# Cultural Appropriation

> Cultural Appropriation is a 2010s social media discourse about dominant groups adopting marginalized cultures, defined by the 2018 viral phrase "my culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress.

Cultural appropriation is a long-running internet discourse and recurring source of viral debates, memes, and culture war flashpoints. The term originated in 1970s academia to describe the adoption of marginalized cultural elements by dominant groups, but it exploded into mainstream internet vocabulary in the 2010s through Twitter arguments, Tumblr callouts, and high-profile celebrity controversies involving figures like Iggy Azalea, Katy Perry, and Gwen Stefani[1][8]. The phrase "my culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress" became one of the most recognizable catchphrases of the discourse when it went mega-viral in 2018[12].

## Origin
The academic roots of cultural appropriation trace to 1976, when British historian Kenneth Coutts-Smith introduced the concept of "cultural colonialism" in a paper examining how dominant Western cultures exploit the creative output of marginalized groups[1]. Three years later, British sociologist Dick Hebdige expanded on the idea in his 1979 work "Subculture: The Meaning of Style," analyzing how white Britons borrowed cultural symbols from marginalized communities to construct subcultural identities[2]. By 1980, scholars had given the practice a formal name: cultural appropriation[2].

The term stayed mostly within academic circles for decades. It didn't receive a dictionary definition until 2017, despite the concept being discussed for over forty years[3]. The jump from lecture halls to social media happened gradually, accelerating through the blog era of the late 2000s and early 2010s.

One early online landmark was Adrienne Keene's blog Native Appropriations, launched when she was a 23-year-old doctoral student. Standing in an Urban Outfitters surrounded by products featuring decontextualized Native American imagery, Keene decided to start cataloguing examples of appropriation online[11]. The blog became a go-to resource and helped establish the template for how appropriation callouts would function on social media.

- **Platform:** Academic journals (concept), Twitter / Tumblr / blogs (online discourse)
- **Creator:** Kenneth Coutts-Smith (coined "cultural colonialism," 1976), Dick Hebdige (expanded concept, 1979), Adrienne Keene (Native Appropriations blog), Jeremy Lam (viral "prom dress" tweet), Sierra Mannie (TIME op-ed)
- **Date:** 1976 (academic coinage), 2013-2014 (online explosion)

## Overview
Cultural appropriation refers to when members of a dominant cultural group adopt elements from a marginalized culture in ways considered exploitative, disrespectful, or reductive[1]. Online, the term functions less as a fixed meme template and more as a perpetual debate engine. It generates viral moments whenever a celebrity wears something, a brand launches a product, or a random person posts a photo that triggers the "appreciation vs. appropriation" argument cycle. The discourse follows a predictable pattern: someone shares an image or video of a perceived offense, outrage spreads, defenders push back, think pieces pile up, and the whole thing repeats weeks later with a new target.

The concept sits at the intersection of race, identity politics, postcolonialism, and pop culture, making it one of the internet's most reliably combustible topics[3].

## How It Spread
The cultural appropriation discourse moved through several distinct waves online.

**Mid-2000s: Blog Wars**

Early online debates played out on platforms like LiveJournal and Dreamwidth. A 2007 WisCon panel on cultural appropriation sparked extensive blog commentary, with writers debating whether fiction authors could ethically write about cultures not their own[15]. These conversations laid groundwork for the more explosive social media debates that followed. In 2005, comedian Margaret Cho wrote a widely-shared blog post comparing Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls backup dancers to a "minstrel show," calling Japanese schoolgirl uniforms "kind of like blackface"[10].

**2013-2014: The Twitter Explosion**

The Harlem Shake meme in February 2013 marked a turning point. The viral dance craze, which bore no resemblance to the actual Harlem Shake dance originating from the late 1980s, provoked backlash from Harlem residents who saw their cultural artifact being erased. A video by Schlepp Films showed Harlem pedestrians reacting with confusion and frustration, with one stating: "It's a mockery to what it was!"[5]. The incident triggered widespread debate about whether internet memes could function as a form of cultural appropriation.

In 2014, the discourse hit peak velocity. Sierra Mannie's TIME op-ed "Dear White Gays: Stop Stealing Black Female Culture" argued that white gay men imitating Black women's mannerisms amounted to appropriation without consequences[6]. The piece drew fierce responses and counter-arguments, including John McWhorter's Daily Beast essay arguing that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" and that cultural cross-pollination is an inevitable, even positive, feature of human civilization[14].

That same year, Iggy Azalea became ground zero for appropriation debates. The Australian rapper's adoption of a Southern Black vocal style while rapping drew fire from artists like Azealia Banks, who went on Hot 97 and declared that "Iggy Azalea shit isn't better than any fucking black girl that's rapping today"[7]. Katy Perry also drew repeated criticism for wearing cornrows, using a "blaccent," and incorporating stereotypical imagery in music videos[8].

