Can romanticizing other cultures be unintentionally harmful and divisive?
Photo: Tina Keller
I’m pretty much as white as you can get if you take a look at me from afar.
My mom is 100% German, and my dad’s side of the family is half Irish, half German (yeah, that’s a lot of German…and whiteness).
Yet I tend to appreciate the wisdom of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine over western medicine, I’ve been trying to figure out how to find my way to an authentic Native American sweat lodge for years, and I’ll take some coconut curry over steak and potatoes any day of the week, thank you very much.
And when I dress up to perform Bhangra, a traditional Indian folk dance, I’ve been mistaken for being Indian on more than one occassion.
I’ve felt embarrassed at times for being the white girl walking down the street with a bindi on her forehead (and I’ve certainly overheard a few comments). I sometimes want to turn around and explain I’m dressed this way for a performance, that I’m part of a multi-cultural dance troupe, etc., but then I realize I’m just fishing for justifications.
So when I happened upon Macon D.’s Stuff White People Do blog about romanticizing Indigenous people, I began to contemplate the idea that more and more white people (especially of my generation) need to identify with and take part, some say culturally appropriate, other cultures’ traditions:
So often, white people who want to reach out beyond the boundaries of “normal” life end up reaching too much into the lives of others. Actually, and oddly enough, when they think they’re reaching out to something authentically non-white, what they’re actually doing is conjuring up a fantasized, stereotypical, and romanticized version of something that’s only supposedly non-white.
Macon D. was commenting on an explosive situation that occurred between a Burning Man (BM) group and several Oakland, CA Native American tribes. The BM group had planned a party with a “Go Native!” theme, prompting the Native American activists to demand a cancellation of the event.
A Hopi woman had this to say:
I’m trying to articulate my feelings as best I can without completely losing it. What we do is not an artistic expression. And you don’t have artistic license to take little pieces here and there and do what you want with it. That’s something you people don’t understand, probably never will understand.
Following this thought process, how do we contextualize those white people who choose religions that are traditionally tied to another culture? Star.com recently ran an article, White by Birth, Sikh by Choice about a white man raised in the United Church who became a practicing Sikh in 1972.
According to the article, he still gets many looks when he walks down the street, dressed in a turban, flowing pants and shirt with a long beard. But the looks don’t bother him at this point, and he knew at a very young age that he didn’t fit in with those that surrounded him.
I’m all for people being able to choose, whether it be the way they dress, the groups they affiliate with, or their religion, considering I have personally gone down different cultural paths in all of these areas.
But, I wonder, are some white people (including myself) going too far in trying to be something different than they really are? Share your thoughts below.
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Great question, and I liked David’s answer, even if it didn’t answer much. I don’t have much too add, except to say that this post got me thinking.
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David–didn’t mean to make you depressed! But yes, I think pondering these thoughts, especially as travelers who revel in experiencing other cultures firsthand, can be tough, but necessary.
I also think it might depend on the situation in which we find ourselves. Are we say dressing up or taking part in a ritual of a culture because we were invited by them to do so, or are we taking license to do it without their consent?
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There’s a community of whiteys here in Bolivia that are heavily into the whole Pachamama (Mother Earth) scene…they go to the ritual cleansings every first Friday, look forward to the solstice events…the guy I know best (white as can be) even tries to incorporate Native North American traditions into it.
Hmm…I think I was holding a value judgment in my mind when I started to write this, but I can’t remember now which way it went. Tough question, to be sure.
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“White” is not a monolith, and shouldn’t be treated as such. White people can have connections to their cultural backgrounds as well. I know I do, and it confuses me when people think they don’t have any sort of cultural background to embrace just because they’re white. You might have to dig a bit to discover it, but it is there.
But I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with embracing a culture other than what you were born into, but in doing that, it still needs to be realized that you will always be an outsider to that culture, and you might not “get” some things, because it takes growing up in that culture to truly understand.
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Really interesting article.
It can be hard to know if something is appropriation until someone is offended or hurt by it – then it’s a bit too late – but if it opens a dialogue, maybe it can be a good thing.
The problem is that in those situations, the one appropriating the culture then expects a lesson from the person from the culture they stole it from. Unfair and rude.
Huge, important topic. Thanks for tackling it.
