Avoiding Cultural Appropriation with your Mermaid Costume

[AniaR]

I wrote a blog on this topic:

My latest blog: Using Your Own Culture for Your Mermaid Costume Inspiration. A look at how we can avoid appropriating others and looking back at our own history for awesome inspiration. Also, some background on mermaid myths around the world! http://rainamermaid.weebly.com/blog/...me-inspiration

[Mermaid Wesley]

*snaps for Raina*


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[Fifi Tigg]

This is a great blog and makes me want to research my background of German, Scottish and English background
Thank you Raina xx

[SeaGlass Siren]

Wow. I think this may be one of your best posts ever.

the thing with my culture is that we are actually a mix of different cultures which makes it more difficult :S
chinese and French and Portuguese I have no problems borrowing from, but we also have south East Asian, Thai, and Khmer influences as well and some might take that as cultural appropriation ... And recently with Korean media being so popular in Vietnam they've started adopting some newer ones (and right now I don't think Koreans have issues with it because they're like dominating everything)...

Basically im a huge hot pot. my blood background is Chinese and French, but I was 100% Vietnamese raised. Our language mixes Chinese, French, Vietnamese and Indian (something I've taken note of over time) and uses Portuguese alphabets . Our food is a combination of Chinese, French influenced, Vietnamese, and Thai, sometimes Malay and Cambodian.

[Merman Dan]

I would pipe in but do you know what they do with my tail's inspiration around here?

How to Cook Red Drum

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Wow. Really cool post.

My issue is a lot like SeaGlass in that I'm such a mix.

Mexican and German primarily, but I'm some Irish, in CHICAGO. Which means I'm very culturally Irish. Hence the Selkie tag, although I'm backing away from that Mersona. In terms of blood relation I'm more German, but being born in New York didn't stop my mom from passing her Chicago-Irish influence. I'm also Native American - I was nearly named for my great grandmother, Leocathia. In which case Comanchee culture would have likely dominated my life. There's French. Scottish. English. A smidgen Jewish. A genetics test on my mom brought up some East Asian and North African, although it would totally be cultural appropriation if I used either; I wasn't raised with those cultures at all.

And then I spent my formative years on a heavily immigrant populated block in Manhattan. So. Basically, I'm a bit of everything, but not enough of any one thing to utilize it without that culture calling me out on appropriation.

Bit of a problem, really.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Yeah I'm not even including the fact I'm born Canadian because Canada is supposed to be a cultural hot pot of everyone especially in Toronto so.....

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Yup. Yup. Yup. Difficulties.

[SeaGlass Siren]

I think the best example of cultural appropriation versus appreciation is the recent Chinese New Year episode of fresh off the boat

[Sabrina the Selkie]

I will have to watch that.

[PearlieMae]

<---- Hawaiian/Filipino/Chinese/Porteguese/English/Irish.

And my kid is all that and Sicilian.

I'm still on the fence about appropriation issues. What do you do when, like so many of us, are part of many cultures? We both "fit in/pass for", and are often considered "outsiders".

[AniaR]

I have no answers. It is my understanding if you're part of it, you're good lol

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[PearlieMae]

Don't get me started on Hallowe'en (Samhain)!

[Mermaid Saoirse]

My mother's grandparents came to America straight from Scotland, and my father has some Irish further back in his line. While my mom does have some German I wasn't raised much in it, unlike my Scottish heritage. That's why I ended up feeling more comfortable with my mersona having Celtic roots.

Great article, Raina! It was a good read I'm definitely going to show it to my pod members who are still building their mersonas. It's a great creativity boost.
(Same, Pearlie. Samhuinn is a whole other fish ahaha)

[HamptonsMermaid]

So glad to see this topic on here and it's becoming more prevalent in around the world. My boyfriend and his friend got kinda burned at Burning Man for appropriated costumes (interesting though that it was a woman dressed as a Clown who started lecturing them...). It just makes everything feel so much better and more personal when you're authentically representing YOUR unique individuality, and not doing anything that could harm someone else.