**2018: "My Culture Is NOT Your Prom Dress"**

The discourse's single biggest viral moment came in April 2018, when a Utah teenager named Keziah Daum posted prom photos wearing a Chinese-style dress. Twitter user Jeremy Lam quote-tweeted the images with "My culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress," and the post exploded. The tweet triggered a massive counter-reaction, with people of all backgrounds mocking Lam's outrage and calling him "a uniter, not a divider"[12]. The incident became a meme in itself, with parodies like "my culture is NOT your lunch utensil" applied to increasingly absurd scenarios[12].

## How to Use
Cultural appropriation discourse operates online through several common formats:

**The callout post.** Someone shares an image or video of a perceived instance and labels it cultural appropriation, often tagging the person or brand involved. The most effective ones pair visuals with a punchy caption.

**The appreciation vs. appropriation debate.** Users typically present two contrasting examples, one framed as acceptable cultural exchange and the other as harmful appropriation, then ask where the line falls[1].

**The parody format.** After the 2018 prom dress incident, users began creating jokes using the template "my culture is NOT your goddamn [mundane object]" applied to absurd situations[12].

**The whataboutism response.** Defenders commonly point to examples of non-Western cultures adopting Western elements, asking why that doesn't count as appropriation. This pattern is predictable enough to be memed itself[3].

**The celebrity callout cycle.** When a public figure is photographed wearing something from another culture, the internet follows a near-scripted sequence: initial outrage, defenses, think pieces, counter-think pieces, and eventual exhaustion until the next incident.

## Cultural Impact
The cultural appropriation discourse moved well beyond social media into institutional and commercial spaces. Brands took note after incidents like Urban Outfitters' "Navajo Hipster" product line, which landed the retailer in legal trouble for misusing tribal imagery[13]. Victoria's Secret pulled Native American-inspired designs after public backlash, and No Doubt removed a Western-themed music video under pressure[13].

The Washington NFL team's decades-long name controversy became one of the highest-profile appropriation debates in American sports. Native American organizations argued the team name was a derogatory slur that erased their history, while the team's owner defended it as representing "honor, respect and pride"[3]. A 2016 Washington Post poll claiming 9 in 10 Native Americans weren't offended sparked its own backlash from those same communities[3].

In academia, professors like Daniel Heath Justice of the University of British Columbia framed appropriation in terms of survival: "We're talking about continuity in spite of traumatic, sustained and systemic multi-generational assaults on every aspect of our beings, including our artistic practice"[3]. Meanwhile, Harvard's Martin Puchner noted that the term "cultural appropriation" now appeared more frequently in Google searches than "culture" itself, reflecting how contentious the topic had become[4].

The relationship between memes and appropriation also drew scholarly attention. The Meme Manifesto project argued that deep fried memes, born from Black Twitter's practice of degrading images through repeated screenshotting, represented a form of digital resistance. As memes moved between communities, they lost information about their original meaning and history, enabling the very kind of cultural theft the format was created to resist[9].

## Fun Facts
- The term "cultural appropriation" didn't get a formal dictionary definition until 2017, despite being used in academia since the 1980s[3].
- Margaret Cho compared Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls to "blackface" in 2005, writing "racial stereotypes are really cute sometimes, and I don't want to bum everyone out by pointing out the minstrel show"[10].
- The 2013 Harlem Shake meme craze generated an estimated 4,000 new videos uploaded to YouTube per day at its peak, effectively burying the original Harlem Shake dance in search results[5].
- Harvard's Martin Puchner found that only 7% of incoming first-year students expressed interest in any humanities subject, a decline from the low 20s just a decade earlier, which partly motivated his book on cultural borrowing throughout history[4].
- Jeremy Lam's "prom dress" tweet generated such universal mockery that one observer called him "a uniter, not a divider" for bringing people of all backgrounds together in agreement that he was wrong[12].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is cultural appropriation?
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of elements from a marginalized culture by members of a dominant group in ways considered exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical. A critical condition is the imbalance of power between the groups involved[1].

### Where did cultural appropriation come from?
The concept originated in 1970s academic discourse on Western colonialism. British historian Kenneth Coutts-Smith introduced "cultural colonialism" in a 1976 paper, and scholars formally named the practice "cultural appropriation" by 1980[2].

### What does cultural appropriation mean?
It means taking cultural elements like clothing, hairstyles, music, or traditions from a marginalized group without understanding or respecting their significance, often while the originators of those elements face discrimination for practicing them[1].

### How do you use cultural appropriation in memes?
The concept appears in memes through callout posts, parody formats like "my culture is NOT your goddamn [object]," and recurring debate templates about the line between appreciation and appropriation[12].

