fimbrethil:

Read about photographer Sanaa Hamid here and found her project on cultural appropriation. In the project, Hamid takes photos of two people: one whose culture is appropriated and one who appropriates the culture. She maintains a neutral stance so as to generate discussion.

For me, I thought this photo was particularly interesting because of what the person says. They say, “I think the cross has lost a lot of its religious meaning so I am happy to wear it without feeling like I am mocking Christianity.” This is interesting because, it seems clear to me, that appropriating such symbols (as this person does) is exactly what allows for the idea that “the cross has lost a lot of its religious meaning.” Those for who the cross does have meaning have their voices lost to those who wear the cross without meaning. 

This is true of all the examples brought up in Hamid’s project. The articles which are appropriated are actively losing meaning in a wider global context because of cultural appropriation. That is harmful and quite potentially dangerous. 

I also think it’s very important to note that nearly all of those who have their culture appropriated in this project are poc. Whereas all of the people doing the appropriating are white. It really speaks to how white people need to be more cognizant of what they do when it comes to interacting with and respecting other cultures, and how we must be concerned with how our interaction may impact the cultures we supposedly admire and/or respect.