5/9 maira and said

Said’s  and Mairi’s were both relevant to the topic of cultural appropriation. Said wrote about orientalism and the western definition of orientalism. He defines it as “the study of the great Asiatic mystery.” This definition alone gives me bad vibes. When I see the word mystery in regards to race, ethnicity, culture, etc. I think of how non people of color look at many people of color as being “exotic” which in my opinion is very negative. Over time people have appropriated “orientalism” in many ways. For example, I am buddhist and I am shook that many non-Buddhist folks are looking at buddhism as trendy. I grew up in a predominantly white area and when I was in elementary school, I would get bashed on for not sharing the same Christian or Catholic practices as my classmates. They would think I’m weird for not knowing the meaning behind Easter or “the real” meaning of Christmas. These days it is trendy to have a buddha statue in your home or at your local coffee shop.

Mairi discussed the rise of cultural appropriation in regards to Indo-Chic. Mairi talked about westerners turning to henna and bindis to look fashionable and cool. Throughout this reading I kept thinking about popular celebrities such as Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, and the Kardashians. Vanessa, Selena, and many of the Kardashians have publically appropriated South Asian culture more than once. Vanessa has posted many photos of herself wearing a bindi or a bari. Selena has performed wearing a Bindi on stage multiple times. Kylie and Khloe also do similar things and post about it online. All these women have a huge audience and what they are doing is very problematic. They're fans will think that it’s “cool” or “hip” to wear a bindi and start to wear it for the wrong and inappropriate reasons. I don’t understand why Indian women, South Asian women, or just non-white women in general get looked down on for wearing what is traditional clothes to them. They get weird looks or made fun of for trying to represent their culture but then when American teenage girls do it, it is trendy or fashion forward. It really shakes me.

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