Cultural appropriation

by Susanne Ryman, June 2014

900 words

3 pages

essay

The cultural appropriation of black people by the white’s

Cultural appropriation is ht process of adaptation of aesthetic standards, norms, behaviors, lifestyles, rituals, icons, and other issues from one culture by another. As a rule, a minority culture adopts the norms of the majority culture and becomes subordinate in social status, as well as economic and political ones.

Cultural appropriation usually occurs with no understanding of the process – the shift is smooth and in many cases it contributes to life quality of the minority as it becomes engaged into activities which are culturally significant for the majority, in the process of adaptation of their practices.

There are various conditions which influence the process of cultural appropriation. In the case of the blacks and whites, it occurred under the pressure of capitalism, imperialism, assimilation, and oppression. On the basis of these conditions there were created unequal conditions and relationships in terms of culture, economy, social status and these were based on the principle of domination of the whites.

What is means for white people to enforce boundaries of whiteness

For a long period of time for Europeans it was very important to enhance the boundaries of their whiteness. First of all, such attitude and approach was dictated by the norms of imperialism and its functions – blacks were subordinated, as well as territories, their values, traditions, etc.

As for the case of appropriation of culture, the culture itself was targeted as a kind of natural resources to become extracted from other people.

Enhancement of the whiteness was profitable as it emphasized practicing traditions of the whites, and that mend that people belong to the dominant culture, which was desired because of better social status, conditions, and a greater number of advantages received.

How you deal with someone who is supposed to be black but looks white

Dealing with people it is not acceptable to take some particular approach to the whites and behave in some other way with people who are black. All people should be treated equally regardless of their race. Respect and desire to cooperate should be demonstrated with people who are black, white, and with those who are supposed to be black but look like whites.

Moreover, dealing with people who come from other cultures, social layers, and backgrounds it is necessary to pay attention to such issue as cultural diversity. It is highly beneficial because it involves demonstrating respect towards traditions and various behaviors which are demonstrated by people of other cultures.

Such approach brings numerous benefits to the one who uses it. The reason is that every culture has its own peculiarities and methods of dealing with various problems. Some of them are more effective, while others cannot guarantee a great result.

However, being aware about approaches which are demonstrated by representatives of other cultures and races, people get an opportunity to choose the most effective way of solving some particular problem – the way which makes the work more effective and helps the person to become promoted in the society, in terms of …

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