In the 70s, I lived in New York and witnessed the glorious explosion of gay life — until Saturday Night Fever debuted. No longer underground and unique, my tribe was front-page news. And it pissed me off!
Today, I could’ve vented my hyper-sensitive spleen on a worldwide platform, tweeting “No homo would be caught dead in a white polyester suit,” and argued about cultural appropriation. The term broadly means the adoption by a majority of a minority’s tradition for its own empowerment, disrespectful of history or sacredness and costing that minority. During digital battles, usurpers scream “freedom of speech,” and couldn’t care less about hearing legitimate concerns. The less privileged protesters are often the least equipped and last heard above the bickering din.
Is South Park’s Tickle Me Homo an amusing play on a child’s toy, or a disgusting promotion of anti-gay sentiments? Context decides.
Opponents equated SCOTUS’ same-sex marriage decision with the Dred Scott ruling regarding slavery, the court’s worst “sad day” — except perhaps to justices Alito, Scalia, and Thomas, The Three Stooges of the Supreme Court. (Does that insult the justices or the comics?) Context decides.
Wearing blackface, Ted Danson roasted then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg who, as the Oscar hostess in whiteface, portrayed Elizabeth I as the African Queen. In White Chicks, The Wayans brothers portray African-American FBI agents in whiteface female drag. In Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey, Jr. applied “realistic” blackface. Black entertainers wore blackface in the early 1900s! Entertaining or not? Perhaps another decision for context.
The Confederate flag: emblem of heroism, or reminder of cruel servitude?
A Colorado bill proposed listing bakeries that offered same-sex wedding cakes, defending and excusing bakeries who discriminated. What’s next, anti-gay muffler shops? From dicey to pricey. LGBTs and other minorities fixed up homes and opened businesses, improving the Baker neighborhood, then couldn’t afford it; but “authentic” Mexican enchiladas are now enjoyed safely in chic restaurants. Losing a vibrant, diverse neighborhood? Meh.
Are Blondie, Eminem, Iggy Azalea, and their millions of white followers “wiggas,” white people copying hip-hop culture and a pejorative play on the already pejorative “n” word? Or are they artists and fans? Context, are you here?
The bindi, a sacred red dot to Hindus, has been worn as a beauty mark by Gwen Stefani, Julia Roberts, Madonna, and Selena Gomez. The top knot, also sacred to Asians, can be seen crowning white boys’ heads. Fashion blasphemies, or embraces of Indian culture? Paging context.
Using geisha girls in their music, do Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry appreciate Japanese culture, or endorse misogyny? Killing Native Americans yielded rewards for scalpers when the US government and private companies paid for literal scalps, including genitalia, hence, “red skins.” Does the name of the Washington football team honor Native Americans? Pharrell Williams posed in a Native American war bonnet on an Elle UK cover, and The Village People had an “injun” stereotype in their costumed lineup. What’s the difference?
All of human history could be deemed cultural appropriation. Romans were Greek wannabes. Popes forced Jews to convert to Catholicism. Ivan the Terrible morphed into Vlad the Putin. Muslim invaders knocked on the gates of Vienna in 1529, and again last year. In the United States, minority babies outnumber white babies. We will witness future flip flops of cultural appropriation for years to come. No. Big. Deal.
