Hi there EYD! Today's post is by Trisha Terala, who discusses the difficulties of balancing her identities when there were instances of cultural appropriation happening in her everyday life. She walks us through her journey of accepting her identity, and the role that cultural appropriation played in her finally coming to terms with who she was. We hope you enjoy!
P.S. If you would like to contribute, please email us at empoweringyourdesi@gmail.com or DM us @empoweringyourdesi!
Growing up as a first generation Indian-American, figuring out how I fit in was an
adventure. My background was different from everyone else’s and I didn’t know if I was allowed to express that.
In middle school, I remember when a kid came up to me and showed me a video of
someone mocking the pottu (bindi). He started laughing hysterically in my face. I didn't
understand why he was laughing while I had a ball of fire raging inside of me. I have seen many people put stickers on their faces and shake their heads, pretending to be “Indian," and make fun of Indian parents' accents. That's when I started to doubt if my culture was meant to be embraced or hidden.
However, the same people who would mock me for embracing my culture became the people who would cherry pick it for their own benefit.
Once, there was a girl who called my mehndi a skin disease, but went on to post ‘henna on the beach’ pictures. This contradiction shocked me. I began seeing cultural appropriation so often that I started to think I was the problem, not them. It is something that I see with a lot of cultures, but with it being so normalized I found it difficult to correct as no one else would stand up for what I saw was wrong.
I would see major clothing brands, influencers, and artists in the music industry taking part in cultural appropriation. However, very few of them were being called out. Something that I was so afraid to show about myself was now being stolen and turned into a trend or aesthetic. What made it worse is that when I pointed it out, people would just say I was just being dramatic. It hurt to see that once my culture became more “westernized” it was seen as beautiful, but when we embraced it, we were called gross and ugly.
I never settled well into my American lifestyle or Indian heritage.
I was forced into a hole where I would either have to befriend the perpetrators or be made fun of by them.
One day, I noticed this girl in my math class. She proudly stood up when people would mock Indians and yelled at them to be quiet. It was eye-opening. Even if no one stood by her side, she didn’t back down and said what she believed in. I wanted to stand by her.
I started to see how much we had in similar and we became close friends. After my eyes
opened, I noticed many more people winning their own small battles.
Even now, I see a lot of people culturally appropriating, but now I'm less afraid to call
them out on their mistakes. Being proud of my culture took a lot of time, but now I fully embrace it. At first I took inspiration from my friends, but now I'm seeing how beautiful my culture, heritage and religion is in all aspects of my life. Even though cultural appropriation may not disappear in an instant, it's up to us to show everyone els
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