This week in GOALS, we discussed a controversial and important topic: cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is defined as the as the “adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture”. Essentially, it is the careless use of elements of a culture that one is not a member of with little regard to the significance of the meaning of such elements. We showed the girls an image of the infamous “Mexican Man” Halloween costume. One girl, who identifies as a Mexican-American, immediately explained how offended she felt: she said that her “culture is not a costume”. Everyone agreed with her statement, and we proceeded to show them pictures of white women in Native American headdresses and dreadlocks. At first, the girls commented about how pretty the Native American attire was, and of course, it was, but they were so focused on the beauty of it, that it was difficult for them to see the pain the costume inflicts upon Native Americans. So, we read them a story from Teen Vogue, where a girl named Dunnette Reyome explains her feelings about cultural appropriation. She is a member of the Omaha tribe in Nebraska, and her story is powerful. She states, “When I see people in headdresses or Native American accessories, I feel disrespected. They don’t know the meaning behind it, how we wear it, or what we do to earn it.” She also says that she wishes the world would acknowledge the existence of Native Americans and stop looking at them as a “thing of the past”. After reading this story, the girls were moved. This helped them better understand the impact of cultural appropriation and the hurt it causes.
From the topic of cultural appropriation, we began to discuss blackface and “yellowface”. Blackface is the act of a non-black individual painting his or her face darker to portray an African American in a humiliating way. We began by sharing the history of blackface.In the mid-19th century, blackface became extremely popular in American media. Minstrel shows, a form of racially-charged entertainment in the early 1800s, used blackface to dehumanized black people and show them as inferior in every way. But, it is still prevalent in the twenty-first century, especially during Halloween when non-black people paint their skin darker to represent an African American icon.“Yellowface” is the act of a non-black individual portraying East Asians in the American film industry in an ethnocentric perception of them. Mr. Yunioshi (played by a white actor) from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Marlon Brando in The Teahouse of August Moon are two common examples. We showed images of people in both blackface and “yellowface” and the girls were immediately alarmed. They could not fathom how people find such things entertaining or humorous. They were even more shocked when we told them that not only does it occur in the past and in movies, but many people do it in contemporary times. Both blackface and “yellowface” are extremely hurtful, racist, and dangerous because they portray people of color as “less than”. Many people argue that painting one’s skin is not offensive and is merely a joke. However, making fun of someone’s culture or race is anything but funny. It is insulting and no matter what your intention is, it is racist. Before participating in blackface and “yellowface”, consider the history and perspective of another person whose life is remarkably different from yours.
-Aava F.