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Thanks for this article, Christine. I recently had a similar discussion with someone in Brazil, and we both (me: white; she: African-American) agreed that we both feel a certain lack of rootedness in a specific cultural tradition, and admitted that this sense of not belonging may be what propels us to travel so much and to look for “our” place and “our” people. Like everyone else who has commented, I don’t have any answers–not for myself, and certainly not for anyone else. But I think being constantly aware and continually questioning ourselves about our motives to dip into or wholesale appropriate other people’s traditions and rituals is important.
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Interesting article.
Last week I saw a white pair (both of them) dressed in kimonos visiting Futaraasan in Nikko. I asked my mother-in-law what she thought of it. Her answer – “Disrespectful and pathetic. They think they’re being oh-so-cool and spiritual, but in fact, it’s nothing but a form of cosplay.” And she was right, they were making a spectacle of themselves but for all the wrong reasons.↵ -
So complicated! Thanks for tackling this, Christine. I don’t have any answers either–I know I went through a long phase of wanting to be Mexican, which I sort of realized was lame and pathetic, but just wanting to be connected to SOMETHING, somehow…
A couple summers ago I was working out in Eastern Montana, and a Crow coworker invited me to a sundance. We were late and missed it, but what I remember is that at least half of the people participated were German, all dressed up like Crows. And I understood the urge, right? But at the same time it seemed so silly and wrong. Maybe ESPECIALLY with native american cultures, because their spirituality is so rooted in a specific PLACE. It doesn’t make sense if you aren’t a part of the place. It’s not something you can pick up and carry away and apply somewhere else, not really.
But who knows. I’ve always thought that this connundrum is a big part of reason for the popularity of Rennaisance Faires.
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Similar discussion among friends this last weekend when one announced he was 1/256th Native American, and there was actually a legal definition to the “percentage DNA” one must have to be considered part of the tribe.
I, on the other hand, have no clue to which culture I belong. I have to say, though, I consider myself a Texan first… but it doesn’t quite complete the picture.
Now, for some Colbertisms:
“I don’t see race. So, for all I know, I am African-American. People tell me I’m white, and I believe them, because I am also running as a Republican.”
“Now, I don’t see color. People tell me I’m white and I believe them because police officers call me ’sir’.”
“People tell me I’m white, and I believe them, because I dance with my thumbs out.”
“People tell me I’m white, and I believe them, because I own a lot of Jimmy Buffett albums.”
“People tell me I’m white, and I believe them, because I shop at Eddie Bauer.”
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Reading over that link, I wonder why the Order of the Arrow in scouts hasn’t been attacked more often
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This is an interesting post, and something I’ve noticed. I don’t know how I feel about it.
On the one hand, it’s better that people are taking interest in cultures other than their own and not remaining ignorant like many do. I’m also trying to be less judgmental and not readily assume that if I see a white person in a kimono, they’re neccesarily anime fans, or that a white guy being spiritual is just a stoner.
On the other hand, those are the stereotypes and it’s hard to get around them. A huge percentage of people that claim to be into Japanese culture are not into Japanese culture as much as just the anime fanculture. The Hopi woman was right in the sense that these people tend to pick and choose which aspects of the culture they want to emulate. I can see how that would be annoying at best and disrespectful at worst.
And I can’t help but feel (not sure if I’m going to get told off for this) that white American culture is just bland in comparison which drives many people to seek out other, richer cultures to try on.↵ -
You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t I guess. No matter what you do, someone is going to take offense to it. That’s life. As long as you’re genuine in your actions, what can be wrong with that?
I’m kind of the opposite here. Filipino by blood, born and raised in white culture (I could count the number of brown kids in my school on one hand) – in my teen and young adult years it was always a joke how “white” I was…whatever that meant. I feel no connection to my Filipino heritage.
I think, probably like a lot of the commenters here, I started off with a point, but lost it somewhere…very thought provoking article!
On a related but lighter note, I’ve perused through this book in a store and it’s hilarious:
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I find that within the US, most people don’t describe themselves as American. They do that when they are outside the country. Otherwise people normally describe themselves by their heritage. For example, I have Irish and Italian roots. I think there is plenty of opportunity for a person to explore and embrace their own heritage by researching their ancestors, their ancestors’ culture, etc. In doing so, they might find the answers they were looking for.
