When was the last time you stopped to wonder if something you wore, said, or did might offend someone from another culture? If you’ve spent even a semester at IE University, chances are the thought has crossed your mind more than once.
What Is Cultural Appropriation?
Cultural appropriation occurs “when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way.” Its purpose serves as a progressive term, aiming to protect exploited minorities and help preserve their unique customs and traditions. However, is the concept truly progressive? Is it even aimed at minorities? Or is it just a performance of virtue—one that privileged societies have the luxury to obsess over?
In reality, cultural appropriation is a concern primarily sustained by privileged communities—those with the economic and social stability to engage in and prioritize such debates. Globally, culture isn’t viewed as intellectual property with rigid boundaries—it’s something to be shared. For many, cultural exchange isn’t threatening; it’s essential. It represents livelihood, joy, and a way to be seen.
In many communities still facing poverty, marginalization, or underdevelopment, people often want their culture to travel. They want their music heard, their fashion worn, their food tasted, and their traditions seen and respected around the world. Tourism is the biggest foreign currency earner in 12 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and the second or third biggest in 11 more. Four of the five countries that recently developed from LDC status did so thanks to strong tourism growth. Whether it’s braiding cornrows for tourists, applying henna, or dressing foreigners in turbans, the focus is less on who is using the culture and more on how it can create opportunity. In these contexts, appropriation isn’t seen as a problem—it’s seen as potential.
When Appropriation Crosses the Line
That’s not to say cultural appropriation doesn’t exist. It does—and it becomes harmful when it involves mockery, corporate exploitation, or misuse by dominant cultures. When a fashion brand adopts traditional attire or a musician samples local beats without giving credit, it’s not just appropriation—it’s theft. The real issue lies in how the current narrative conflates these exploitative acts with genuine admiration or cultural curiosity. Not every cultural exchange is an act of dominance or oppression. In many cases, it’s the exact opposite: a chance for cultures to be seen, gain influence, and show their pride on their terms.
Culture Is Meant to Be Shared
Culture is meant to be shared, and by treating culture like an idea with copyrights, a patent, and strict ownership, we are bypassing the point entirely.
Great things have come from sharing culture. The English language, for instance, is a blend of Germanic, Latin, French, and Norse elements. The Arabic numeral system revolutionized mathematics. Even the music we dance to in Madrid or Segovia draws from a mix of influences—African drums, Latin rhythms, Arabic melodies, French pop, and Asian synths. Staple foods like tacos, ramen, pizza, and hamburgers are the result of centuries of cultural blending.
If culture were isolated, untouchable, and unmodifiable, then the society we’d live in would look drastically different. It would be less innovative, less connected, and honestly, a lot less fun.
Reframing the Conversation
So if sharing, blending, and participating in each other’s cultures brings joy—and even strengthens societies—why are we so afraid of it? Why is cultural participation still being condemned, especially by those far removed from the people they claim to protect?
Perhaps the reality is this: cultural appropriation, as it’s discussed today, isn’t truly about protection or progress—it’s about power and performance. Sharing culture doesn’t diminish its value; isolating it, caging it off from the world, is what causes it to fade.
