It was an exciting topic this week: the senior dance group that was not allowed to perform with sombreros in Germany. It is about “cultural appropriation”. But what does this term actually mean? And how is boss Erika Schmaltz doing after the costume rush? She revealed it to the “Krone”.
“crown”: You made headlines for your costumes during a dance performance at the Federal Garden Show in Mannheim. The organizers accused you of cultural appropriation because you wanted to wear sombreros for a Mexican dance, among other things. How do you feel after all this hustle and bustle?
Erika Schmaltz: Bad! My blood pressure is 180 over 110. I am dizzy and on medication. I’m not human anymore.
A compromise was reached: they are allowed to perform on the main stage, but without sombreros. Are you happy with this deal?
We get angry letters about why we gave in. So I wonder if I did the right thing. Many people are behind us and even calling. That feels good.
How about being accused of being racist for wanting to wear hats, wigs, and the like?
We didn’t want to hurt anyone with it. We have been rehearsing our “world trip on a dream ship” for six months now. When we play geisha, we wear a black wig and kimono. Some costumes were even sewn by myself. Our seamstress works so hard, she can’t see very well anymore. Dancing is our hobby and now we get TV requests for it.
Do you appear in your planned costumes at other parties?
Clearly! It really doesn’t look good when a geisha dances with gray hair!
Is cultural appropriation automatically bad?
What do dreadlocks, sombreros and hip-hop music have in common? The debates about cultural appropriation that flare up again and again.
The term primarily means that traditions and other elements are adopted by social, political or economic minorities. When whites wear felt curls, disguise themselves as Native Americans, or put on a dark face, they are using elements of populations that have often experienced oppression and racism.
Blonde cellist suspended for dreadlocks
In the middle of the 20th century, the term “wake up” developed as a symbol against social oppression. The Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 popularized the hashtag #StayWoke, especially on social networks. It is intended to highlight sensitivity to discrimination and to signal social grievances.
Thus the notion of cultural appropriation or supposed cultural appropriation arose. Clothes, religious traditions and even sports from foreign cultures soon became ‘forbidden’ for other people. This went so far that musician Ronja Maltzahn was not invited to her planned appearance at a Fridays For Future demo about a year ago because, as a fair-skinned woman, she wore dreadlocks. The most bizarre and current flower of this exaggerated form of supposed ‘political correctness’: the senior dance troupe who were not allowed to perform because they wanted to wear sombrero hats for their performance. Non-religious wearing of a bindi point was also “critically viewed”.
Cultural appropriation is viewed very selectively
However, according to the ethnologist Susanne Schröter of the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, the scandalization of cultural appropriation is untenable from a scientific point of view. “Without appropriation, there simply would be no culture. Throughout history, people have never invented everything themselves, but have always adopted things that came from their cultural neighbours,” the expert emphasizes.
The current debates would lag in several places as certain phenomena are selectively addressed. “It is criticized when certain hats, costumes or hairstyles such as dreadlocks are worn by white people, but not when non-westerners play classical music, yodel and wear western fashion. If you really think through such thoughts, you realize how absurd they are,” explains the ethnologist.
According to the researcher, adopting foreign traditions is mainly an expression of a certain appreciation. The next case of “Canceling culture” will certainly not be long in coming.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
