religious remix culture

[frecklestars]

LJ Idol week 30 (3/6): appropriation

As a sociologist, I'm constantly discussing cultural appropriation with my students, especially in light of feather earrings, moccasins, and "gypsy" skirts. I want my students to think more deeply about the historical background of these fashion trends, what these items might have meant to the cultures they came

Comments

[theafaye]

You might be interested in reading "Talking About the Elephant" which is an anthology of articles about appropriation in paganism (I have an article in it about transposing Wiccan practises to the southern hemisphere). I don't agree with all the opinions in it, but the articles are very thought provoking and well worth reading

[frecklestars]

Thanks! *adds to reading list* I'm definitely interested in reading more stuff about more advanced concepts. I'm well past the whole "this is how you cast a spell" books stage.

Ahhh, the old "Wicca is only Garderian or Alexandrian" debate. :P I left it out of this one because that's a long one. Let's just leave it at this: I'm not one for tradition. Perhaps a future debate post?

[theafaye]

I only write for more advanced anthologies. So if you want other thought provoking stuff, let me know what you're interested in and I'm sure I can throw a few titles your way :o)

I must admit that the initiate vs. non debate is not one that I really care to get sucked into. It is interesting to note, though, that in the ten years since I first started discussing things on forums, it's gone from people saying "I can call myself whatever I like" to "why would I want to call myself Wiccan if I'm not?", at least in the UK. It's pretty refreshing and gives me hope that people do self examine and question why they do things and realise that there really isn't any need to appropriate (ha! See what I did there?) titles, especially when if you're working solitary, a title really is meaningless.

[rrie_selavy]

Sera Beak had some really good stuff to say about this in The Red Book:

"...what do you do when the spirit becomes stronger than the rational brain? When divinity ignores what is 'proper' or 'culturally appropriate' and just shows up in whatever crazy form you need most? This is what happened to me...[skipping a bit about how Kali showed up in her life, personally I think MOST women living on this planet would identify with some aspect of Kali, as long as they aren't living in a bubble but this is Sera's book]...

If I wasn't dreaming of goddesses from across the globe, I was coming to some other humble realization...Should I have shut off all this divine twinkle? I sure as hell tried to, at first. But deep down, I knew I was missing out on what these energies were trying to teach me. I finally learned, despite my initial resistance, the importance of not limiting how the divine shows up in my life, and perhaps more importantly, how it shows up for others."

[frecklestars]

Maybe I should check that book out after all, because I really appreciate the sentiment.

[whipchick]

Two things in particular struck a chord for me

[minnesattva]

the lives modern Roma people are actually leading, which look a lot more like American blacks post-Reconstruction.

Yes! Thank you for this. It's something I've long struggled to put a finger on; this dichotomy between the snide "hur hur she put a curse on me" to the romanticized "dancing! mischief!" with the truth somewhere in between. Your comparison helps a lot of things click into place in my brain. (Obviously my happiness is not that should be leading such lives, but that articulating the problem helps get us closer to solutions; while I nor no one I personally know can solve the systemic problems in how Roma and Travellers are treated, we can at least not be dicks about them; it's that "easier" goal I'm trying to encourage effort toward. :) )

[frecklestars]

I'd love to read that piece on Roma, when you put it together! Also appreciating the parallels between Roma and American blacks post-Reconstruction. Might actually use that analogy in my class this fall!

I think visiting the Temple of Kali would be fascinating. *adds to already-lengthy bucket list*

[whipchick]

Just remember your baby wipes, the number-one helpful thing I brought to India...all temples are no-shoes locations, and I sure did step in goat shit and goat blood.

[minnesattva]

Thanks for talking about this and thanks for not trying to give it a neat and tidy ending/lesson learned/moral of the story.

I am really interested in traditions, and how white people (in the U.S.; this doesn't seem to be as true of white Brits in my experience but I could be wrong) think they have no culture and are thus entitled to nab whatever looks interesting from other people's cultures. (Maybe it's just that white Britain already did this and now considers its imperial appropriations, from curry to tea, to be intrinsic to its culture.)

I am not a person of religion, faith or belief but I do wonder sometimes what I could have done if I'd wanted to continue in some kind of religious tradition...

• Could I keep the Catholicism of my upbringing? Well that is a religion that started in the Middle East and was shaped by being the government of Europe for a thousand years (which is where most of the misogyny and bigotry comes from; it helped in keeping the populace under control).
• Could I look to the pre-Christian traditions of

[theafaye]

I am really interested in traditions, and how white people (in the U.S.; this doesn't seem to be as true of white Brits in my experience but I could be wrong) think they have no culture and are thus entitled to nab whatever looks interesting from other people's cultures. (Maybe it's just that white Britain already did this and now considers its imperial appropriations, from curry to tea, to be intrinsic to its culture.)The thing is that 'white' Britain does have a culture dating back centuries. The States doesn't. Along the way, it's nabbed things from other places, what with having an imperialist history, but as an island nation, it has, itself, been conquered many a time in the dim and distant past. You only have to walk around castle ruins to recognise how much bloodshed is in our past - but also how much joy and celebration and tradition which has left its mark on our society

[jem0000000]

*hugs*

...I don't have anything really to contribute; I'm not sure myself where to draw that line between remixing and enforcing stereotypes. But this is a thing to think about, and I will come back and read the comments when I have more time.