# Should food be considered "cultural appropriation"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755 "2017-06-24T14:36:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/21 "2017-06-24T23:18:23Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > There goes my plan of cooking a pizza for dinner! Damn Italians, stealing tomatoes from the New World. They should just stick to pasta. Oh wait. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/22 "2017-06-24T23:29:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There are certain things that I think are genuinely off limits. Fashion models wearing feathers in their hair Indian style as part of the wardrobe comes to mind (which I’ve seen). There are aspects of Alaska Native arts that are actually legally off limits to any non-Native, such as selling ivory of any kind. Yes, I see your point, and I do agree. In my original response I was making generalizations, but there are always exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/23 "2017-06-24T23:37:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There are certain things that I think are genuinely off limits. Fashion models wearing feathers in their hair Indian style as part of the wardrobe comes to mind (which I’ve seen). Why is that off limits? Would it be “off limits” for a Chinese fashion model in China to wear a cowboy hat? A sari? ---
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/24 "2017-06-24T23:50:38Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Why is that off limits? Would it be “off limits” for a Chinese fashion model in China to wear a cowboy hat? A sari? No. Get the memo. It’s only off limits if a white person does it. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/25 "2017-06-25T00:14:02Z")
> [@Reddy\_Mercury](#): > > No. Get the memo. It’s only off limits if a white person does it. You are incorrect. If a Chinese person (or a Punjabi or a Bantu) wears a full Native American costume, there would be some objections. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/26 "2017-06-25T00:37:48Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > You are incorrect. > > If a Chinese person (or a Punjabi or a Bantu) wears a full Native American costume, there would be some objections. As I’ve said elsewhere…I’ve had to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just let all models dress how they want and dancers and singers and lets just celebrate diversity. Are metrosexuals appropriating? Was Robin Williams? ANY straight person who plays a homosexual??? Let’s just call it a day and be sensitive if someone objects. “Hey white guy, I don’t like you dressing in redface and making some fake war chant and tomahawk chant.” “I’m sorry, if it’s really offending you, i’ll stop.” But some lily-white Portlanders don’t get to make the call on what is racist and what isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/27 "2017-06-25T01:04:20Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Why is that off limits? Would it be “off limits” for a Chinese fashion model in China to wear a cowboy hat? A sari? Feathers have a spiritual significance to Native Americans. A cowboy hat is just a hat. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/28 "2017-06-25T01:31:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Feathers have a spiritual significance to Native Americans. A cowboy hat is just a hat. As I’ve said in other threads on similar subjects, other people’s taboos are their problem, not mine. I’m under no obligation whatsoever to treat someone else’s sacred symbols as if they were sacred to me. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/29 "2017-06-25T01:34:56Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > As I’ve said in other threads on similar subjects, other people’s taboos are their problem, not mine. I’m under no obligation whatsoever to treat someone else’s sacred symbols as if they were sacred to me. Everyone’s free to wear or cook whatever they like (as long as it’s not people), and others are free to criticize them for it. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/30 "2017-06-25T01:47:05Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > As I’ve said in other threads on similar subjects, other people’s taboos are their problem, not mine. I’m under no obligation whatsoever to treat someone else’s sacred symbols as if they were sacred to me. But you wouldn’t pretend to wipe your ass with them or if the table next to you happened to be Hindus who held cattle to be sacred…you wouldn’t dig into a steak, look them in the eye and go 'MMMMMMMMMM TASTY!!!" I’m not trying to make a point, I’m genuinely curious if any degree of respect goes into your statement. Again, not calling you an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/31 "2017-06-25T01:53:51Z")