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Q: Can romanticizing other cultures be unintentionally harmful and divisive?
A: Of course, as shown by the Burning Man example.However, there is nothing wrong with finding something you weren’t raised with interesting and want to participate in it. What troubles some people raised in certain traditions is when they feel that the “outsider/gaijin” is only adopting practices superficially. Globalization can be a scary thing and to see “barbarians” doing something, even genuinely, can be perceived as desecration by a native. The homogeneous culture has been somehow tainted by the introduction of someone of a different background.
Are people not allowed to dress a certain way, believe certain things, eat certain foods etc. just because they were born in a different place? We are who we are. What’s great about today is that people can choose aspects of cultures that fit who they are. This can be disconcerting to people with dichotomous, all-or-nothing views. But diversity enriches people and provides a means to express who you are.
It comes down to not wanting to share and the reassurance that comes with familiarity and convention. Change is naturally feared, but it is a constant. Xenophobia and ethnocentrism, like sexism, racism and homophobia are tough eggs to crack. Old habits die hard and these are very old habits. Enjoying something one isn’t native to is a great part of life, and variety is the spice of it.
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There’s a flip-side to this too…some of these cultures cash in on opportunities which, in essence, allows the exploitation of their people, and a cheapening of their heritage (as maybe some of the traditionalists would say) – maybe this adds to the confusion as to what is right and wrong? Probably keeps the line a bit blurred anyway.
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Thanks for all your thoughtful comments, guys and gals.
Just wanted to add that I experienced an amazing ritual last night where a couple of the people, who were white, brought along symbols and rituals of their Nordic ancestors. This group of people are involved in a program where one of the classes offered focuses specifically on reconnecting with your own heritage and ancestors, and so it was a normal occurrence and did not faze them in the least.
But after writing this article this week, and reading your comments, I was kinda stunned into silence…oh, yeah, white people DO have interesting roots! – some of which we feel connected to, and others to which we don’t, and it is perfectly wonderful to search out what you jive best with.
Yet, knowing who you are and where you came from in some ways is essential before you can truly connect to another culture and understand why they may not take too kindly to white people trying to emulate them.
Turner, thanks for the comic relief! When in doubt, talk Colbert.
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Great post. I am troubled by the topic a lot and have become jaded to the point of excessive eye-rolling at Westerners practicing cultural aspects with the locals. But what a couple posters have said is, for me, true: Our own culture has become bland. For an example, Joseph Campbell lamented that the Vatican II change from Latin mass and mystery to singing folk songs about our pal Jesus took the spiritual wonder out of Catholicism. A lack of spiritual letting-oneself-go or getting away from the self in a self-centered world drives people to snort the local shaman potion, wear turbans, if not a traveler, join a more radical religious experience or do yoga. We are missing something and will do what we can to find it.
And I lament the blandness that has spread everywhere else. I snicker smugly at Thai commercials featuring pseudo-gangbangers promoting Pepsi. Western pop culture permeates all and it makes us “white people” (which as the book Things White People Like explains is not a color but a socio-economic label) struggle harder to find meaning, diversity and a place in it all. Don’t get me started on Buddhism. Westerners go to meditation/find oneself experiences while, IMHO, the local practice is offering food to statues in hopes of getting good luck, health or money from the powers that be. My task is to try to escape my own cynicism about both the original custom and the culture pirates.
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Good thought-provoking post. I know this article was written from your perspective as a white woman, but I think it’s unfair to say that the desire for an “authentic” cross-cultural experience is just a “white” phenomenon. It’s a feeling that anyone gets who doesn’t have a deep connection to a larger group.
I have been thinking about this a lot over the last several years of traveling and working in Africa and now Asia, both places with rich cultural traditions and rituals that seem exotic and appealing. As an American and a traveler, it’s easy to feel like I lack roots. I come from perhaps the most multicultural country on the planet, and my family doesn’t have any deeply spiritual customs that we’ve been practicing for even a couple of years, much less thousands. When I left behind organized religion after college, I didn’t have much to anchor me to any particular group of people. So I went looking elsewhere, for something else to fill that void.
