I haven’t heard the complaint much, recently. Sports mascots and misuse of representative characteristics in media is now generally attacked without use of the term “appropriation”, and identified more directly (and correctly, often) as demeaning stereotype.
The complaint I heard most about appropriation was related to #2 and #3 above, but distinct. The reason given to me that appropriation was problematic was that it perpetuates a power imbalance. The appropriating culture is historically dominant over the appropriated-from, and the topic of appropriation is one way that the victim culture could start to become equal. Until it was copied—after the appropriation, there are fewer obvious reasons to value the victim culture.
I never fully accepted the argument (or the concept of cultural identity as a separate value from institution effectiveness), but that’s how it was described to me.
I haven’t heard the complaint much, recently. Sports mascots and misuse of representative characteristics in media is now generally attacked without use of the term “appropriation”, and identified more directly (and correctly, often) as demeaning stereotype.
The complaint I heard most about appropriation was related to #2 and #3 above, but distinct. The reason given to me that appropriation was problematic was that it perpetuates a power imbalance. The appropriating culture is historically dominant over the appropriated-from, and the topic of appropriation is one way that the victim culture could start to become equal. Until it was copied—after the appropriation, there are fewer obvious reasons to value the victim culture.
I never fully accepted the argument (or the concept of cultural identity as a separate value from institution effectiveness), but that’s how it was described to me.