Week 2- Social Empathy

Sapana Gautam
ASA 141
Week 2

Michael Hurt starts off this article by saying "There is power in stepping into someone else's shoes... But it must be done without stepping on the toes of the person who owns them."  He focuses on the notion of using fashion as a communicative medium promoting social empathy and relates this to kinesthetic empathy.  Kinesthetic empathy is having the urge and thrill to dance when watching a dance performance, although it is not possible since they are seated in the audience.  Similarly, people have the desire to wear the clothes of other cultures, but they cannot because it is not their culture to share.  This is why when people visit another country, they love to put on the clothing of the people who live there.

I believe this is a very interesting article because it ties into the debatable topic of cultural appropriation (something we have talked about multiple times in class).  What is considered cultural appropriation?  When is it okay to wear something of another culture?

Personally, I believe that when tourists wear the clothing of the place they visit, it is actually showing respect to the culture and the country itself.  I would not consider that appropriation; I would consider it appreciation.  Another example is a non-Indian person wearing Indian attire (saree, kurta, etc.) to an Indian wedding.  In that case, it is not only appreciation, but practically the dress code (Pictured below).  However, in class, we talked about using cultural wear as part of haute couture, and I recall someone saying it is not appropriation because artists take inspiration from something (in this case, a culture) and that they would only share creations that they are proud of.  I have to disagree with this statement; although it is okay to take inspiration from a culture, I believe it is still appropriation if it is not done in a respectable manner (accounting for the meaning behind it) and if credit is not given to whomever/wherever the inspiration was rooted from.

This being said, I understand that the definition of "cultural appropriation" is still a highly debatable topic and can mean many different things to different people.  What does it mean to you?  Yet, I agree with Hurt; it can be empowering to step into someone else's shoes but it's important to not step on the toes of the person who owns them.  In other words, show appreciation to and take inspiration from someone's culture but make sure not to do it in any way that could offend them.