The sin of ‘cultural appropriation’

Ok, this doesn't have a lot to do with genealogy... maybe travel and fiber art, because of sources of inspiration. Mostly I just thought it was interesting. I found it here, from the Week Magazine.

Katy Perry dressing like a geisha in a music video. White American women learning to belly dance. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston allowing visitors to try on kimonos made in Japan. All of these have been angrily attacked in “the new war on cultural appropriation,” said Cathy Young. Today, any artist or person who incorporates or experiments with styles, music, or ideas from another culture—no matter how positively—is condemned for committing “a creative sin.” The concept of cultural appropriation began as a justifiable critique of the literal cultural theft of art and artifacts by colonial powers, and of “glaring injustices” such as white artists getting rich off black musical styles without sharing the wealth. “But the hunt for wrongdoing has run amok.” Culture cops now rebuke non-Asians for wearing jewelry with yin-yang symbols, or the museum in Boston for engaging in “yellow face” by letting non-Japanese try on a kimono. “What will be declared ‘problematic’ next? Picasso’s and Matisse’s works inspired by African art?” Non-Asians cooking Thai food? To respectfully blend cultures is no sin. In fact, it’s the American way.

Cathy Young
The Washington Post