What’s the Big Deal with Cultural Appropriation, and What’s the Path Forward? speak by PARYA
I see friends who have taken years of ballet and modern dance classes since a young age, attend- ing dance performances, and expressing themselves artistically in public. I compare that to my expe- riences and I envy the fact that we didn’t have a level playing field. That, despite my mom’s best efforts, my growth was impeded due to a lack of access, knowl- edge, and finances. This is by no means a defeatist message of self- pity. I just want you, the reader, to know that cul- tural appropriation with- out these shared cultural experiences may be hurt- ful to those who have lived the pain, have overcome many obstacles, and are trying to express it through their art. There are a mul- titude of experiences from many cultures, and I’m
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION is considered to be the taking of one or more aspects of a culture other than one’s own and using it for personal gain (financial or otherwise). Cultural appropriation has roots in coloniza- tion, racism, and capitalism. The reason why cultural appropriation is important is that privileged and less privi- leged cultures are not on an even playing field. Marginalized peoples from less privi- leged cultures have less power, less media voice and visibility, less buying power, greater difficulties in moving up the socio- economic ladder, and are historically robbed of credit for their artistic innovations. By virtue of having the financial and political resources to travel or take classes, privileged cultures are at a significant advantage over millions who, for financial, political, societal, or cultural reasons, cannot afford to partake in these learning opportunities. If you’re from a privileged culture or a high income country such as the United States, Canada, or many European nations and have profited from the art and culture of less privileged cultures or low-middle income countries (such as countries and cul- tures in South America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, or the Middle East [the term “Middle East” has Euro-cen- tric origins; however, I will use it here given that it is the commonly used term to refer to this region]), you may have had a hand in cultural appropriation. From Madonna and Beyoncé, to Katy Perry and Coldplay, to Marc Jacobs and Gucci, to Coachella and Burning Man, and to the chef Rick Bayless there are many examples of the pervasive nature of cultural appropriation. Perhaps you teach belly dancing, Per- sian dances, salsa, or any other exercise or art forms from less privileged countries and someone has called you out for cultural appropriation. You may have felt attacked, bullied, and defensive. Maybe you’ve thought about all the work you’ve done to get to where you are, remembered your bills, shrugged your shoulders, and moved on. However, maybe there’s still a part of you wanting to understand what the big deal is and consider alternative ways to move for- ward with a clearer conscience. I hope to provide some clarity on why cultural appro- priation is a big deal and offer some ways to move forward. I don’t intend to shame anyone about their life choices, but I hope to bring awareness to this issue, open a dia- logue, and share my perspectives.
other art forms with roots in less privileged countries/cultures. However, I would like to invite you to consider a different approach to this cultural borrowing. I believe that the first and most difficult step to addressing cultural appropriation is to acknowledge your privilege and the role you may have played in appropriating some- one else’s culture. I realize that this is chal- lenging because you have to recognize your privilege and come to terms with the fact that you’re likely more privileged than many others who did not have the opportunity to travel, take classes, explore their artistic side, and gain financial opportunities for their art. But what can you do about it beyond humility? A central question to consider is how you can reciprocate to the culture from which it came. I would like to emphasize that these restitutions do not necessarily have to be monetary. Some examples of these reciprocations can be: 1. attending classes taught by people from that culture and supporting their growth 2. attending screenings of movies, cultural celebrations, concerts, art galleries, book signings, etc. of artists from that culture 3. involving people from that culture in your art work, asking them for feedback on your art work, and interviewing them on your podcasts and blogs 4. taking classes to learn the language and music of that culture 5. researching, writing, audio/video-record- ing, and documenting scholarly work on that culture (this does not mean speaking for the marginalized culture, but objec- tively documenting your experiences) 6. sponsoring other artists or movement experts from that country or culture by assisting them in traveling to your coun- try, allowing them to stay in your home, inviting them to teach with you, and/or inviting them to create art with you 7. traveling to that country and providing free classes on your culture or other types of classes (e.g., free English language classes, ballet classes, etc.) 8. organizing educational tours to that coun- try with local tour guides These exchanges are sure to enhance your understanding of that culture, provide you with a deeper empathic response for the people of that culture, and give you more tools with which you can educate others. There are many more examples of good- will gestures of restitutions to begin a dia- logue of healing and making our world more equitable. PARYA is a graduate student in the MFA in Dance: Creative Practice program at Saint Mary’s College of California. She is also Associate Professor of Medicine at a top ranking Bay Area university where she conducts clinical and behavioral HIV research. At the age of 7, Parya began studying Persian classical and folk dances in Iran and later trained in New York Style Salsa and belly dancing. She is currently a dance instructor at the Salimpour School of Dance and a member of the Suhaila Dance Company.
Photo by Rachel Duff Photography
only sharing my own. However, it is all of these experiences that inform my embodied experiences and impacts my art. And without these experiences, one may go through the movements without an anchor in the power- ful reality of life in Tehran, Cairo, or Cuba. I’d like to emphasize that cultural exchange and learning about other cul- tures are not the activities under scrutiny here. Sharing cultural knowledge, seeking to understand and learn about another culture, and connecting with others cross-culturally is a beautiful thing and much needed in the world. It helps us learn about others and ourselves, and it unites us as human beings. Rather, the focus of this piece is the personal gain (financial or otherwise) from others’ cultural knowledge and practices. To be clear, acknowledging, calling atten- tion to, and working to minimize the impact of cultural appropriation is not about creat- ing “gated cultures” to help promote social justice, but it’s about helping to break down barriers so that communities and cultures can promote their own art, speak for them- selves, and profit from their work. I believe that it would be silly and pointless for me or anyone to say that White Americans or Euro- peans shouldn’t belly dance or participate in
As a dancer born and raised in Iran, I believe that it’s the years of surviving the Iran-Iraq war, secretive dance classes, perfor- mances in dust-filled basements, using my shadow to “perfect” my dance moves dur- ing air raids, teaching myself Western dance forms using scratched up VHS videos, fear of being caught dancing, shamed by being com- pared to a sex worker, being harassed and bullied by self-loathing teachers who mind- lessly perpetuated the cycle of hate, shame, and guilt, and teachers who ruthlessly pun- ished and ridiculed students for expressing an interest in the arts by enforcing “religious” censorship codes of an Islamic dictatorship for fear of being prosecuted themselves that enriches the beauty and pain of dances from my culture. I believe that the first and most difficult step to address- ing cultural appropriation is to acknowledge your privilege and the role you may have played in appropriating someone else’s culture.
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