I'm mixed too, 1/2 Chinese, 1/4 German, 1/4 English, and I say more cultures the more fun! Most people actually ask me if I'm Native American or Hawaiian, but even through I love these cultures and I especially LOVE their fashion, it just feels right to be connecting with my personal roots. In the past I've dressed up as Pocahontas, a hula girl or an Egyptian goddess, but while these "costumes" are just for fun, I wouldn't want anyone to see my "fun" and have it take away from their fun. One thing I never do is wear store manufactured costumes...If I want a feather headdress, I want to make it myself so it's unique, not appropriated. I will however buy Native American feathers and jewelry directly from the Reservation near me, there's an annual PowWow and I love to directly support native artisans in their craft. That feels good.

But when I wear something that is unique to my roots, it's not a costume, its an extension of myself. It's about learning your culture and your ancestors and proudly representing the unique person (or merson) that is you! And I think it's also totally appropriate to incorporate some of the culture where you grew up in and where you live now. Many of the women in the Miss World/Universe pageants have different roots from the country they represent and that's just fine. It's a unique challenge to tie in all the applicable cultures that you connect with throughout your life.

Just last night I was brainstorming on creating my mersona and it was so fun to look into fashion inspiration from China (hint...Koi tails!). My middle name is "Meiping" which translates to "beautiful plum blossom" so my headdress is definitely getting some plum blossoms! I'm also incorporating elements from my first name Lauren (laurel leaves), even though I am not Greek it's my given name so there's my claim, plus I grew up on bedtime stories of the ancient greco/roman myths and legends. I'm also learning a lot about my different birthstones, numerology and astrological signs. There's so much detail to explore!

I think it also has to do with your specific training through life. For example if you have put the study in to become a blackbelt in Tai Kwon Do or Karate, you may want to use some inspiration from your training and it's culture because you now have personal ties to it. My boyfriend is a master of the West African djembe, and sometimes he gets questions about being a white guy (English/South African) performing African music, but he has studied for over 20 years and learned from African masters around the world, so that whenever an African hears him play they respect his talent and don't take offense. He wears this gorgeous African "mohawk" style hat that is reserved for only djembe masters, and it's really the only "headdress" he feels comfortable wearing to represent himself because he has studied diligently to earn the right to wear it. For me, I would feel comfortable using just a hint of hindu inspiration, as the study of yoga (and the ancient scriptures) is a big part of my personal spiritual path, plus I know that traditional yoga masters don't mind what culture or religion you're from, they think anyone can and should learn from their culture. I think a bindi is just fine, as from what I've researched most Hindus today consider them a fashion accessory anyway. If you want to get spiritual about it, the bindi is placed on the forehead after morning meditation as a way to remind yourself to stay focused on meditation throughout the day. Of course you can't see your own bindi, but when you see other's bindis you are reminded (so the more people who wear bindis the better!). I have a regular meditation practice so I could def use the reminder! I would say just don't wear a red bindi unless you are married or a black bindi unless you are widowed.

This whole mermaiding project is getting me to learn more about myself, my culture and even other cultures and that's awesome! I'll have to ask my grandparents about more details from our specific Chinese ancestry on my dad's side (we have a family tree book somewhere) and of the English and German roots on my mom's side, which I don't even know much about yet. When I'm closer to starting my tail project I'll post an in depth description of my mermaid's symbolism and roots.

p.s. Sorry about the novel but as you can see this stuff excites me! I'm got my degree in anthropology so all cultures fascinate me!

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Great article, Raina. I love when people reference their folklore. But, I have a degree in folklore and mythology so, there's that.

