This week's most noteworthy comment thread on the Offbeat Empire was not an easy one, and it actually spans two weeks. You'll need a little backstory.
Last week we published Krista & Colin's multicultural punk island elopement. A day later, a comment was posted calling out Offbeat Bride for promoting a wedding that the commenter felt was culturally appropriative. "While I can't claim to judge someone's ethnicity based on their appearance, [the bride] clearly doesn't resemble a person with native background at all. I'm sure we've all noticed that," the commenter said.
The comment was moderated, and we immediately emailed the commenter to let her know that while we're sensitive to issues of cultural appropriation, someone's wedding profile is not the best place to have a meta conversation about a thorny cultural issue. Instead, we invited her to continued the discussion on our 2011 post dedicated to cultural appropriation, Why do couples borrow cultural elements for their wedding, and how can you do so respectfully?.
The discussion was taken over to that post, and you can read the exchange between the commenter and myself here. The tl;dr version: she voiced concerns that Offbeat Bride was promoting the cultural appropriation of Native American traditions. I responded that my editorial priority has always been to support self-identification, so if a reader identifies with a culture, I don't see it as my place to police how they choose to express that identity.
Then things got really interesting, because you know who commented next? Krista, the bride herself:
Sarah, I have thought long and hard about if I should even respond to your judgmental comments questioning my heritage and whether the traditions included in my wedding were cultural appropriation. Let me say that if anyone here is breeding racism and ignorance or cultural misappropriation, I would say it certainly is not me.First off, if you had read the entire post about my wedding, you will see it says I am Lenape. Not every Lenape or "Native American Indian" happens to "look" the stereotypical skin color of what mass media says. I happen to have a father who is Scottish hence my pale skin, but you may be shocked to learn my Mother is Lenape.
Even more shocking is that amongst my tribe, I have never once been questioned about my skin color. No, honestly: no one has ever mentioned it. I jokingly just said to my husband, "Shall I get my tribal identification card?" but you know what? This is less about me and my wedding which you decided to use as an example and more about the world as a whole…
…And that's just the beginning. You'll definitely want to read her entire comment.
This situation was super interesting for me. I know that cultural appropriation is a pet peeve for many Offbeat Empire readers, and as an amateur sociologist, I absolutely understand why. As I mentioned here, it's an issue my editors and I think about a lot when we edit posts.
That said, I'm also aware that it's a complex issue, and that sadly, online social justice activism can all-too-frequently slip into dangerous territory. It doesn't matter how well-intended your political agenda is… you have to tread thoughtfully when you get into this stuff. I know the commenter's motivation was to encourage the respect of a marginalized culture's traditional practices… but instead the result was deeply insulting to a member of the very culture she was trying to protect.
This, my friends, is why you should think twice before appointing yourself cultural appropriation police.
Recent Comments
- Shannon: Where does cultural appropriation begin and end? Maybe I feel a bit thick about it. I recently started … [Link]
- korosmahina: The way I see it, appointing yourself the cultural appropriation police and challenging/questioning the way someone is interpreting a certain … [Link]
- Sean Paul Gallegos: What everyone is failing to address is the game "cowboys and indians" in itself is promoting colonialism and hatred. The … [Link]
- Dylan C: You are completely right. Your wedding ceremony was offered to you by a member of that culture (if I'm understanding … [Link]
- Dylan C: In general, I've looked at it this way: Do prominent members of, teachers, elders, and important organizations within that religion … [Link]
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