultures and points of view. cultural appreciation is also listening to the people that belongs to the culture because without the people

the culture wouldn’t exist. when you appreciate the culture you appreciate the people too rather than only the culture. you also acknowledge that the culture might have been endangered due to colonialism. cultures are important to preserve the cultural identity and shapes

traditions and ways of living, morals, and behaviors of individuals and groups. when you appreciate a culture you know it’s not your culture and shouldn’t invade spaces made for the culture. there might be times you’re invited and if they give you an item it’s yours. it won’t be

appropriation to wear or use the item because it was given to you by the people the culture belongs to. just make sure you know what it does and how to wear or use the item correctly, it may cause harm if you don’t. also, buying from the people of the culture is appreciation

in a way that you’re supporting the culture’s people financially. for example, if you buy a traditional necklace from people of said culture you’re directly helping and supporting a minority, whether individually or supporting a business.

with that being said, if you like something from a culture, buy it directly from the people who makes the item/s FROM the culture and not from retailers that profit from appropriation.
:)