Last week I committed “cultural appropriation.” This is the act of adopting elements from another group’s culture. CA, for short, is possibly the third worst term to be accused of  in the liberal anti-racist vernacular, after being called “racist” or “prejudiced.” Anti-racist warriors argue that it is wrong when the dominant culture (white people) uses elements of marginalized cultures as disposable fashion trends, without understanding the cultural significance.

Yet, here I am, admitting to the school that I did something questionable — even looked down upon. I am not writing to gloat, taunt liberalism, or trivialize the pain some may feel when their culture is misrepresented or downright stolen from. Rather, I want to share my experience being a non-Indian male wearing henna at BHS, and what I have learned from it.

Last week an Indian friend of mine offered to give me a henna tattoo on my hand. This is a semi-permanent tattoo associated with Indian culture. At first, I was apprehensive, as I am biracial (half White, half Chinese), and white people wearing henna has recently become looked down upon as a form of cultural appropriation. Since I liked how it looked, I went ahead with it anyway. I assumed that I would receive backlash for wearing henna. However, that never happened. I attribute this to the fact that I look racially ambiguous. In the past, I have been asked if I am Asian, Latino, Hispanic, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Peruvian, Korean and multi-racial. Even my Indian friend who did my Henna asked me if I was Indian. How could people possibly accuse me of cultural appropriation if, in their eyes, I might as well be Indian? Through my experience, I realized that only people who are perceived as white are charged with committing CA. By not being accused of CA, I am experiencing non-white privilege.

Before wearing henna, I never felt that my “ethnic” appearance could benefit me. White people who admire henna should not be berated for wearing it. Fascinatingly, while they are called out for henna, I, a half-white male, am not because of my appearance. I have had many of the same advantages as these white students. We may have lived in the same neighborhoods, attended the same elementary schools and had the same opportunities. In the end, what saves me and not them from what is often times unfair public ridicule, is that others cannot easily racially identify me. According to cultural appropriation theory, White people borrowing from other cultures is seen as objectively wicked due to the power imbalance between their dominant culture and that of historically marginalized groups. Based on my own privilege, with that logic, I should also have been unfairly accused of wrongdoing. Also, since my henna is not deemed CA by others, seemingly, from a logical approach, that would imply there is no inequity. However, there is obviously a power difference. Therefore, the definition of CA defies logic when the intricacies of racial ambiguity are involved.

I believe that as long as I am respectful towards henna then wearing it should be a non-issue. It is when people are disrespectful of cultures when we need to be more aware of how we affect others. For example, black musicians being robbed of credit from white artists is terrible. Rather, I would like us as a community to understand that cultural appropriation theory is so complex and absurd that many (incorrectly) view white people wearing henna negatively. The reason that it is so hard to judge what should and should not be classified as CA is because race is just as complex and absurd, if not more so. However, in the end, what is clear is that, unlike cultural appropriation, cultural appreciation is never wrong.