Abstract

Cultural appropriation is a central concept today in the struggle against systems of oppression and marginalisation of cultural minorities in postcolonial societies. Cultural appropriation means the use or imitation of cultural symbols, broadly understood, outside of their original cultural context, especially the use of symbols of cultural minorities by members of dominant cultural groups. However, the concept of cultural appropriation is also increasingly used to condemn individual actions (such as wearing certain hair styles outside of their original context) on the basis that they would constitute an act of wrongful cultural appropriation. This article provides a critical examination of the current debate around cultural appropriation and outlines two fundamental problems with using the concept to scandalise individual actions. It then argues that the value of the concept seems to be in exposing systemic relations of power and oppression by making them recognisable and criticisable in different social and political contexts.