My fellow white bellydancers:

[sihayadesigns]

I am here to tell you that cultural appropriation exists. It is a real thing. It is not some term that those mean brown people made up so that they can "play the race card." There is an entire field of sociological study and race theory that deals with issues of appropriation. It is not fucking Santa Claus.

Likewise, "cultural appropriation" does not mean that you should not like Japanese food or listen to rap or enjoy Bollywood films or take salsa lessons, or any number of things that those minorities share with us in the US.

What it means is that we should think about how we enjoy things of cultures not our own, and how we present those things if we perform them.

It means that we should not feel entitled to cherry pick from another culture. It means that we should listen if someone from that culture criticizes how we are presenting those things from their culture.

And not everyone from that culture is going to say the same thing. I have heard Indian women criticize white women wearing bindis in any context. For them, it galls to see a white woman praised as ~worldly and ~cultural for playing dress-up with a bindi, while they themselves receive racist hate when they wear an article from their own culture. And I absolutely understand that.

I have also been given bindis by Indian women to wear in performance.

Here's the thing: neither perspective is more valid. Neither is invalid. Both are valid responses to their own lived experience within their culture. Minorities are not a monolith, and I don't believe it's fair or right to write off a perspective simply because it makes me uncomfortable, or forces me to examine an aspect of my behavior, or clarify if/why wearing a bindi is important to my performance. (For those not in the know, bindis are a pretty standard costume element in ATS, which is a fusion bellydance that fuses Middle Eastern, Turkish, and Indian folk dances with flamenco and modern improv.)

What this means is that with each voice, I add another layer of understanding. I refine my idea of when and where it is appropriate for me to wear a bindi. (For example, now I will wear one within the context of a strongly Indian-influenced fusion piece, which is pretty rare. I will not wear one if I am doing more generally fusion dance. I will never wear one for just fashion.) This is a sensitive issue, and not everybody is going to have the same data or conclusions. But I do think it's one that needs to be more closely examined by our community.

So, in short: you are not a terrible person for genuinely liking, learning, and performing bellydance. But you do have the added responsibility of constantly thinking about how you are presenting cultures that are not your own when you use elements of those cultures in your artistic performance, and adjust your presentation accordingly.

I know there are many professional dancers who do this regularly-- they are scholars of Middle Eastern & Turkish cultures. Who have lived and practiced their art in Egypt. Who have spent years or decades studying those cultures because they understand that you cannot decontextualize bellydance from the cultures from which it comes. For those people, I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir.

I am also tired of hearing that white women wearing articles of clothing from minority cultures (which may have religious meaning) is no different from Arab women wearing blue jeans. Cultural exchange is not evenly weighted on both ends. Institutional racism plays a HUGE role in what is appropriation and what isn't. Educate yourself and stop making these dishonest false equivalencies.

Look, I'm not perfect. There is no world in which I will ever BE perfect on this issue. But I do know that as a white woman who performs a dance that is fused from cultures not my own that appropriation is something I should always be grappling with, and if I'm not, then I'm doing it wrong. There are things I do that I know are problematic, and I'm still grappling with what parts of my dance are genuine love of culture and dance, and which may be appropriating parts of other cultures for the sake of my magpie nature. It's a thing. Pretending it's not is just... to be completely bereft of self-awareness.

Yeah, reading something like Randa Jarrar's article stung a bit, and yeah, that article was chockablock full of inaccuracies and fallacies of its own, both in regards to individual dancers and this history of bellydance. Here's what I know: we can critique that without ignoring the valid points because of her tone. We can not question if she's "brown enough" to talk about her culture because a Googled picture of her shows a woman with lighter skin. We can use more nuanced definitions of "racism" and "prejudice" that include elements of institutional power when we have these sticky discussions so that we don't make false equivalencies. We can not say hateful things, even if we perceive her as having done so.

I also know this: this week's discussions on the topic of appropriation exposed a LOT of ugliness within the bellydance community. It didn't damage the community. It exposed the damage that was already there. And it's damage we need to fix. As long as there are new dancers and new developments to the form, this is a discussion we need to keep returning to. We all need to keep learning and keep listening. Not pretend that cultural appropriation is a term that minorities use to make us feel guilty for liking things.

I've defriended at least five people on facebook today for acting like appropriation is the goddamn tooth fairy. I've BEEN defriended for clarifying terminology. I've cringed in shame at supposed teachers within our community. Can we please stop showing our asses now?

As a result of the discussion, a Decolonizing Bellydance group was founded for those of us who don't want to roll our eyes at the topic. Who want to look at bellydance and issues of Orientalism and appropriation and learn. There's also a Tumblr. I am really glad this is happening. I have a lot to learn.

Comments

[missrachael.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear.

I know you do tribal dance - what are your feelings about its haphazard fusion of influences? Particularly stuff like naming steps "Egyptian" and "Turkish" without them having anything to do with those cultures (or at least that's how my teacher explained it to me)?

