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A quick look at how we might be able to avoid cultural appropriation when appreciating and eating food.
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Transcript Provided by YouTube:
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[Music]
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cultural appropriation has been a hot
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topic for the past couple of years but a
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lot of the dialogue about it has been
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overly simplistic in reality it is a
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complicated concept that can leave many
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feeling unsure of how to engage in
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cultural exchange without perpetuating
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racism so what is cultural appropriation
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it’s when a person from a dominant
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culture in the United States that’s
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white people uses elements of a
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marginalized culture in a way that
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perpetuates harmful and oppressive power
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dynamics a lot of people think that this
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is a silly issue because it’s just
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clothes or it’s just food moment were
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just clothes or food sadly history makes
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that impossible there’s why people care
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historically when white dominated
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nations colonized other places they
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weren’t satisfied with claiming land or
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resources a key part of colonization was
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the annihilation of native cultures
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colonizers forced indigenous peoples to
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assimilate to European cultural values
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and practices however at the same time
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the exotic eyes the flavors sounds and
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aesthetics of the people they colonize
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so that they could continue to enjoy
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those aesthetics while simultaneously
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asserting their inferiority to European
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aesthetics this history is not over all
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too often in today’s world people of
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color and indigenous people are
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marginalized for taking part in their
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own cultural practices the same
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practices that when white people use
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them are valorized as a new discovery as
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worldly and sophisticated or as unusual
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and exotic for example black natural
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hairstyles are frequently banned from
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schools and workplaces as unprofessional
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distracting and even dangerous but bantu
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knots
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afros dreads and box braids have all
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been used recently in high fashion as
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quote-unquote trendy hairstyles for
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elite white people
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but don’t worry we’re not here to tell
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you that you should only eat hotdogs for
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the rest of your life it’s a good thing
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to explore and enjoy foods from
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marginalized cultures you just have to
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be conscious of how you do it
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here are 4 tips for avoiding cultural
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appropriation and being a more
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anti-oppressive food lover number 1
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don’t exercise
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fetishize or other making a big deal of
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how weird a food is is just one way to
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make it clear that American and European
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foods are normal while other foods are
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not on the flip side bragging about how
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many exotic or unusual dishes you tried
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shows that you think quote-unquote
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ethnic foods are tourist attractions
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rather than serious cultural material
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it’s ok to be honest that you are not
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used to or dislike a certain food or
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flavor but the attrex are unnecessary
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and patronizing number 2 don’t expect
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non-white food to be cheap so called
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ethnic food is often expected to be
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cheap and chefs of color who ask for a
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higher price are characterized as
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charging too much for the kind of food
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they’re making if you’re willing to pay
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$20 for an entree at a French restaurant
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but won’t go to a Thai restaurant unless
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entrees are under $10 you’re reinforcing
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the idea that people of color and
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immigrants should do labour cheaply and
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be grateful for whatever scraps they get
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number 3 patronize businesses that are
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owned by people whose culture it is
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being sold one of the more insidious
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forms of cultural appropriation is when
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people sell a marginalised culture that
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is not their own they’re able to profit
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while the people whose culture is being
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sold are maligned for eating and making
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the same things to avoid this go to
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restaurants that are owned by people who
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come from the ethnic or racial group
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whose culture is being sold number four
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act in solidarity with people of color
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and indigenous people if you love
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someone’s food you should also care
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about their human
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learn more about the history of
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colonialism and racism educate yourself
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about food justice and racial justice
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and get involved donate to racial
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justice organizations and movements
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volunteer in a respectful and
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appropriate way with a community garden
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go to local racial justice organization
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means and call your representatives
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about policies that affect communities
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of color the takeaway is this food is
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really important to people it is
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intimately linked to race ethnicity
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culture identity and pride these issues
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are complicated and you might mess up
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but nobody’s perfect
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what’s important is understanding that
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food is a political issue and also
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making a commitment to decolonize our
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love of food the script and research for
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this video was done by the wonderful
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Claire Fiamma also if you liked the
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video consider showing your support by
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being the subscribe button or you can
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throw me a few bucks on patreon I’m
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super grateful and I will see you next
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time
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This post was previously published on YouTube.
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Photo credit: Screenshot from video.