### Is cultural appropriation still popular?
Yes. The discourse generates viral moments regularly whenever celebrities, brands, or ordinary people are perceived as crossing the line. The debate format shows no signs of slowing down, with new incidents sparking fresh rounds of argument on social media[3].

### What is the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation?
Appreciation involves respectful engagement with another culture, like wearing a traditional garment at an appropriate ceremony with understanding of its significance. Appropriation involves taking elements without context, understanding, or credit, particularly when the borrower faces no consequences while the originating group does[1].

### Who coined the term cultural appropriation?
No single person is credited with coining the exact phrase. Kenneth Coutts-Smith introduced "cultural colonialism" in 1976, Dick Hebdige expanded the concept in 1979, and by 1980 scholars were using "cultural appropriation" as the standard term[2].

### What was the "my culture is NOT your prom dress" incident?
In 2018, Twitter user Jeremy Lam went viral after criticizing a Utah teenager for wearing a Chinese-style dress to prom. His tweet "My culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress" sparked massive debate and became a widely parodied meme format[12].

### Why was Iggy Azalea controversial?
The Australian rapper faced accusations of appropriating Black American culture by adopting a Southern Black vocal style in her music while speaking with her natural Australian accent in interviews. Azealia Banks publicly called her out on Hot 97, and critics labeled her performance a form of cultural mimicry[7].

### How did the Harlem Shake meme relate to cultural appropriation?
The 2013 viral dance craze bore no resemblance to the original Harlem Shake dance from the 1980s. Harlem residents called it "a mockery," and the meme effectively buried the authentic dance in search results, illustrating how internet virality can erase cultural origins[5].

### What role does Black Twitter play in the cultural appropriation debate?
Black Twitter has been central both as a space for calling out appropriation and as a creative community whose innovations, from slang to meme aesthetics like deep fried images, are frequently adopted by mainstream internet culture without credit[9].

### Is all cultural borrowing considered appropriation?
No. Defenders of cultural exchange argue that cultures have always borrowed from each other throughout history, and that this process is both natural and often positive. The distinction hinges on power dynamics, consent, and whether originators receive credit and benefit[14].

## References
1. [Level 10: Memes and cultural appropriation](<https://mememanifesto.space/level-10/>)
2. [Cultural appropriation | Definition, History, Meaning, & Examples | Britannica](<https://www.britannica.com/topic/cultural-appropriation>)
3. [Cultural Appropriation: a Longread Explainer - Encyclopedia of Opinion](<https://encyclopedia-of-opinion.org/article/cultural-appropriation-longread-explainer>)
4. [Internet meme](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme>)
5. [Cultural Appropriation - Urban Dictionary](<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cultural%20Appropriation>)
6. [Martin Puchner traces history of cultural appropriation — Harvard Gazette](<https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/03/martin-puchner-traces-history-of-cultural-appropriation/>)
7. [Cultural Appropriation – Keywords in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora Studies](<https://sites.tufts.edu/rcdkeywords/cultural-appropriation/>)
8. ['Culture Appropriation' Meme Peaks](<https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=58335>)
9. [Stop Worrying And Learn To Love Cultural Appropriation - Mindthis](<https://www.mindthismagazine.com/stop-worrying-love-cultural-appropriation/>)
10. [Native Appropriations | Representations Matter](<https://nativeappropriations.com/>)
11. [UPROXX – Music Television and Culture](<http://uproxx.com/webculture/disney-moana-halloween-costume-insensitive/>)
12. [Wiscon - Cultural Appropriation panel: oyceter — LiveJournal](<http://oyceter.livejournal.com/441959.html>)
13. [oyceter. Cultural appropriation, pt. 2](<https://oyceter.dreamwidth.org/330487.html>)
14. [Harajuku Girls | Margaret Cho Official Site](<http://margaretcho.com/2005/10/31/harajuku-girls/>)
15. [Is the Harlem Shake Meme Cultural Appropriation? | HuffPost News](<http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/huda-hussan/harlem-shake-cultural-appropriation_b_2794424.html>)
16. [You Can’t ‘Steal’ a Culture: In Defense of Cultural Appropriation](<https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/15/you-can-t-steal-a-culture-in-defense-of-cultural-appropriation.html>)
17. [Yoon has a fantastic post here about the Cultural Appropriation panel…: cofax7 — LiveJournal](<http://cofax7.livejournal.com/348022.html>)
18. [Dear White Gays: Stop Stealing Black Female Culture | TIME](<https://time.com/2969951/dear-white-gays-stop-stealing-black-female-culture/>)
19. [The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea](<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/29/the-cultural-crimes-of-iggy-azalea.html>)
20. [5 things white people need to learn about cultural appropriation](<https://www.dailydot.com/opinion/5-things-white-people-cultural-appropriation/>)
21. [The Cultural Origins of the Spirit Animal](<https://eathealthy365.com/spirit-animal-origins-and-cultural-history/>)

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