(Not being combative - trying to reconcile my love for an art form with my desire not to be a dick.)

[sihaya09.livejournal.com]

I think there are lots of issues around "tribal" itself as a term. I understand what Carolena meant when she started using it in the 70's, but I think that's not what most people think when they hear the term, and in a lot of ways it is full of racist history. I would rather there be a different term altogether, but as it's now cemented with a copyright, that may not ever happen.

The names for the steps don't particularly bother me. Yes, they're pretty generic, but they do at least show which culture's folk dances those arm positions come from (which is how I understand it, though in practice last night, my troupe did talk about issues regarding the naming of the newer step, the 'Egyptian Sevillana' and I agree it's not a good name for the step).

I think its fusion of influences is fine, too, so long as we are clear that it is a fusion dance form and is not supposed to be actually representative of any specific culture-- I have heard tribal dancers describe it as 'ancient' blah blah blah, and... no. It's not. It's a modern invention partially inspired by historical folk dances, but equally inspired by flamenco and modern improv.

So, in general-- I the term 'tribal' aside, I have way more issues with the visual aspects of the dance than the actual moves themselves.

[alivemagdolene.livejournal.com]

I know I've been blogging about social justice for a while when I'm already imagining the bingo card of derailment whining going on. Oy.

Don't you love the people that act like the concept of cultural appropriation was invented on Tumblr? Ew.

I feel very lucky that when I was taking bellydance lessons, it was from an Indian-American woman (second generation) very sensitive to the issue of cultural appropriation.

[sihaya09.livejournal.com]

You're local, yeah? Who have you learned from (I'm genuinely curious, since the Balt/Dc scene seems to be little insular clusters a lot of times).

[alivemagdolene.livejournal.com]

I'm local in the sense that I'm from the Charmless City OUTSIDE Charm City. :^p
I honestly don't remember her name since it was so long ago (fall 2002). I had to stop taking the classes since my work schedule was interfering.

[songindarkness.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this well-thought out response. As a very much brown, but not at all Middle Eastern (Indian/Chinese/English) British woman who just loves bellydancing, I am very confused as to how I was even intended to respond to Randa Jarrar's words. Was I included or excluded in her diatribe? Was I considered one of the white women who is said to be appropriating her culture or am I let off due to my racial background? Was I supposed to suddenly feel the same way as her and rant about "cultural oppressors" myself?

I think you're absolutely right, there is a lot to learn about cultural appropriation. I am disgusted at the ignorance of people who want to say hateful things and make as you say, "false equivalencies" in response to Randa Jarrar.

I still believe that there is a culturally sensitive way that anyone from any culture can perform bellydance. Here's to finding it.

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for this. As always, your voice is clear, fair, reasoned and impassioned. It's hard to ask for more.

I agree with you on Jarrar's piece and wish that it had, among other things, focused more on belly dancing's role in the West as part and parcel of colonial sexual exoticization and fetishization of brown women. What are your thoughts and feelings on the intersection of gender and race here as it applies to an entire art form?

Listening and starting a dialogue seems awesome. It's hard not to ask whether it will ever be enough, and if decolonization is even a real possibility. And if it's not, obviously the implications and necessary steps seem difficult and unpleasant.

Here goes a possibly terrible analogy, but it feels a bit like the dialogue and mindfulness surrounding my diet and the fact that, yes, I make some degree of effort, far more than I used to, and I am self-aware about my choices, and yet I absolutely consume far too many things I 100% know to be toxic, not only to myself, but also unethically and directly harmful to innocent, exploited, ailing lives. "Because food chain" is such a dick response, and yet, the compulsion and my inability to get it fully in check may stem partly from that. My point is, it's good that I'm at least conflicted about it, but I'm not sure the animals who lived rough lives to end up on a plate I ultimately consumed in a completely banal manner would be so impressed with the rigors of my "effort." But as you said, I'm nowhere near perfect and am already far too well aware of that.

The cultural appropriation discussions happening in music are similarly interesting, and inflammatory, and again, I'm not entirely sure where I personally come down on those matters besides "grappling." So much of what's okay and why there seems based on how much a group was credited vs. exploited, and whether they ever received their due propers and compensation for that which was appropriated. On the other hand, it's true that once something enters the public sphere, there's a "fair game" component, and influences and interests are pollinated -- hopefully as you note with a degree of mindfulness, as so much seems based on specific approaches and intentions. But even then, are pure intentions or perceived gatekeeper permissions ever enough to outweigh ambiguities that exist with respect to social justice issues concerning currently or historically marginalized groups? Can anything undo the toxicity of certain chapters of history and modernity?

I'm not trying to be provocative so much as I'm genuinely curious about your views on some or all of this, given your handle and personal history with marginalization and privilege, which I should note has probably single-handedly done more to open my eyes and mind to these issues than has anything else. So, big thanks for that, for all the time and energy expended, and thanks again and in advance for any thoughts that follow. I wish you luck, strength, joy and peace however you can get it; you deserve it.

