Cultural appropriation, or plain old racism???

[Farasha Hanem]

Most of you might have seen this article already on Facebook. I try to be careful to show respect to all cultures, especially the Arabic culture, since I am learning bellydance. However, this article seems very hateful and counter-racist. Although the author does make a few valid points, where is the line drawn when it comes to cultural appropriation? As a woman of Hispanic heritage, I don't get my tortillas burned when I see people of other races dancing Latino/Hispanic dances.

In the article, the author had no problem when non-Arabic guests danced at Arabic weddings, but she freaks about "white women bellydancers, stating (in NO uncertain terms) that "white women bellydancers" are guilty of appropriation. I could understand if a dancer is taking the dance, putting her own twist on it, and still calling it "bellydance," but I felt the article was an attack on Caucasian women who practice and perform bellydance:

Why I can?t stand white belly dancers - Salon.com

What is everyone's view on this? Are we truly doing bellydance a disservice just because we may not be of Arabic heritage, or is this a hate article?

 

[Darshiva]

It's not counter-racist. It's just plain racist. Counter-racist would be welcoming of all people no matter the colour of their skin. Racism is racism no matter the colour of the people being bigoted or being discriminated against on the basis of their colour (or lack thereof).

As for my personal view - she can shove that attitude right up her bigotted, narrow-minded posterior.


A quick sidetrack - who else here has their cultural heritage hidden by the immigration of family members a few generations back? As Aunt Rocky says, making assumptions makes an ass of you & me! I certainly look white, don't I?

 

[Aniseteph]

Well pardon my lily white ass and excuse me while I get back in my hermetically sealed cultural isolation booth. God forbid I should want to learn and appreciate anything from anyone else's culture.

I absolutely agree that brownface and Arab drag is a bad thing, as is misrepresenting anyone else's culture. But the colour of your skin does not determine whether you are aboard that particular wagon, or what context you dance in.

Whatever.

 

[Shanazel]

And here I thought that kind of organic compound only issued from bulls following a large meal of good grass hay.

 

[Kartane]

Been seeing this article EVERYWHERE and reading a lot of responses. This is my first post on it.

I get it - she's angry - (In my opinion, I am more concerned with women in the world who aren't, but that's another post...), and she is not wrong about there being issues with cultural appropriation in the belly dance world, but the tone of the article is purely confrontational and illogical. Just the title tells me that this is not going to be an article about an important issue, but a personal rant. Even in mentioning the dancer she sees in the restaurant, she seems more concerned that the dancer is 'skinny' than that she can dance. So, while I understand the urge to lash out over an issue that IS important, this piece of writing is useless as a tool to promote understanding and education and change.

Does it get people talking? Yes. Does it get people more ranting than thinking? Even BIGGER yes. Sadly, she slams the door on useful discussion with her rage. It is clear she has a strong opinion, too bad it does not seem to take into account the idea that people of all genetic backgrounds can care for and learn about something in a caring and respectful way. Honestly, it just makes me sad.

 

[Kashmir]

I wonder if the fact that she is living outside her birth culture is part of the issue. She is feeling disconnected and sees others trying to connect and there is this ... anger. (Sorry, my dear, back home most of the women don't do raqs sharqi - they just do raqs) I tried thinking about it as a Hungarian living in New Zealand. How would I feel if a bunch of Kiwis opened a "Hungarian" restaurant served substandard or fusion food, used Rom music, and dressed the waitresses up like Heidi? I would be royally pissed. If I was visiting I might be more inclined to find the whole thing a good laugh.

 

[Darshiva]

I can see your point there Kashmir. I certainly feel peeved when people use the word 'gypsy' indiscriminantly and dress up in big swooshy skirts and romanticise the hell out of it, and the Rrom part of my heritage is such a huge family secret that I don't even know where we originally came from!

Actually, coming to terms with that anger is a big part of what persuaded me to give tribal another chance.

 

[Shanazel]

It is a good point, Kashmir, though that level of rage suggests the writer needs to seek some counseling to work out her frustrations.

 

[Zorba]

Goddess knows what she'd think of male dancers, but given that she likes Fifi, I can guess...

A load of PCBS as far as I'm concerned - maybe just plain BS.

 

[Kartane]

Great response here: THAT Article, or, Bellydance - We Need To Talk Belly dance with EmmaBelly dance with Emma

and

http://autumnward.blogspot.com/2014/03/why-i-cant-stand-petty-snark-pretending.html

 

[samsied]

This article... Where to begin... I think the author could potentially raise some interesting and valid points if she were not so obviously blinded by her own prejudice and were not so misinformed. One it seems to reflect very little knowledge of the Raqs Sharqi/belly dance scene and what actually motivates dancers regardless of their ethnic/cultural origins. The history/cultural information she quoted had some misinformation in it as well Not to mention assuming culture just based on skin color and body shape (i.e. the comment about the "skinny dancer"). But most worrying. She seems to think people inherit an ancestral right to participate in certain art forms. And that if you don't look like you have that right you should stay away. How crazy is that? By that logic, people would only engage in family trades/professions handed down through generations. People would not be free to pursue their passions, talents and interests. I am sure she doesn't mean that, but it is kind of what she is saying (if you apply her logic to anything other than "belly dance"). It sounds like a very segregationist viewpoint. All over the world, people from all cultures enjoy or participate in art or activities that have origins in cultures other than their own. Are non-Indians who practice yoga racist? What about jazz lovers who are not African American? Etc. I do think if one participates in an art form from another culture, that person should pay some respect to the root culture and try to learn all he/she can about the cultural context. But to say anyone who practices a tradition with roots outside their culture is racist whether they know it or not... That sounds very prejudiced to me. And a little ridiculous. Sadly their is racism, ageism, classism and all sorts of other ugly isms all around us, but the author of that article seems to be engaging in a few herself.

