Is this cultural appropriation ?

[Anonymous]

Wearing thin metal bracelets, known to Indian and other cultures as bangles. I saw that it was, and I was looking for jewelry online and came across these metal bracelets that aren't decorated besides just the color that they have. I think they are really pretty and would complete a more dressy outfit as more understated jewelry. What do you think?

[Anonymous]

Don't be ridiculous. Or...

Maybe ask an Indian woman wearing jeans?

[Anonymous]

I get why the bindi and the Native American headdress is cultural and shouldn't be worn as an accessory, but when someone tries to assert that a culture basically owns bracelets.... That's just too much.

[Anonymous]

Indian here. No, it's not. I think cultural appropriation becomes more of an issue if you take something that continues to have deep cultural or religious meaning, e.g. a bindi, and wear it as decoration without any regard to the culture that gave you the idea. Bangles do have some cultural significance in that the material they are made of tells you a woman's marital status (and Sikhs wear a specific one), but they are generally decorative.

I used to wear metal bangles with Western dresses in exactly the way you are describing. You are fine.

[Anonymous]

Here's a quick rule of thumb: would someone FROM the culture of X item possibly be made to feel "other" for wearing X item in your area? That is, would the object serve to mark her as *different* in a way that was connected to her race or ethnicity?

If so, don't wear it, because then it IS kind of offensive that you can "dabble" in it as a fashion without being marked as "different" whereas s/he cannot.

According to this rule: bangles are fine, nothing too remarkable about bracelets. Bindis, not so much. Baandhni dupatta (colorful scarf) over tshirt? Fine. Full on dupatta + salwar kameez? Maybe skip it unless you're going to a South Asian event.

And so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's a quick rule of thumb: would someone FROM the culture of X item possibly be made to feel "other" for wearing X item in your area? That is, would the object serve to mark her as *different* in a way that was connected to her race or ethnicity?

If so, don't wear it, because then it IS kind of offensive that you can "dabble" in it as a fashion without being marked as "different" whereas s/he cannot.

According to this rule: bangles are fine, nothing too remarkable about bracelets. Bindis, not so much. Baandhni dupatta (colorful scarf) over tshirt? Fine. Full on dupatta + salwar kameez? Maybe skip it unless you're going to a South Asian event.

And so on.

This is a great explanation.

[Anonymous]

No one cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's a quick rule of thumb: would someone FROM the culture of X item possibly be made to feel "other" for wearing X item in your area? That is, would the object serve to mark her as *different* in a way that was connected to her race or ethnicity?

If so, don't wear it, because then it IS kind of offensive that you can "dabble" in it as a fashion without being marked as "different" whereas s/he cannot.

According to this rule: bangles are fine, nothing too remarkable about bracelets. Bindis, not so much. Baandhni dupatta (colorful scarf) over tshirt? Fine. Full on dupatta + salwar kameez? Maybe skip it unless you're going to a South Asian event.

And so on.

This is a great explanation.

Yes, thanks for this thoughtful response.

I'm a teacher and POC. Every Halloween, we get at least one white kid in an offensive outfit that tiles the school up for days. However, there's a more frequent issue of total ignorance about the cultural or spiritual significance of certain things that are now mass marketed. We don't talk about it and misunderstandings are compounded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's a quick rule of thumb: would someone FROM the culture of X item possibly be made to feel "other" for wearing X item in your area? That is, would the object serve to mark her as *different* in a way that was connected to her race or ethnicity?

If so, don't wear it, because then it IS kind of offensive that you can "dabble" in it as a fashion without being marked as "different" whereas s/he cannot.

According to this rule: bangles are fine, nothing too remarkable about bracelets. Bindis, not so much. Baandhni dupatta (colorful scarf) over tshirt? Fine. Full on dupatta + salwar kameez? Maybe skip it unless you're going to a South Asian event.

And so on.

This is a great explanation.

Yes, thanks for this thoughtful response.

I'm a teacher and POC. Every Halloween, we get at least one white kid in an offensive outfit that tiles the school up for days. However, there's a more frequent issue of total ignorance about the cultural or spiritual significance of certain things that are now mass marketed. We don't talk about it and misunderstandings are compounded.

I don't understand this word salad and the reference to tiles.

[Anonymous]

My AA family from NYC grew up with all us girls wearing bangles, aunts, grandmothers too. It was a thing in the 80s. I see people wearing them now and think of it as retro.

[Anonymous]

I hate the concept of cultural appropriation.
I lived in Scotland as a child and loved it, and will wear my Black Watch skirt whenever I feel like it!

[Anonymous]

Wearing a bindi is cultural appropriation??

[Anonymous]

Please let's stop this BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wearing a bindi is cultural appropriation??

Well, yes. This is not a new idea: I remember lots of questioning articles even when Gwen Stefani wore one in the 1990s. If you're wearing something for fashion that another culture uses for spiritual observance and expression, that's the very definition of appropriation.

(If you're wearing a bindi for your culture's spiritual expression, though, rock it.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I hate the concept of cultural appropriation.
I lived in Scotland as a child and loved it, and will wear my Black Watch skirt whenever I feel like it!

I wouldn't consider this cultural appropriation since you were part of the culture.