[sihaya09.livejournal.com]

What are your thoughts and feelings on the intersection of gender and race here as it applies to an entire art form?

I am not really sure what you are asking, here, as in the art form we're discussing, men are very, very much in the minority. So gender doesn't factor into this art form very much in general when it comes to intersectionality.

t's hard not to ask whether it will ever be enough, and if decolonization is even a real possibility.

As bellydance in the West was founded upon a solid foundation Orientalism and exotification of the other, I suspect total decolonization is never going to possible. A more realistic goal is to educate all those who undertake bellydance that this is the case, because there is still a lot of resistance to the idea that white women bellydancing could be seen as racist in any context. We can (should?) no more divorce bellydance from the West's treatment of it than we can the cutures from which it comes. Both are crucial to how we navigate and make choices as performers and artists, imo.

So no, total decolonization is not going to happen (also because art is not static nor ever pure), but we can certainly do a lot of things to make our presentation a lot less problematic. We can be sure that the history of these issues never gets whitewashed over and conveniently forgotten so that we can use it solely for our own purposes. Does that make sense?

There are already good discussions starting up on what practical things we can do to make a difference in terms of respecting and supporting the cultures from which our dance comes (without exercising privilege to do so). So that's also a goal.

So much of what's okay and why there seems based on how much a group was credited vs. exploited, and whether they ever received their due propers and compensation for that which was appropriated.

Yeah, I see that a lot in discussions about Macklemore. About how he gets praised for using his privilege to support the LGBT community (YAY!) but also how it's rare for someone to know the name of the lesbian woman who collaborated with him on the track (BOO). Or about how he's being touted as groundbreaking while black artists are still struggling for recognition on those same topics.

are pure intentions or perceived gatekeeper permissions ever enough to outweigh ambiguities that exist with respect to social justice issues concerning currently or historically marginalized groups

That whole paragraph was super dense, so I hope I'm parsing it right. No, I don't think intentions are ever magic. But on the other hand, I'm not a big fan of saying that X person should never do something of Y culture as a blanket statement-- context is always, always key. As is the idea that people from those marginalized groups are always going to have different views on the topic. So it's more about the process of grappling. About always taking marginalized voices into consideration and tweaking your presentation when you find something you could be presenting better.

So, big thanks for that, for all the time and energy expended, and thanks again and in advance for any thoughts that follow.

Yay, you're welcome.

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I realize my comment was as clear as mud in many places. Thanks for catching that and for replying anyway.

Lemme try again on the "thoughts and feelings re: intersection of race and gender" point. I was basically trying to say that bellydance's Orientalist history in the West seems interesting to approach more deeply from a gender/feminist perspective. Jarrar's focus on appropriation is interesting too, but it feels like she gets hung up on that while glossing over the question of whether women in general can potentially even move bellydance past its history of exploitative exotification and objectification of women generally, and of brown women specifically. She shifts gears to race and appropriation, which, granted, fair points; maybe she felt she had to unpack the race factor first. But the idea of women reclaiming bellydance for themselves was only covered in passing, and I'm willing to bet the gender angle of this question is rich enough to warrant a much deeper discussion on its own. This all relates to the "Are some things ever beyond reclaiming?" question, which you already addressed (and yup, your answer made perfect sense!), so no need to re-address. I mostly just wanted to clarify what I meant back there.

Your intersectionality point brings up another interesting, albeit extremely niche, question about where non-female dancers, however few there might be, would fit into this discussion and dynamic.

Re: my "dense" (read: convoluted, unclear, ridiculous) para: Sorry again about that, and yeah, you got the gist of it. Basically, I was wondering, Can any intentions or permissions ever overcome the hurt and concerns of those who've faced, or are still facing, injustice? I know intentions are never magic, but are they ever, for practical purposes, sufficient? Boiled down further, is it an issue of content, or of presentation? Can improved presentation, or any amount of grappling, ever correct issues of potentially very problematic content?

Anyway, those were the questions rattling around in my head; you've given them plenty enough time already. I appreciate that as well as the opportunity to clarify here.

[sidheblessed.livejournal.com]

I absolutely 100% agree with you. Cultural appropriation is real and it's important to address it. I do strongly believe that we are obligated to listen to people from the culture we're interested in or like a particular part of and make sure that we're presenting that or enjoying it in a culturally appropriate way. It's basic respect.

It didn't damage the community. It exposed the damage that was already there. And it's damage we need to fix.

Yes. This. 100%.

It's really depressing and upsetting that people have responded to Randa Jarrar's article with hatred and dismissal. The article wasn't perfect but her points about cultural appropriation were valid and worth addressing even if it makes us uncomfortable (actually especially if it makes us uncomfortable because that means we're truly unpacking things.)