Often my attempt was achingly transparent. I wanted to take part in something, anything with meaning – a shamanistic ritual, a buddhist retreat, a hindu festival, it doesn’t matter – and I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with this, but my motivation was impure. I was in it for the story, to be able to paint myself as multicultural and experienced rather than to grow as a person and increase my understanding of the world.
In the end I think all that really matters is your motive. The Hopi woman’s quote characterizes many people well, including myself sometimes – people who are attracted to the exoticism of all other practices and rituals and choose piecemeal what they want and what they don’t. In this case it is often mere entertainment. These are most often ancient practices that have developed over thousands of years, and it’s insulting to those whose traditions we’re degrading. But if we are sincere in our efforts to understand, and appreciate, and immerse ourselves in the culture surrounding the practice, even for a brief amount of time, and use the experience to make the world a better place, there is nothing to feel guilty of.
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@jonny – Amen! An excellent analysis. I agree with the motivation aspect. The idea that cultures only belong to one group of people is misleading. Outsiders need to respect the tradition, and be sincere in their efforts to learn from it.
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I agree with what Jonny said about motives. I sometimes feel that people are overly sensitive towards religious heritage, perhaps due to being British and feeling that my own heritage is often squashed (by British citizens themselves) to make room for other cultures’ – a recent poll showed that there is a perentage of English people who feel it is racist to fly St George’s flag in England, which I consider to be a rather strange mentality. Therefore sometimes when I see people react strongly to others celebrating their culture it surprises me somewhat.
However I also agree entirely that there are a number of people who like romanticise cultures which they see as exciting and exotic, trying to reinvent themselves in some kind of new age spiritualistic way with no real understanding of what they are doing or why. And I can understand why people could take offence at their culture being trivialised as someone’s hobby or a form of entertainment.
This topic was particularly relevant to me yesterday in fact, when my boyfriend (who is from Cameroon) asked me to help his friends at their association organise a party celebrating Cameroon’s National Day, suggesting I could help out with food preparation and that he could ask a friend to lend me a traditional dress to wear. I remember cringing inside at the thought of a white girl, in an african dress and with a bad french accent, turning up to cook food that she can’t even pronounce the name of, and how I would be perceived by other people. And I also remember how I almost felt bad after I had been introduced to everyone who had been so friendly and keen to show me how they celebrate and the types of traditional food, one girl even taking me under her wing, saying how it was great that I hadn’t been too shy to come along.
So in answer to your question, no, I disagree with the idea that the average white person is being disrespectful (knowingly or not) in wanting to experience different cutures… However a bit of knowledge and a lot of respect are helpful!
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The whites in this article are choosing to take part in ancient traditions that have (for the most part) endured to the present. We don’t have that in white America – our ancient traditions are across the sea and even then the traditions have often been erased/diluted/caricatured by mass culture & development, so the practice of ancient white traditions in Western Europe is reenactment for show itself. For the purposes of a spiritual white person longing to connect with some meaningful tradition, that’s insufficient. If there is a longing to connect it’s easier to recognize those practices in foreign cultures – the traditions look nothing like anything we grew up with.
I wonder if the people in this article felt they were looking for something specific (”I was born white but I feel Hopi”) or some general other (”I don’t know what I’m looking for, I just know it’s not here in the US”).
Excellent article.
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They call this “cooptation by whites.” There is a really interesting book, Racetalk, that discusses why whites do this. It comes to the same conclusion that the Hopi woman does: most people that “coopt” do it unreflexively, ignoring the historical roots and cultural ramifications. This damages race relations and insults non-white heritage.
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Well first off I disagree with Mike there is alot of heritage we can call upon, your just generalizing that everything is reenacted,alot of it is- if you havnt DONE the research! European descented people have rich religious culture, its just been hidden and tainted by Christianity,History books, & Multiculturalism.
On my second note, Its natural for white americans to want to be apart of other cultures! and for Hopi woman and others to shun whites from any interest in theirs is RUDE! Because We have had to swallow guilt in history about what some of our ancestors have done in the past, we have lost a sense of our own cultural roots and European descendants, and with the media and Illuminati written schoolbooks peddling multicultural influence and negative connotations about being white, alot of whites have NO clue what our heritage is about AT ALL! weve had to spend all of our time on other cultures honest misfortunes that we forgot our own! I am not ashamed of being of EUROPEAN descent, nor do I care weather these cultures take offence that I show any glimmer of interest in theirs↵ -
Well GimmieACiggie,
You should at least be ashamed of your atrocious spelling and grammar. Worry more about losing your own language than the “heritage” of having white skin. That was horrible.
