A friend of mine just posted this article, titled "What's the Difference Between Cultural Exchange and Cultural Appropriation"( see link Cultural Exchange and Cultural Appropriation) which first caught my eye because of the image: two girls dressed up as "native americans", presumably at some kind of party (given the red cups), with text reading: "No, it's cool, it's not like your ancestors killed them all or anything". Though I thought this was a bit overly dramatic, I read the article, which actually reminded me of our 'visual representation' conversations from today's section and last week's classes (on the relationship between the photographer and the person being photographed, and the ethical conflicts that come along with it).
The author explains that "there needs to be some element of mutual understanding, equality and respect for it to be a true [cultural] exchange". She first discusses several different views on the meaning behind the term "cultural appropriation", but then states her view that there probably is no correct clear-cut definition. Instead, she talks about the underlying need for respect for any type of cultural exchange. This seems like a good starting point for photo-documenting for us in GPP too - with both respect and some sort of mutual exchange and understanding.
While the author recognizes that there are a lot of blurry lines in defining these two terms, she stresses overall the importance of recognizing that one's actions have both historical and social implications to other cultures, and blames cultural appropriation (unintentional or not) on power imbalances between groups - in her example, the colonized and the colonizers, for GPP maybe the global north and south.
I think this last point is the strength of her article, and that while there may be no clear answer on the best way to take a photo 'ethically' without any form of cultural appropriation, the best place to start is with an open mind to think and try to understand, within a social and historical context, how to engage with another culture.
This was a really interesting article that puts cultural competency is a different light through the idea of cultural appropriation. What I believe is the biggest point of three mentioned (mutual understanding, equality and respect) that can distinguish between cultural appropriation and a cultural exchange is equality. It is this lack of equality in people's societal perceptions that breeds a lack of respect for other cultures as well as an absence of mutual understanding. Like what you mentioned above, I also believe that this lack of equality stems from the remnants of colonialism. It is this historical awareness, I would argue, that causes this lack in equality. Historical awareness in most cases is a very good thing, but it is that historical awareness that still haunts and subconsciously alters our perceptions of society and other cultures. People's initial perspectives grow off of this. So I do agree the best approach to all of this is to go into it with an open mind, and we can educate students through the GPP program about this. But it can only go so far and has its limitations due to how embedded these ideas of the global socioeconomic and equality ladder back from the days of colonialism are.
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