Week 2- Alejandra Verduzco

Week 2
Fashion is Power
Alejandra Verduzco

For starters, I am not Asian American and personally do not know much about the traditional clothing worn in Asian cultures. However, I am Mexican American and could surprisingly relate to some of the struggles and viewpoints of how certain clothing are symbols of the culture's history. As a Mexican American, I have certain clothing items I wear that symbolize my identity, such as Huipil, much like how Asian Americans wear Ao Dai to symbolize their identity. The connection I made from the Ao Dai to the Huipil indicates that both retain its unique heritage and the journey that Vietnamese people and Mexican people made to come to America. Although the influence of Western culture and politics have changed the way they look the modernization of these garments does not change their true meaning.  As years pass clothing must change to continue to fit the new generation's style all while keeping the original meaning and symbolic aspects.

In the article "Clothing, social empathy and the power of stepping into someones else's shoes" by Michael Hurt goes into depth about how we as people like to mirror one another sort of speak and see things from each other's point of view. Often times people do this by wearing certain garments to make them feel connected and build understanding and empathy. To show empathy is to identify with another's feeling and wearing national clothing could create a mutual connection between cultures. Each culture has similarities and differences much like how I described my personal similarity from my culture to these readings in the above paragraph. Although the style of the garments and meaning behind them are different, by making connections from Asian American Fashion and Mexican American Fashion allowed me to have a greater understanding and respect for the Asian American Fashion Culture.
Question: How could we get more people to understand the meaning behind certain clothing without causing conflict? What is really considered cultural appropriation? What other cultures could relate to these readings?