Originally posted by: hotchoco
It's not that simple. This won't affect Indians in India but appropriation is something that bothers NRIs and all minorities in general.
For those of us who grew up in Western countries, we've seen the racist attitudes - we've experienced our mothers being made fun of for wearing saris, we've lived through gangs like the Dot Busters who used to target people who wore bindis with violence, we've seen Hindu gods being mocked, etc.
Then suddenly that same thing is picked up by a white person and suddenly it's loved because it's the white person doing it. They often profit off it (like Gwen Stefani who made wearing bindis her thing) or fashion houses which started selling dresses made out of sari fabric or purses with Hindu god's photos printed on them. Meanwhile, the actual Indian people who live out their own traditions are mocked, laughed at, have racist comments made about them, etc.
This is the same reason why the black community gets so angry about it also. When they have dreadlocks, it's called dirty or too ethnic or sneered at in job interviews. When a white girl does it, it's that cool thing she did on vacation. Or when black women had big butts and big lips because of their genes, it was ugly. But when white girls adopted it with plastic procedures, it's hot and sexy.
Aspects of minorities are stolen from them and the same things that were used to put them down are taken by white people and suddenly become cool.
A white girl pretending to be Indian and profiting off desi culture's obsession with white skin and Eurocentric features is suspect, especially when a majority of Indians cannot fit those beauty standards by virtue of their race. I can't really blame Katrina for her hustle but it's not as innocuous as it seems either.
As an NRI myself, I gotta say NRIs have an identity problem, not an appropriation problem.
Yeah, racism is a thing. But things have changed massively in the last 40 plus years since Indians started migrating in great numbers. One of the reasons why the change happened is that other races learned about and accepted different cultures.
It happened with the Irish. It happened with Italians. Slower, but it's happening with East and South Asians. Yeah, the pace is different prob because of skin color and greater differences in culture. But why would you go to a place as a migrant and expect everyone to be instantly accepting of all differences? There will always be a spectrum of reactions. That is just human nature. Those migrating best be prepared to fight it.
The other thing is the lack of effort to fit in. Even 10 years ago, I've seen and heard many Indian uncles and aunties who go on and on and on about Western culture and forbid (unsuccessfully) their kids from socially mingling.
This creates an identity crisis in kids' minds. Indians growing up in India don't have that problem because they know who they are and where they belong. Thanks to the bigotry from both sides, ABCDs end up imagining themselves as a special group which is neither Western nor quite Indian. So when westerners adopt the clothes, music, food, etc, even without disrespect, the reaction is, "hey, don't steal our identity from us." In other words, American desis are more possessive of identity because they feel they don't have one.
Sometimes, I also wonder if the objectors realize that when 1-plus billion Indians are quite happy to share their culture, what right do the NRIs--who voluntarily left the country for whatever reasons--have to impose their views on the people who stayed? EDITED TO ADD: There was a Pretentious Movie Review of DDLJ where Kanan and Biswa asked the same thing. Why go on about India when you left the place for money?
One more thing. What is called cultural appropriation used to be called melting pot not too long ago. Keeping cultures side by side and suspicious of each other has another name for it. Divide and rule. The Brits tried it with massive success. Not sure if I want that happening in the U.S.
Edited by HearMeRoar - 2 years ago
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