...
I think it also has to do with your specific training through life. For example if you have put the study in to become a blackbelt in Tai Kwon Do or Karate, you may want to use some inspiration from your training and it's culture because you now have personal ties to it. My boyfriend is a master of the West African djembe, and sometimes he gets questions about being a white guy (English/South African) performing African music, but he has studied for over 20 years and learned from African masters around the world, so that whenever an African hears him play they respect his talent and don't take offense. He wears this gorgeous African "mohawk" style hat that is reserved for only djembe masters, and it's really the only "headdress" he feels comfortable wearing to represent himself because he has studied diligently to earn the right to wear it. For me, I would feel comfortable using just a hint of hindu inspiration, as the study of yoga (and the ancient scriptures) is a big part of my personal spiritual path, plus I know that traditional yoga masters don't mind what culture or religion you're from, they think anyone can and should learn from their culture. I think a bindi is just fine, as from what I've researched most Hindus today consider them a fashion accessory anyway. If you want to get spiritual about it, the bindi is placed on the forehead after morning meditation as a way to remind yourself to stay focused on meditation throughout the day. Of course you can't see your own bindi, but when you see other's bindis you are reminded (so the more people who wear bindis the better!). I have a regular meditation practice so I could def use the reminder! I would say just don't wear a red bindi unless you are married or a black bindi unless you are widowed.

...

These are excellent points that I agree with. My genetic heritage is Irish/Scottish/Welsh/French - basically a Celtic mutt, and I LOVE my celtic roots. But my spiritual path is a Vedic one, and I lived in India for a short time for the specific purpose of better understanding my path. I wear saris and bindis, and it is not outside of my personal culture even if it isn't my genetic one - these things represent ways in which I actually live my life. I also practice yoga and bhakti yoga. When I was in India, all I got was appreciation for wearing Indian dress, not any kind of cultural appropriation backlash. However, I do get that from white people on the rare occasions I would be seen in public wearing Indian clothing.

Btw, you're right about the bindi - both in its meaning as a reminder of meditation and also as fashion. And the red dot bindi is for married women, yes, but you can wear what matches your outfit.

I would feel more than comfortable drawing celtic and Indian influences into my mermaid persona. I mean, my name is the name of a village in India, so... But I would feel less comfortable bringing in Chinese or Japanese influences into my persona (specifically my persona - I will wear fashion inspired by these cultures but I always research to make sure I'm not being inappropriate when I do) because I don't feel these cultures are part of my persona, even if they're beautiful and I truly appreciate them.

[SeaGlass Siren]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading that blurb. I wish I knew more about my background from grandparents but they're all gone to the skies :/ my parents doesn't know much either... Except that my dad is chiu chow Chinese, French, but born in Vietnam. Mom is Mandarin Chinese, and Vietnamese.

[HamptonsMermaid]

Thanks Seaglass,
You have a lot of beautiful cultures to work with and it's really fun to learn more about yourself in the process. Do you have any other aunts/uncles or distant cousins you might be able to ask for more info? If not just research what you can. What I've found is that as I go down the rabbit hole of symbolism I instantly know what connects to me and I want to learn more about that symbol or stone or flower or story. It's an intuitive thing and no one can truely tell you "that's not right" because only you know what's right for you. Avoiding appropriating is just about avoiding ignorance, and the only way to avoid ignorance is to educate yourself. If you can back up why you used a particular element with a story about how it connects with you and you've done your homework to understand and internalize the meaning behind it, that shouldn't upset anyone.

[SeaGlass Siren]

I actually do have plenty of cousins... But they're all in Vietnam :| and I only speak English, I know very limited Vietnamese so there's a huge language barrier.. On top of which we do not have a great relationship with my aunts and uncles....

[HamptonsMermaid]

Well good thing there's Google! And they might know enough English to point your research into the right direction. There's quite a lot you can learn from studying the history behind surnames. Sometimes it's nice to have an innocent excuse (simply learning about your family tree) to reconnect w the fam. Elders especially love a chance to pass on their history to the next generation, they're usually flattered by it. If you think trying to explain the mermaid part would be confusing just say you're working on an educational project.