Often times in today’s society, cultures often borrow various aspects from other cultures. People do not often realize the importance or value of these borrowed elements. This results in the misrepresentation of cultures or wrong notions about other cultures, a phenomenon known as cultural appropriation. Due to cultural appropriation, people of minority groups are often enraged and upset about the misuse of their culture. But is cultural appropriation actually a problem? Using ideas and practices from other cultures creates more diversity and innovation. This, however, leads to the apparent problem of a fine line existing between cultural diffusion and cultural appropriation. When does one become the other?

According to a Huffington Post article, cultural appropriation is the “practice of borrowing traditional artifacts, customs, rituals, or dress from another culture, often done without regard for the significance of such articles in their society of origin.” The key point of cultural appropriation is the disregard for the original meaning of the idea, object, or practice. This disregard is unfair to cultures. Various cultures should think about how they would feel if others took one of their valuable or sacred objects and started doing something unintended with it. Whether or not the intention was malevolent or naive, people should do something to prevent the misuse of culture from repeatedly happening.

Despite all the negative aspects of cultural appropriation, some people do not see anything wrong with it. They believe that a culture does not own any of its ideas, so others should freely be able to borrow or use them. In fact, America would be very different if it were not for adopting different cultural ideas. Some people believe that people of minority cultures should stop being so sensitive and relax. But as singer Zendaya put it, “If something feels personal to your culture or to your background, then you take that personally and you feel affected by it. You can’t tell someone not to be upset about it” (Teen Vogue).  It is not okay to misuse another person’s culture and expect him or her to be okay with that, especially when it means so much. If people understood this, cultural appropriation would not be an issue that causes emotional pain to so many people. However, there can be gain from cultural appropriation. In 2013, in Athens, Ohio, 91.5 percent of the population was white (The Post). Retailers took advantage of this statistic and began to sell items that were part of minority cultures in order to make more money. People who do not belong to the culture of these items do not find them offensive and find them “cool” and end up buying more items. Some of these items include stereotypical Mexican costumes, Indonesian puppets, and African art. As with this situation, some people are able to see a distinction between decoration and disrespect, while others were not.

There are several examples of cultural appropriation that have occurred within the last decade or two. For example, people often appropriate Indian culture without understanding the meaning behind anything. At the Coachella music festival, many girls wear bindis (traditionally a round mark on the forehead, but now any design or color) as a fashion statement or to look cool. However, the meaning of these bindis is religious, and most people do not recognize that. This led to the widespread idea over the internet that “My culture is not your costume” and a movement led by South Asian girls to “Reclaim the bindi” (Huffington Post). The creation of these phrases shows that people do care about their cultures and do not want others to mess with them.  Another example involves the appropriation of “black beauty,” which involves the appropriation of African American beauty elements, especially braids and other hairstyles. Another example involves people wearing hijabs, also for fashion purposes. The hijab is a garment worn by Muslim women for religious purposes, but others using this to make a fashion statement is simply offensive. The saddening fact is that people do not realize the meanings behind their actions, and this really hurts other people. It is unfair to these cultures for another culture to tear apart and misuse their once beloved and worshipped practices who knows absolutely nothing about them.

A fine line exists between cultural diffusion and cultural appropriation. They may both seem beneficial, but one can be very offensive, while the other can be decent. The basis of cultural appropriation is that the culture borrowing another culture is misusing the borrowed culture, knowingly or unknowingly. People take whatever they want without realizing the repercussions. Cultural diffusion involves the spread of cultural beliefs across an area. This is less severe than cultural appropriation, and there is no misuse involved. It is simply the spread of cultural ideas. The world has a history of using new ideas that seem fascinating. Every since early times, “novel ideas and tools that were developed within one society would readily spread to groups of the same ‘culture pattern’” (Encyclopedia Britannica). In this concept, no culture is adopting various ideas or claiming them as its own. We tend to use things that are similar but new. However, if this goes too far and if cultural appropriation becomes too strong, it can lead to problems between various cultures. It is easier to stop a problem before it becomes too big.

We can solve the issue of cultural appropriation slowly but steadily. We can fix the problem if people take the time to get to know the background and history of a particular object or idea or practice. People need to be more understanding of other cultures and realize that what they are doing could potentially be offensive or hurtful. People can learn to be more sensitive towards other cultures and overall look at it from the other perspective. People can constantly seek knowledge about cultures that are not their own to try to resolve this ongoing issue of cultural appropriation. Often times, ignorance or naivety is at the root of cultural appropriation. We can solve this problem by talking to people of other cultures and getting to know their culture more in depth rather than at a superficial level. As a New York Times article put it, “it seems possible that we might, someday, learn to keep our hands to ourselves where other people’s cultures are concerned.” As with many things in life, moderation may often be the best solution.

Cultural appropriation will continue to be a problem as long as people are inconsiderate about using other people’s cultures. People can come together and develop an understanding and sensitivity for other cultures. The old cliche states, “Treat others how you want to be treated,” but this is actually very true when it comes to cultural appropriation. If people everywhere learned to respect and love all cultures, there would not be half as many problems as there are today. Hate cannot drive out hate, but love can. Every culture deserves respect for its long, rich history, and people in today’s society must learn to give this respect to all cultures.