Meet The Team
Meet the team members and see what they had to say about Appropriation and Reciprosity
Shaye
I had heard of appropriation, and I knew it was harmful, but I viewed it as an easily avoidable problem. However, through Emilie Townes book I found that appropriation is not as simple as I had thought. I knew about appropriation in fashion, like companies using native american headdresses on runways, and celebrities taking credit for cornrows. I did not know that appropriation is found in so many aspects of our lives that we don’t even realize. I would never have thought that something as simple as a photo on a pancake mix could have such a problematic history, and harmful effect. Townes showed me that appropriation is an ordinary thing in our society, and it goes mostly unpunished. Appropriation should not be normalized, reciprocity should. I believe that as individuals, and as a society, we must do better to make sure that appropriation is viewed as unacceptable and instead we exchange ideas in a mutually beneficial way.
Olivia
Before reading Emilie Townes, I had a basic understanding of what cultural appropriation was. I mostly knew about it in regards to fashion. I had no idea the extent of cultural appropriation in products and marketing. I don’t think people recognize or talk about the harm that appropriation in products represents. The extent is more far reaching than a lot of people realize and is incredibly normalized and rewarded. With this project, I have learned so much about how seemingly small things can have a large impact on how people perceive others and themselves.
Serenity
Growing up in an interracial family, I always knew that appropriation was wrong and I was taught to give credit when it was due. Though after reading Emilie Townes's book, "Womanist ethics and the cultural production of evil", I become aware of how things I used everyday were derogatory to people in my family. Our society today has allowed appropriation to become ordinary and we see it everyday in fashion, music, even things like toothpaste. By buying these products and investing into appropriation we, as a community, allow it to be rewarded when it shouldn't. After becoming more aware of our societal mishaps, I realized more needs to be done instead of being a bystander.
Danny
I personally have never heard of appropriation and never knew about it until I joined this class. In this class, the book by Emilie Townes opened my eyes because of my background I never knew that most of companies adopt culture or assets of another groups for their own gain without giving credits, especially to minority groups.