Cultural appropriation  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Revision as of 09:21, 17 March 2020

This page Cultural appropriation is part of the culture series
Illustration: A 1900 William H. West minstrel show poster, originally published by the Strobridge Litho Co., shows the transformation from white to "black".

The Silk Road, transmitter of Western culture

Related e

Wikipedia Wiktionary Shop Featured: Rhombicuboctahedron by Leonardo da Vinci

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or appropriation of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It denotes acculturation or assimilation, but often connotes a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of dress or personal adornment, music and art, religion, language, or social behavior. These elements, once removed from their indigenous cultural contexts, may take on meanings that are significantly divergent from, or merely less nuanced than, those they originally held. Or, they may be stripped of meaning altogether.

Examples

• African art's influence on Western art
• Cultural appropriation in western music
• Primitivism in western art

See also

• Acculturation
• Appropriation
• Blackface
• Civilizing mission
• Co-optation
• Colonialism
• Cultural assimilation
• Cultural appropriation in Western music
• Cultural diffusion
• Cultural diversity
• Cultural imperialism
• Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• Détournement
• Enculturation
• Exoticism
• Imperialism
• Isolationism
• Indigenous intellectual property
• Noble savage
• Plastic Paddy
• Plastic shaman
• Poseur
• Reappropriation
• Recuperation (sociology)
• Syncretism
• Transculturation
• Westernisation
• Wigger
• Xenocentrism
• white people adopting elements of African-American culture

African-American culture

African-American culture The term wigger (common spelling "wigga") is a slang term for a white person who adopts the mannerisms, language, and fashions associated with African-American culture, particularly hip hop, and, in Britain, the grime scene, often implying the imitation is being done badly, although usually with sincerity rather than mocking intent. Wigger is a portmanteau of white and nigger or nigga, and the related term wangsta is a mashup of wannabe or white, and gangsta. Among black hip-hop fans, the word "nigga" can sometimes be considered a friendly greeting, but when used by white people, it is usually viewed as offensive. "Wigger" may be derogatory, reflecting stereotypes of African-American, black British, and white culture (when used as synonym of white trash). The term is sometimes used in a racist manner, by other white people to belittle the person perceived as "acting black", but it is widely used by African Americans like 50 Cent offended by the wigga's perceived demeaning of black people and culture.

The phenomenon of white people adopting elements of black culture has been prevalent at least since slavery was abolished in the Western world. The concept has been documented in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other white-majority countries. An early form of this was the white negro in the jazz and swing music scenes of the 1920s and 1930s, as examined in the 1957 Norman Mailer essay "The White Negro". It was later seen in the zoot suiter of the 1930s and 1940s, the hipster of the 1940s, the beatnik of the 1950s–1960s, the blue-eyed soul of the 1970s, and the hip hop of the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, an article in the UK newspaper The Independent described the phenomenon of white, middle-class kids who were "wannabe Blacks". 2005 saw the publication of Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wangstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America by Bakari Kitwana, "a culture critic who's been tracking American hip hop for years".

Robert A. Clift's documentary Blacking Up: Hip-Hop's Remix of Race and Identity questions white enthusiasts of black hip-hop culture. Clift's documentary examines "racial and cultural ownership and authenticity -- a path that begins with the stolen blackness seen in the success of Stephen Foster, Al Jolson, Benny Goodman, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones -- all the way up to Vanilla Ice (popular music's ur-wigger...) and Eminem." A review of the documentary refers to the wiggers as "white poseurs", and states that the term wigger "is used both proudly and derisively to describe white enthusiasts of black hip-hop culture".

The term "blackfishing" was popularised in 2018 by writer Wanna Thompson, describing female white social media influencers who adopt a look perceived to be African including braided hair, dark skin from tanning or make-up, full lips, and large thighs. Critics argue they take attention and opportunities from black influencers by appropriating their aesthetic and have likened the trend to blackface.