Lately the words “cultural appropriation” have been thrown around. It’s said a lot but many don’t know it means or it’s seen as a joke or no big deal.

Cultural appropriation is members of a dominant group taking part of another culture- often with exploitation and little understanding of it.

There is a difference, however, between enjoying a culture by getting parts of its dialect and customs. You can appreciate the culture,without misrepresenting or exploiting it.

Appropriation comes from stealing parts that take away from the minorities originality. Stealing doesn’t show the essence of how the group lives and takes away who they are. Appropriation doesn’t show the truth and the history behind it. It’s offensive.

An example of appropriation are wearing headdresses from Native American culture. These headdresses are a sign as a respect within these groups, and wearing it without the respect and permission needed isn’t giving credit to the importance of wearing the headdress.  

When taking a part of a culture you need to educate yourself. In a world full of political correctness, we have to know where stepping over the line is. We often stay in our own world’s without educating ourselves on how others live and we need to focus on knowing the difference between appreciation and appropriation.