 

[Farasha Hanem]

*applauds responses* :clap:

When I first read this article, I was pretty ticked off. After a few days, some thinking it over, and reading your responses, I feel rather sorry for her now. Those here who said she has some sort of emotional problems are spot on. I never thought that she might be feeling disconnected from her own culture. On top of that, someone on Facebook looked up her page and mentioned (in unflattering terms) that she has a weight problem. No wonder why she's suffering emotionally. However, it's still no excuse for all the racial jabs she makes in her article. If she wanted to, she could change her circumstances, find a way to reconnect with her culture, and take the opportunity to also connect with non-Arab dancers, if she would only overcome her negative views. I'm not so sure she WANTS to, however.

 

[Kartane]

Bellydance Paladin » I?m a white woman, and I belly dance.

 

[DancingArabian]

From the article, she came off as jealous to me. She seemed jealous that people outside of her culture had a better connection with it than she does. The skinny comment also helped me come to this conclusion. She's just jealous that women who are skinnier than she is, who are not of her culture, have a stronger connection with her culture than she does.

Sure some of the costumes are pretty bad, but humans are not at a point where we can expect everyone to have the exact same standards in all things. And yeah...sometimes it's just fun to dress up like a harem girl, or gypsy.

 

[Aniseteph]

...sometimes it's just fun to dress up like a harem girl, or gypsy.

It's not fun when people feel their culture is being misrepresented or that they are being made into a stereotype.

I think this was one of the points she had in there somewhere that was very valid. Belly dance communities could stand a little consciousness-raising on orientalism IMO. If you (generic) are out there presenting something as ME belly dance in your idea of a belly dance costume that is actually some kind of harem girl stereotype or Eastern pick 'n' mix or Esmeralda dress up, expect people to be annoyed that you are playing fast and loose with an aspect of their culture.

If you (generic) continue to do it anyway, it comes across as rubbing their noses in your privilege. That's a valid complaint, not jealous hating.

 

[Afrit]

And yeah...sometimes it's just fun to dress up like a harem girl, or gypsy.

Right - and sometimes you just want to dress up like a black mammy with a headscarf - or one of those cute, skinny kike girls. But, you know, you really have to pick your gig - or someone might go all funny on you.

 

[Shanazel]

There are privileges and there are privileges. A fair complexion may keep me from being stereotyped as a terrorist but it lets me in for automatic assumption of racism, cultural appropriation, and that my path through my culturally bereft and clueless life is strewn with flowers and my journey taken in a gilt-trimmed limousine with a convertible top and a rose-colored windshield.

Some persons with minority status expect the privilege of calling "whites" every name in the book, ignoring cultural differences, aiming unfounded accusations at individuals based on skin color alone, and going on hate-fueled rampages against other cultures while also expecting to be excused, understood, justified, and even defended for expressing views that would be called racist if expressed by someone of fair complexion.

There is not a culture in the world that is free of racism. A bit more attention to the log in the eye of one's own culture is not amiss before taking on the motes in the eyes of others. Since I can't quite lodge this particle out of my own so-called (and often wrongly called) white culture's eyelash, I will forbore expounding on the cultural genocides perpetuated by Arab and Moslem and other so-called (and often wrongly called) dark-sinned cultures over the centuries.

Frankly, if the worst things someone can worry about are dance and Halloween costumes of poor taste, that person needs a few new hobbies. I suggest rocking AIDS babies in hospital wards, supporting medical teams who take care to those living in the back of beyond, or coming up to South Dakota to help bury thousands of cattle that died in an unexpectedly horrific storm. Working with a few badly beaten spouses or speechless abused children will put all that angst over a full skirt, some jewelry, and theatrical dance done to violin music in its place.

 

[DancingArabian]

I didn't mean dress up like a harem girl or gypsy and perform on stage. I meant in cosplay. The stereotype harem girls and gypsies are not exclusively Bellydance related though I probably should have said so in my post.

 

[Roshanna]

I didn't mean dress up like a harem girl or gypsy and perform on stage. I meant in cosplay. The stereotype harem girls and gypsies are not exclusively Bellydance related though I probably should have said so in my post.

I think you'll find it's the 'dressing up as a racial stereotype' part that most people have a problem with, period.

 

[samsied]

I think most of us agree that potentially offensive things happen sometimes in some "belly dance" performances. I've seen a few that concerned me, and can only imagine it is worse for people who identify with root cultures. However, she didn't really raise many of these issues in her article. I kind of get her reaction to stage names--it is kind of why I don't use one. To me, it feels false to adapt a name from another culture. However, I don't think those I know who use a stage name are trying to "pass" as another ethnicity. Usually they just pick a name they find beautiful and meaningful in some way. The other concern about the light skins dancer's weight seemed quite superficial. No mention was made of her behavior, costuming or dance. As to the "Arab-face" makeup. I am not even sure what that means. Most performers wear heavy makeup t make their facial expressions visible from a distance and to avoid looking "washed out" under bright lights. The only thing that has concerned me with makeup, well, sometimes ATS and tribal fusion dancers who draw on facial "Berber-inspired" tattoos and also wear bindis. Sometimes it looks cool, but I personally would not feel comfortable mixing and matching elements like this that are clearly from different cultures. I can see that may be confusing, but I would expect she would describe this kind of thing if it were what she was offended by. I actually kind of liked some of her comments on her background and dancing at her own wedding. I just don't think she really made a valid case in the post and am surprised it would be published on Salon given it reveals more about the writers personal prejudice than the subject she was commenting on.

I think cultural appropriation and orientalism are very good topics of discussion and consideration among dancers. There are just musch better written articles on the subject. This one isn't really worthy of the discussion it has inspired.