The first time I had heard of cultural appropriation was when I watched Glee for the first time in grade nine. Within the show, there was a scene between Santana and Mr. Schue after he performed a song in Spanish for the glee club. Santana proceeds to call out her teacher for appropriating her culture and encouraging him to get educated on the subject he taught.

            As a teacher candidate, this is one of my fears. I do not want to appropriate a student’s culture within the classroom, but culture needs to be incorporated to make an effective learning space. The line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation is not always straightforward. Instead, it can be murky and depends on who you ask.

            For example, in 2018, Keziah Daum posted pictures to Twitter of her in her prom dress. I went to a high school with a high Asian population and news travelled quickly around the school. Many people that I knew did not like that Daum had taken their culture and made it “trendy” and agreed with Jeremy Lam when he responded by saying “My culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress” (Marilisaraccoglobal, 2018). However, once the news spread to China, many people said that if Daum felt comfortable and feels pretty, there is no reason why she should not wear it. When I talked with my friend, she was uncomfortable with the style the dress had. Since there was a high slit in the side and was tight-fitting, unlike the traditional ones she had seen as a kid (D. Shuen, personal communication, November 10, 2021).           

           As a Japanese Canadian, I do not feel like it is my place to decide whether Daum was right in wearing the Qipao to prom. However, it made me wonder how as an educator I will be able to differentiate between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation within the classroom. For this assignment, I decided to dive into the two topics and find the line between them. I am also going to look at old assignments I made in elementary and high school to decide whether I was appropriating or appreciating culture.

References

[Glee Scenes]. (2016, July 31). Glee santana asks will why he became a spanish teacher 3×12 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMJLDES89-g&feature=youtu.be

Marilisaraccoglobal. (2018, May 3). Teen criticized for wearing chinese qipao to prom — But people in china don’t seem to mind. Global News. Retrieved 30 November 2021, from https://globalnews.ca/news/4184700/prom-chinese-dress-cultural-appropriation/

Murphy, R. (Writer), Falchuk, B. (Writer), Brennan, I. (Writer), & Barclay, P. (Director). (2012, February 7). The Spanish teacher (Season 3, Episode 12) [TV Series Episode]. In R. Murphy, B. Falchuk, (Executive Producers), Glee. Twentieth Century Fox Film Productions.