Regarding the absurdity of your multicultural paranoia: the fact that you don’t refer to your culture as Irish, Italian, German, Polish, French or any of the myriad European cultures shows you have no European culture and little understanding of culture to begin with. You can blame that on other cultures that don’t originate in that region or are non-white if you like, but it sounds like sour grapes noting their efforts to preserve theirs and suggests your only “culture” is the color of your skin (which will preserve itself barring severe sunburn or tanning beds – be careful!). Why doesn’t your culture stand up within the multi-cultural system? Because it no longer really exists. Why else would you have to “research” it? Reading up on where I came from and eating a few dishes or incorporating a few odd things into a Christmas celebration is good but it is a whole lot different from attending the same pow-wow my father, my grandfather, and his ancestors did. In that case it was not studied, it’s just how you grew up. And the Hopi woman, as cynical as she may be, is at least understandably annoyed that college boy read a chapter in his Lonely Planet guide and now is “in touch” with the spirits of the ancients.
The only reason we all share “white” culture is because we’ve become homogenized like white milk, and a 3rd generation Asian American or Hispanic American from the same socio-economic group is about as likely to be as culturally white as you are once they’re diluted into the American pot. If you feel people are trying to make you ashamed of being white, you have some sort of complex. If you feel your culture is threatened by multiculturalism, you are on Mars. Go to Thailand, Japan, Turkey, a hundred different places and watch this latest generation wholly embrace American culture. It’s the “other” that is threatened, not your white culture. Your culture, when you figure out what it is, is part of the m-c movement (that’s what multi means); share some space a little. The Illuminati aren’t out to get you. Besides, they’re white so you get a pass and secret handshake.
Frankly I’ve seen plenty of European-based cultural references in general textbooks, particularly German, Irish, Italian and a few other recent immigrant groups. “Whites” are quickly losing the majority (and thus must feel threatened when they realize they let their ancestral cultures go unlike some minority groups who may cling to it a generation or two longer as security) Textbooks will one day reflect the shift in balance. Then whites will be wailing for multi-cultural inclusion.
If you have nothing else to be proud of, at least you have skin to fall back on. Kudos.
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Right on, Kevin.
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Whatever kevin, I dont appreciate you blasting me with your generalized comments, riding in on your righteous horse like your the know all be all. Do you really think anyone would take me seriously if I said I was Irish American? I have about every country of europe running threw my veins to say im (nation)American, I have cherokee ancestry but do you think anyone would believe it ? no because no matter what I say I am, my skin is still White, you dont know how it is to be white in a multicultured world, and yes White people are guilted and made to be ashamed of their race, If we embraced our homelands and cultures we would be considered racist, you cant deny that, thats just how america is!! Im definatley not ashamed but If i say that to anyone of any other color I would be deemed as racist! Thats just how it is, and thats what “Euro-Americans” have to deal with!!
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What have you got against Irish Americans? Anyway, the white woman who cuts my hair tells me she has a bit of Ojibwe in her. I believe it. Her grandmother. What of it? You let your skin define you? Gees dude.
I am pretty sure I know what it means to be white, you know, being white and all, and though I don’t find it cause to celebrate and be proud (because I had nothing to do with it – it’s not like an accomplishment or talent or something) it isn’t something to be ashamed of either. It just is what it is. Am I proud that my eyes are hazel? What on earth does that even mean?
Where are you getting this persecution? You have a disturbingly heightened sense of imagined guilt. What you seem to be proud of is white skin, perhaps because of the varied ancestry or a lack of affinity for one culture or another. I don’t know. Rather than embracing your own multi-cultural heritage, you homogenize it to a color which has no universal traditions or culture per se. My own Euro-mutt ancestry is something I find interesting. It survives in a few family dishes, some distant cousins in Europe, and family names. I itemize it out to foreigners when I travel and they find it fascinating and so “American.”
