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A thread on why this thread is harmful to actual South Asians, by a South Asian. https://twitter.com/sominbiased1/status/1278381103653498880
The thread was made with the intention that we are limiting people from using our culture, bringing irrelevant context into the politics of our country and others.
Yes, we know we cannot wear certain things even within our country because we are diverse and we have various cultures within our own country. HAVING SAID THAT, it gives Koreans even less rights to wear these things too. For example, today, it's a maangtika or a matha patti.
Tomorrow it'll be a thaali or even the bracelet you mentioned which is so dear to people's cultures.
Let's define cultural appropriation:
I'm not editing that picture to fit better. Y'all can expand and read for yourselves.
At this point in time, we are a disadvantaged minority culture and using it is a form of colonialism. Meaning a dominant culture (ex: Korea) using a minority's culture for aesthetics and out of it's actual context is DISRESPECT.
Don't even debate me on Korea being a dominant culture because kpop is known worldwide and is, relatively more dominant than Indian culture.
Now the reason we do NOT and will not stand by Koreans wearing Indian ornaments is because these people use our culture as a joke. To them, it is all curry and snakes, weirdly formed mudras and bindis.
If an Indian provides these materials or even puts on a bindi for a Korean, I don't mind because they give permission to wear it. I can't speak for other Indians and I certainly cannot speak for other cultures within my country but this is how I perceive it.
(honestly, if op learnt to respect the voices fighting against CA, op wouldn't have made this thread in the first place, but I digress)
The reason there are so many people wearing and disrespecting our culture today is because we let them wear and get away with a lot of CA. And because of people like op who can't educate themselves.
We, as Indians, wear certain things for certain purposes. Sometimes, even we don't know why we wear what we wear. But that, is not CA in any way. Because you can't possibly culturally appropriate your own culture.
Any other nationality wearing our jewelry or others, is CA. Those things have significance to certain people and it's just overall disrespect when non-desis decide what is and what isn't CA.
And, even if people wear a cheap imitation of certain things, it is worn in a way that is significant to people. You can wear a random yellow thread on your neck with a similar material to a thaali to look aesthetic, truth is, it is a thaali because it is worn+
and presented in the same way as one. You could wear a necklace which had similar patterns to a mangalsutra but it is offensive to do so because it is significant to us.
If you let this go, just like how bp thought it was okay to have a Ganesha statue at the background of their MV and a Sitar just lying like some pile of garbage, more will come.
Maangtikas, bindis, mudras- All are used out of context from their actual meaning. The meaning matters when you're a non-desi.
People will not respect Indians and the credibility of even op's words will go down to non-desis in time because we're sending the message that it's okay to use our culture as and how people want it.
Cultural appreciation is different. To me, if you give credit, if you do it properly without mocking our dances and jewellery, (ex: 3EYE's cover of Dilbar) I say go for it.
Indians love sharing their culture and nothing makes us prouder than seeing people from other cultures genuinely wanting to learn about us. But by making a teaser picture, a short appearance with a bindi or mocking mudras, it isn't learning. It is stealing and using for aesthetic
They just want to look cool at that moment and by saying it's okay we're giving it to them.
To Indian kpop fans, if you don't know, just ask some NRI people what they face. Some are made fun of for their bindis and dances but suddenly it's okay for another culture to use ours for profit? How are you not seeing the hypocrisy?
To non-Indian fans, if you choose to believe a thread saying it's okay instead of the 100s of people screaming that it's not, you are racist towards Indians. And if you didn't reach here even, I already know you're racist.
