Gabby Rodriguez
History, pre-law sophomore
Cultural appropriation is a word that has gained a lot of traction recently. By definition, cultural appropriation is the adaptation of elements of one culture into another, making the concept controversial by nature. In the case of Halloween and other costume filled holidays, my experience led me to see the term as “cultural misappropriation.”
As a Latina living in New Orleans, it is common for me to see many elements of my culture involved with the drinking culture of New Orleans. This is usually associated with the consumption of tequila. During the course of the past few months, I have witnessed the costumes of many people that involve other cultures such as Native American, Samoan, African and Latin cultures. Yet, I have come to see a different issue come to surface recently: if you are a member of the “appropriated” cultures, is it okay for you to embrace your culture as a holiday costume?
This Halloween I was dressed like the late Amy Winehouse. I failed to notice the strong parallels between the outfit and makeup I was wearing and the cholo/chola culture that is prominent in the southwest regions of Mexico, where I am from. This was pointed out to me by a random stranger. The exact conversation went something like this: “Um, are you a chola? Because that’s cultural appropriation.” My response, “Um, no. I’m actually (dressed as) Amy Winehouse, and I’m Mexican.” To say the least, this was an interesting moment for me. I was accused of cultural appropriation of an aspect of my own culture and sadly misjudged on my Halloween costume.
Never did I think, when dressing up for Halloween as one of my absolute favorite musicians, that I would offend a culture and be reprimanded for it. The hardest part about this interaction was that I was accused of being insensitive to a culture that I belong to. This resorted into me seeing an even larger issue at hand than mere cultural appropriation, but our use and understanding of the term. At the end of the day, I had to come to terms with one result: Does that mean I can’t embrace my own culture?
