In our previous article, we mentioned how K-Pop sometimes misrepresents black culture. Many K-Pop fans from other cultures have felt that their culture was appropriated, as well. Southern Asian K-Pop fans often point out cultural appropriation from idols during comeback stages or on variety shows. Southern Asia includes the countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Another group that experiences cultural appropriation is Native American people. They are part of the indigenous people living across the globe. According to the United Nations, there are more than 476 million indigenous people living in 90 countries. They represent 5,000 cultures and speak 7,000 languages. For the sake of this article, we will focus on Native Americans more than other indigenous people because they are the ones the most mentioned by K-Pop fans in terms of cultural appropriation. Native America refers to the indigenous people who lived in the U.S originally before it was colonized and their cultural representation. Here is a look at how K-Pop appropriates both Southern Asian and Native American culture. Idols must learn about these cultures before trying to borrow from them.
1. The misuse of traditional/religious outfits and accessories
K-Pop idols sometimes have concepts that take ideas directly from other religions and cultures, upsetting their fans. For example, Desi culture is a culture from the Indian subcontinent and it is often appropriated by idols through choreography and fashion choices. The word ‘Desi’ means ’land’ or ‘country.’ It usually refers to people from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and sometimes includes the other Southern Asian countries. The thread below details some unique aspects of Desi culture.
— lin. (@boratits) July 15, 2021 Unfortunately, Desi culture often gets appropriated in K-Pop. It is deeply tied to religion, meaning that appropriating it also insults Desi people’s beliefs and makes it meaningless. A lot of the misrepresentations of Desi culture feed into harmful stereotypes about Indian people. “India as a country itself is tagged as culturally rich or ethnic by reducing us to our customs and festivals.” Many cultures, including Hollywood, are guilty of taking Indian culture at face value.
Along with copying stereotypes of Indian cultures, there have been cases where holy symbols have been used as an aesthetic in K-Pop music videos. For example, the statue of Lord Ganesh, a Hindu god, has appeared in music videos as a prop. This statue is a holy god that is turned to before praying or carrying out a religious ceremony. It is not only inappropriate to use a religious symbol as a prop but disrespectful. Several other holy motifs like this get misused for entertainment reasons. There are 33 million gods in Hinduism alone, so it is important to not use Indian imagery without understanding it. Other K-Pop songs have used holy prayer mantras and music as a melody or sample in their songs. They are often accompanied by inappropriate sexy or hip dance moves. They are used because of how nice and ’exotic’ they look but the reality is that Indian people can’t be proud of them without being made fun of in the Western world. In this video, a group of Desi children talks about the struggles of growing up in a place where people don’t understand their culture.
Their culture is misunderstood but other cultures still want to use it as an aesthetic. For example, accessories are even subject to appropriation. In India, the bindi has a special meaning but it is used as a fashion accessory the world over, even in K-Pop. A bindi is a drop-like piece of jewelry (or sometimes a dot made from powder) that is dawned on the foreheads of Indian people, mostly women. It can be worn during prayer or tell you someone’s marital status.
However, to this day, Indian women struggle to wear their own traditional jewelry due to the reactions from Western society. “The decision to embrace it very much comes from my own apprehension about wearing Indian clothes outside of the house when I was younger.” Model and journalist Simran Randhawa was raised in London but is of Punjabi heritage. She had always been hesitant to embrace her culture amongst the British one. In 2017, a group of Southern Asian women made news for taking back their culture by wearing bindis in their regular life. Another London-based member of the Indian diaspora who decided to reclaim her bindi is Amisha Acharya. She is from a Nepali-Hindu family and wore her bindi as a child but stopped. She only started wearing it again as an adult. She says she started wearing it again when celebrities from the West started wearing them for fashion at festivals. She felt uncomfortable to see it and wanted to reclaim her culture. “It’s a part of my identity and where I come from. As much as I believe identity labels can be limiting sometimes, I’m hopelessly patriotic about my country and where I was born.” It is unfair that the bindi or any other traditional accessory is treated like a fashion item when the people to whom it belongs can’t confidently embrace it.
2. The misuse of religious symbols in choreography
There have been times in the past when K-Pop idols inappropriately used ‘Indian-inspired’ dance moves and body symbols to add to their choreography. This includes using the Indian greeting pose ‘Namaste’ out of context and in the wrong way. ‘Namaste’ means a greeting, but also sends a message of peace and respect. “The gesture literally means I am bowing down to the divine in you.” The video below explains the do’s and don’t of using the ‘Namaste’ greeting.
You can sometimes see Indian dance movements such as head movements and hand gestures being appropriated in K-Pop dances. What idols and their choreographers fail to realize is that each of these movements has a meaning. In many Indian religions, dancing is seen as the way that their god created the universe. These dance movements are not to be taken lightly. “Indian dance portrays religious stories, recounts ancient stories of valiant war princes, celebrates the harvest season, in the process entertaining and inspiring the people.” Here is an introduction to Indian dance to explain more.
3. The use of traditional outfits as costumes
In the same way, Southern Asian culture is appropriated, K-Pop idols often appropriate Native American hairstyles, headwear, accessories, and culture. Sometimes they use them as fashion items and sometimes they will make an idol wear it as a costume or punishment during variety show games. Some variety show punishments are harmless like having a cream pie slammed into your face or a bucket of water thrown over you, but others are not. Sometimes when idols lose a challenge they are told to wear different cultures’ outfits or makeup. Many idols have also worn the outfits/accessories for stage outfits and to attend parties. However, these styles and headdresses are all linked to traditional customs and meanings. Native American people fought for a long time to be able to wear their heritage with pride. During the late 1400s and early 1500s, a number of settlers arrived on Native American territory and started killing off the Native population. They took over their land, put them in ‘reservations,’ and wouldn’t allow them to leave the reservations. This was because of the Indian Appropriations Act passed in 1851. Native children were then stolen and put into ‘boarding schools’ where they were forced to ignore their culture. This was by cutting their hair (which has spiritual ties to them), banning their language, and forcing them to dress as white people did at the time. Here is a detailed timeline of their history. Since that time, they have faced mockery for wearing their traditional outfits and accessories. Native Americans are still paying the price for what colonizers did to them.
It is unfair that they can’t wear their traditional clothing with pride because of mockery. It was taken away from them in the past, and now people want to wear it as fashion. In the video below, a young Native American model explains how she feels when other cultures take away the meaning of Native American accessories and look down on her people.
Here is an explanation of the meaning behind Native American headdresses and war bonnets. It is important to honor the meaning of these headdresses and acknowledge that they were earned by worthy members of the Native American community. They are not fashion trends or jokes.
By making these sacred accessories a punishment, you not only appropriate the culture but also give it a bad meaning. Cultures are meant to be celebrated, not used to make other people feel bad. When cultures themselves are struggling to embrace their practices because they are misunderstood, it’s important not to misrepresent their culture further. If K-Pop companies and idols can learn more about their fans’ cultures and how to respect them, the K-Pop world will become an even happier space.
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