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Cultural appropriation is the adoption of elements of cultural expression of one societal group, such as forms of dress or personal adornment, music and art, religion, language, or behavior, by an external group, who often ignore the underlying purpose and intent of the expression. The term has a negative connotation, due to perceived or actual superficiality, and generally is applied when the subject culture is a minority culture or somehow subordinate in social, political, economic, or military status to the appropriating culture; or, when there are other issues involved, such as a history of ethnic or racial conflict between the two groups. Further, the term implies the theft of something considered precious or proprietary to the subject group without respect on the part of the external culture for, or an understanding of, either the subject culture or the people who practice it.

In some cases, appropriation can occur to the point to where the dominating culture will credit itself for the establishment of the expressive element. In the U.S., rock music has been assumed to be a white, middle American cultural invention, even though its roots are traceable to African American musical expressions. Likewise, some scholars of the Ottoman empire and ancient Egypt argue that Ottoman and Egyptian architectural traditions have long been falsely claimed and praised as Persian or Arab, and Greco-Roman, innovations, respectively.

What one group views as cultural appropriation, however, another may consider simply "borrowing" or an "influence". Mutual adoption of external or foreign practices among people of disparate groups is a natural consequence of human interaction, particularly over time. There is a natural human tendency to mimic, adopt and adapt tools and behaviors which are admired, valued, or considered useful. But when a dominant or favored group copies and begins to assimilate certain cultural aspects of another group while marginalizing, rejecting, oppressing or otherwise devaluing the people whose culture they covet, resentment and sometimes open hostility can arise among members of the originating culture.

In capitalist economies, particularly, commercialization plays a central role in the packaging and marketing of cultural expression of all kinds. When combined with cultural appropriation, particularly if the cultural expression in its original context has attendant religious or spiritual value, or is an important factor in forging group identity, some people may feel that the subject culture has been cheapened, co-opted, or made the appropriation a "meaningless" part of pop culture. Further, if the culture of origin does not receive proper credit, or its people receive little or no monetary recompense while others profit, there is often a sense of exploitation, as well.

It has been argued that such action not only steals from the originating culture, but also devalues its people because it reduces the appropriation to a cliché— an act, image, phrase, etc.— devoid of any overarching cultural context. That said, others hold that some practices are transcultural, and that no culture has a right to claim them as exclusively their own or to assign a non-transferrable status or meaning to them.

A common sort of cultural appropriation is the adoption of the iconography of another culture. Obvious examples include tattoos of Hindu gods, Polynesian tribal iconography, Chinese characters, or Celtic bands worn by people who have no interest in, or understanding of, their cultural significance. When these artifacts are regarded as objects that merely "look cool," or when they are mass produced cheaply as consumer kitsch, people who venerate and wish to preserve their indigenous cultural traditions may be offended.

African American culture historically has been the subject of aggressive cultural appropriation, especially elements of its music, dance, slang, dress, and demeanor. (See blackface.)

Another prominent example of cultural appropriation is the use of real or imaginary elements of Native American culture by North American summer camps or by organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America. Many summer camps, and many age-segregated groups of campers within summer camps, are named after real Native American tribes (Mohawk, Seminole, etc.); tipis are common at summer camps (even at an enormous distance from the Great Plains); and rituals often evoke Native American culture, using phrases like "the Great Spirit," for example. The Boy Scout honor society is called the Order of the Arrow.

In some cases, a culture usually viewed as the target of cultural appropriation can become the agent of appropriation. For example, the government of Ghana has been accused of cultural appropriation in adopting the Caribbean holiday of Emancipation Day and marketing it to African-American tourists as an "African festival." .

A bindi dot, when worn as a decorative item by a non-Hindu woman could be considered cultural appropriation, along with the use of henna in mehndi as a decoration outside traditional ceremonies.

Non-Arabs or non-Palestinians wearing a keffiyeh might be seen as appropriating a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, although in practice, the people "appropriating" the symbol are generally showing their support of the Palestinian causes.

In some cases, groups may agree that a particular tradition has been culturally appropriated, but disagree as to which group is the authentic heir to the tradition, and which is the appropriator. For example, in the ongoing dispute between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, each side has accused the other of falsely appropriating the cultural legacy of Macedonia and Alexander the Great .

See also

• African American music
• Afrocentrism
• Blackface
• Cleveland Indians
• Cool (African philosophy)
• Cultural diversity
• Cultural imperialism
• Dreadlocks
• Elvis Presley
• Eminem
• Hip hop
• Janis Joplin
• Minstrel show
• Multiculturalism
• Orientalism
• Pop punk
• Rock and roll
• Wigger

• Culture