I doubt (but admittedly don’t know) that you have lived a life of being told you are not good enough because you are white. Other than perhaps on a basketball court or dance floor. Historically, many of other shades have been told such, openly, frequently, and with acceptance of society (OK, even white people were told — not as whites but as Poles, Irish, etc.). But one philosophy that some internalized in the African-American community is that no one can shame you for who or what you are. That’s something you accept upon yourself. Black pride wasn’t about supremacy, it was about rising up from second-class to say they deserved the good seats in the bus as much as the next guy. You rarely hear it anymore (not like back in the day) and it isn’t a rallying cry of Hey you white guys suck, it’s more like “let’s lift ourselves up.”
Perhaps what makes your white pride sound racist to some is that claimed alliance with color without any other cultural unifier. It is the same rhetoric we associate with white supremacists. What’s their shared culture exactly? Not saying you are of that ilk by any means! Just saying the associations of that sort of pride bring that sort of thing to mind. Like a person from India sporting the swastika is likely not going to strike people first as a guy making a religious cultural statement. (By the way, the swastika is illegal in Germany these days, UNLESS you mean to use it as that previous incarnation/cultural symbol. So even there they make a distinction between two seemingly identical objects, just like I suppose there is a distinction between white pride and white supremacy.) And anyway, since most people of the world wrongly believe that white=rich and powerful, it can also just sound like rubbing people’s noses in it. Just sayin’.
By the way, no matter how white your skin is, if the percentage of heritage is right (one-sixteenth is it?), the government will give you the benefit of Native American ancestry.
I say we go find these guys who are shaming you for your skin color and lecture them until they snore. I just went to Germanfest in Milwaukee. Irish Fest is coming up. Festa Italiana was two weeks ago. Polish Fest. Greek Fest. No one protested. On the contrary, everyone attended and celebrated right along with the Irish German Italian Americans. Then there’ll be African Fest, Native American, an Asian festival (talk about vague generalization), Arabfest… it goes all summer around here and all are well attended. Half the festivals are for white folk, but even they all distinguish themselves from each other. Why? (That’s a real question for discussion.)
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I used to work in a small Japanese university that had a nice community atmosphere amongst students. Every year we had exchange students come from China, Sweden, Thailand and the U.S. among others. The year before I left during the big Summertime festival season a huge group of students planned to go out walking round the local festival together. Unbeknownst to the Japanese students, 8 of the female exchange students of various countries went out and bought yukata, the summer kimono, and asked someone how to wear them.
I was with the Japanese students and we were waiting for the exchange students to show up. OMG when those girls walked up in their yukata and slippers you would not have believed the hooting and hollering from our (usually quite shy) students. They were so excited that the foreigners had done that. The cameras were out in full force and everyone wanted a photo with them.
My students were saying how honoured they felt that these foreign people would go to the length of making such a gesture. They had no question that the girls had done it as a means to show respect to their host culture. (Turned a lot of boys’ heads too, might I add! But that’s another story.). The event also seemed to endear the students to each other as the conversation and the evening seemed to flow happily into the wee hours.
I think, as someone said earlier, it’s all in your motivation. Showing a genuine interest and respect in a culture can come out in these sorts of actions as long as you heart is in the right place.
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I don’t think the biggest issue comes from permanently adopting another culture and set of beliefs; it comes from temporarily doing so, like a tourist just passing through.
That’s also where the insult comes in. “Thanks for the hospitality! Nope, not staying, just wanted to ‘go native’ for a while!”
This is how it comes off to other NDN’s. You’re not embracing our culture, but what you think is our culture and do not settle in to find out the truth. There are a lot of issues that the Native community faces, but it seems the only dialogues we can start with any regularity are the ones about misconceptions of our spirituality, which is like ordering at a restaurant. Our culture(s) are not buffets to pick what you do and do not like about them. ‘I’ll take the sweat lodge, the ceremonies, the dress, the herbs, and some of the food. Keep everything else to yourself.”
I know I’m being harsh, but that’s what it comes off as. I think if you seek to understand in depth, you won’t question as much your dedication and right to learn about other cultures and participate in them. You also say, “Look, it’s not just about what’s well-known about your culture. I want to learn who you are as a people.”↵
