Transculturation

Conditions of Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation, defined broadly as the use of one culture's symbols, artifacts, genres, or rituals by members of another culture, is central to understanding transculturation. Cultural appropriation occurs under a variety of conditions, which can be categorized as cultural exchange, cultural exploitation, and cultural dominance. This section briefly reviews these three conditions of cultural appropriation, which form a foundation for the more complex forms of appropriation characterizing transculturation.

Cultural exchange refers to the reciprocal exchange of symbols, artifacts, rituals, or genres between cultures with roughly equal levels of power. Examples include the reciprocal borrowing of words and phrases, mutual influence on religious practices, and two-way flows of music and visual [Page 967]arts. In its pure form cultural exchange involves a balance of this reciprocal flow, with the appropriations being voluntary. Identifying cases of cultural exchange is difficult insofar as an equality of power between cultures is rare. For example, although Japan may in some ways be an equal partner with the United States, this is probably not the case with appropriation. Although Japan's ownership of international media companies can influence Anglo-American culture, just as U.S. ownership of media companies with substantial presence in Japan can influence Japanese culture, the dominance of certain Western ideals, such as standards of female beauty perpetuated through transnational media, can have disproportionate effects on Japanese culture. This largely unidirectional cultural influence is reflected in the high rates of certain plastic surgeries in Japan, such as changes to the nose and eyes to appear more Western.

Cultural exploitation refers to the appropriation of elements of a subordinated culture by a dominant culture without substantive reciprocity, permission, or compensation. Cultural exploitation commonly involves the appropriation of elements of a subordinated culture by a dominant culture in which the subordinate culture is treated as a commodity. For example, Native American symbols and rituals are widely appropriated in North America and Western Europe; their meanings are altered to fit the needs of the dominant culture, while the cultural and economic interests of the originating cultures are often neglected. Reflecting an imbalance of power, intellectual property laws tend to facilitate claims of ownership of indigenous cultural elements by Western artists and corporations, and generally do not support indigenous claims to the ownership of traditional cultural forms.

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