I think there’s a big difference between stealing, and paying homage. Someone used the instance of “Fashion models wearing feathers in their hair Indian style” If a fashion model wants to use wear that, what’s wrong with it? Maybe, in today’s world where you can find out everything about everything via the internet, some girl who sees the model will think that particular accessory is pretty, look it up and learn the actual history of it in the process. In this way, this act of “appropriation” would lhead to greater awareness of a culture than there might otherwise have been. It all comes down to intent. If you’re wearing something with the intent of mocking or belittling another culture, that’s wrong. Should it be illegal? No. But it’s tasteless. But if someone is wearing some aspect of another culture’s fashion because they genuinely like that fashion, I’d say that’s paying respect to that culture more than anything else. Isn’t imitation the most sincere form of flattery anyway? If I have a little Buddha statue in my house, it’s not because I lack respect for the culture. While I may not be Buddhist, maybe I find such symbols to have a beauty which transcends the original intent. If these sort of social laws against “cultural appropriation” existed centuries ago, we probably would not have half the movies, music and television shows we’ve had. I mean the entire Roman religion was an act of cultural appropriation. But perhaps in doing so they helped keep that culture alive a lot longer than it might have on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/32 "2017-06-25T01:57:21Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > But you wouldn’t pretend to wipe your ass with them or if the table next to you happened to be Hindus who held cattle to be sacred…you wouldn’t dig into a steak, look them in the eye and go 'MMMMMMMMMM TASTY!!!" > > I’m not trying to make a point, I’m genuinely curious if any degree of respect goes into your statement. Again, not calling you an asshole. I wouldn’t go out of my way to be a jerk while eating steak around Hindus, no–but I wouldn’t stop eating it, either. And if they got holier-than-thou about it? Hell yes, I’d be a jerk to them, both in emphasizing how much I like dead cow and in how little I think of their primitive superstitions. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/33 "2017-06-25T01:59:52Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I wouldn’t go out of my way to be a jerk eating steak around Hindus, no–but I wouldn’t stop eating it, either. > > And if they got holier-than-thou about it? Hell yes, I’d be a jerk to them, both in emphasizing how much I like dead cow and in how little I think of their primitive superstitions. Fair enough, I can get behind that. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/34 "2017-06-25T02:11:41Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > But you wouldn’t pretend to wipe your ass with them or if the table next to you happened to be Hindus who held cattle to be sacred…you wouldn’t dig into a steak, look them in the eye and go 'MMMMMMMMMM TASTY!!!" > > I’m not trying to make a point, I’m genuinely curious if any degree of respect goes into your statement. Again, not calling you an asshole. “I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.” ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/35 "2017-06-25T02:13:56Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > “I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.” Nope. He answered quite ably. I genuinely wanted to know if he was live and let live, live and let die or ‘You primitive screwtops can fuck off’. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/36 "2017-06-25T03:00:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Feathers have a spiritual significance to Native Americans. A cowboy hat is just a hat. I don’t know that a cowboy hat is “just a hat”, but let’s leave that for another time. So what if feathers have a spiritual significance to Native Americans? So does tobacco. Let’s say I’m a fashion designer and I want to bring out my spring collection inspired by Native American culture. Or, I just think feathers are beautiful. What’s wrong with that? Let’s say I’m a Chinese Buddhist, but I want to wear a Star of David or a Cross. There is no such thing as a pure culture. Every culture borrows from other cultures, just like every language borrows from other languages. Hyoo-man see, Hyoo-man do. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/37 "2017-06-25T04:54:40Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Nope. He answered quite ably. I genuinely wanted to know if he was live and let live, live and let die or ‘You primitive screwtops can fuck off’. Yeah, it is the difference between them saying “cows are sacred to us, so we don’t eat them” and saying “cows are sacred, so you need to stop eating them now.” First situation? I’d bite my tongue. Second situation? I wouldn’t. There is a WORLD of difference between saying “this is sacred to my religion so I don’t do it” and saying “this is sacred to my religion so nobody can do it.” ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/38 "2017-06-25T05:06:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Feathers have a spiritual significance to Native Americans. A cowboy hat is just a hat. Well, also, the Chinese didn’t steal all the cowboys’ land and kill most of them off with disease and war. ---
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/39 "2017-06-25T05:09:54Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Well, also, the Chinese didn’t steal all the cowboys’ land and kill most of them off with disease and war. Well, as unfortunate as the Native American genocide was, you probably wouldn’t be sitting where you are, typing on this forum, if not for it. You’re sitting on culturally appropriated land. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2017, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755/40 "2017-06-25T05:27:24Z")
> [@Reddy\_Mercury](#): > > Well, as unfortunate as the Native American genocide was, you probably wouldn’t be sitting where you are, typing on this forum, if not for it. You’re sitting on culturally appropriated land. Appropriated. No “culturally” needed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-food-be-considered-cultural-appropriation/789755.md?page=3)