CULTURAL APPROPRIATION:

- The act of a dominant/privileged group adopting cultural elements of another (most likely marginalized/oppressed) culture in an insensible manner - Plays on historic themes of oppression, domination, and privilege - Ignores the value, significance, or meaning of the object/practice - Does not give credit to the original culture/religion/ethnicity/etc - Looked down upon/mocked when practiced/worn by the original marginalized culture, but becomes "cool," "trendy," or "edgy" when done by the oppressors/appropriators.

CULTURAL APPRECIATION:

- Understanding the significance of a particular practice/object/tradition and not undermining or destroying its significance or value. - Understanding histories of oppression and marginalization surrounding the particular object/practice/tradition and gauging the appropriateness of your actions in relation to this history - Being invited by an individual of that particular culture to participate in/wear their culture's traditions/clothing for a specific event or occasion (weddings, religious rituals, etc.) - But word of caution here: getting a "go" pass from one of your friends doesn't mean that other people from their culture won't be offended. Just like you can't use your token Black friend as an excuse to be racist, you can't use the invitation of one Muslim to wear a headscarf for a day as an excuse to expect that the rest of us are all going to be jumping up and down and applaud you for your bravery. (Because I'm not/didn't.) - Ask yourself: Why am I doing this/what are my goals in doing this/can I achieve my goal without doing this?/why is this necessary/is this even necessary/no it is not necessary/alright awesome then we good.

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