Melissa Chow
ASA 004 – A04
9th May, 2017
ASA 004 – A04
9th May, 2017
Both of the reading’s main focus was on Orientalism and
Indo-Chic culture. In particular, the professor’s reading focused on mehndi, or
Indian body art. Originally, in India it wasn’t just about the body art, but
about the clothing, and accessories as well. However, in the 90’s and early
2000’s there began this kind of “cultural appropriation” in the States, and the
meaning has been lost. I definitely sympathized with this, as I remember henna “tattoos”
being sold at my high school’s fundraiser event. I remember that the club doing
these “tattoos” wasn’t associated with the Orients at all. I think it was the
Cheerleading team. And basically, you could ask for anything you wanted to be
done, so the man who wanted a tweety bird henna tattoo reminded me of that. One
of the things the professor also mentions is that often this “cultural
appropriation” is a two way street, but only between the country of origin, in
this case, I think it’s India, and whites. She mentioned that there weren’t
many Blacks that came out to the event. I think… maybe it feels like it’s hard
to fit in? It almost feels like it’s a “teaching experience” for white people.
I don’t know. Another point brought up was the fact that the South-East Asians
doing the mehndi felt happy, confused, and guilty. Doing the henna makes a lot
of monetary gains, but at the same time, is it wrong for them to do it for the
money? Honestly, I think business in general is a non-friendly transaction. I
don’t fault them for doing it because they need the money, but at the same time
it’s not helping anyone learn anything. No one is really “experiencing”
anything authentic. It’s more like… a source of entertainment rather than a learning
experience. The reading ends with stating that sources of “cultural
appropriation” like this are a result of imperialism. They become rooted in
cultural and social aspects.
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