Is this marketing email from Fashionphile cultural appropriation?

[QuelleFromage]

Yes, it's over the line. I've been flamed plenty of times for pointing out this sort of thing (like describing thieves in Paris as "Gypsies", or Taurillon Cristobal being a Columbus homage.) There is SO much fashion advertising that is culturally offensive - it's an industry that has much growing up to do.
I think a lot of forum members see the forum as an escape and don't want to be drawn into thinking about this sort of thing. Which is fine - but then just skip the thread and don't get all worked up because some of us care about this, or are personally affected by it.

 

[A1aGypsy]

I don’t know that “cultural appropriation” necessarily fits but it’s still inappropriate in my mind to be glib about a person’s religious beliefs. If it were a flowy blue and white maxi dress and the phrase said “release your inner virgin” I’m sure people would have more to say about it.

And someone asked if we could name a culture that it was offensive to, the indigenous peoples.

 

[southernbelle43]

I don’t think it is appropriate. It’s the use of another culture’s spiritual beliefs to advertise. And that seems disrespectful to me. This is something they hold sacred. Don’t use it to sell shoes.

(Also it almost implies skinning your spirit animal for accessories. Which is

 

[southernbelle43]

Ladies I wish everyone would get this upset and outraged over the use of women as sex objects in EVERY ad, movie, song, etc.

 

[fabuleux]

Ladies I wish everyone would get this upset and outraged over the use of women as sex objects in EVERY ad, movie, song, etc.

They are not mutually exclusive. We can tackle both!

 

[A1aGypsy]

You quoted me, but I don’t see a response? I equally dislike how woman are portrayed. That doesn’t detract from this conversation if that was directed at me. Although, I’m not sure I would call my response outrage or upset. It’s an opinion.

 

[jellyv]

And someone asked if we could name a culture that it was offensive to, the indigenous peoples.

Who are these generalized "the indigenous peoples"? First People of North America, or the Americas only, or all continents? Do you imagine indigenous people worldwide understand the term at all, let alone in the same way, and have the same relationship with the spiritual and animal worlds? Because that simply isn't so. One group's taboo animal is another's primary means of sustenance.

Again, the phrase is fakelore. But no doubt, because of real inequality, even fakelore can be stupid and hurtful.

 

[fabuleux]

Who are these generalized "indigenous peoples"? Of North America, or the Americas only, or those on all continents? Do you imagine indigenous people to all understand that term in the same way, have the same relationship with the spiritual and animal worlds? Because that simply isn't so. One group's taboo animal is another's primary means of sustenance.

Again, the phrase is fakelore--made up. That said, I can see how it can be and is used stupidly and hurtfully.

I believe that the terms Spirit Animals, Animal Spirit, and Totem Animals belong to several Nations in North America. I’ll have to do more research tomorrow as it is now “sleepy time.”

 

[A1aGypsy]

Fair enough, I was imprecise. Many of the indigenous peoples of Canada and the US believe in spirit animals to my understanding. However, I can only speak to those who are a part of my family. They are Chippewas of Mnjikaning and much of their beliefs centre around spirit animals / guides. So I don’t see how the concept can be made up? Or maybe I misunderstand what you mean by “fake lore”.

 

[2cello]

Non-Natives do not get to define or decide what is or isn’t racist or harmful to Native people or the degree of relevance of certain issues, only Natives can.”

You are a “non Native” and doing exactly that. Most people speaking about how they are offended about appropriation are white people.....patronizing non-white groups telling them how they should feel and speaking on their behalf. And they don’t even see the irony.

Based on the premise, it is ridiculous to even ask the question in the OP to anyone but a member of an indigenous group native to the Americas. And how many of those are posting in this thread? Or on purseforum?

 

[sonicxml]

Majority of my reply here could be totally irrelevant... I think this could be an example of microaggression - we probably would agree that a. This email has no ill intent; b. This email is seen as inappropriate by some people. You can find all the controversies around this microaggression concept.

I totally get the idea of ‘sick of people being too easily offended’, however I also believe that everyone has a different ‘thresholds’ (not sure what’s the best word for it) of getting offended based on their own experience, and everyone is entitled to express their feelings and the reason behind it. I may or may not be able to understand it or to relate to it, but I try to empathize. Everyone is busy with their own lives so if anyone doesn’t have time to listen to others, or cannot put themselves in others’ shoes, I think it is also quite understandable.

What makes me sad however is in some cases - nothing related to this thread though - the minimal empathy. There are people just don’t care if others are hurt. To disguise this indifference most of the time they just blame the ‘victims’. This actually occurred to me when I came across a thread in chanel forum. The divisive replies in that thread even drove me to search whether there are studies about relationship between wealth and empathy level...

Back to OP’s question - I didn’t think too much when I saw the image and the text; I thank all the contributors here for all the knowledge they share about this term.

 

[fabuleux]

You are a “non Native” and doing exactly that. Most people speaking about how they are offended about appropriation are white people.....patronizing non-white groups telling them how they should feel and speaking on their behalf. And they don’t even see the irony.

Based on the premise, it is ridiculous to even ask the question in the OP to anyone but a member of an indigenous group native to the Americas. And how many of those are posting in this thread? Or on purseforum?

I appreciate your point of view but please don’t put words in my mouth and read my posts carefully before replying. I never said I was offended, I simply asked a question. I specifically addressed the fact that I was not part of that community, and that, consequently, do not claim to be offended.

You may disagree, but I do believe that I have the right to ask a question about cultural appropriation—even though I am white. I am a well-educated person with an interest in this topic and I am simply trying to engage our lovely tpf community on a difficult but important conversation. I am not “patronizing “ anyone and I am not telling anyone “how to feel.”

 

[fabuleux]

Majority of my reply here could be totally irrelevant... I think this could be an example of microaggression - we probably would agree that a. This email has no ill intent; b. This email is seen as inappropriate by some people. You can find all the controversies around this microaggression concept.

I totally get the idea of ‘sick of people being too easily offended’, however I also believe that everyone has a different ‘thresholds’ (not sure what’s the best word for it) of getting offended based on their own experience, and everyone is entitled to express their feelings and the reason behind it. I may or may not be able to understand it or to relate to it, but I try to empathize. Everyone is busy with their own lives so if anyone doesn’t have time to listen to others, or cannot put themselves in others’ shoes, I think it is also quite understandable.

What makes me sad however is in some cases - nothing related to this thread though - the minimal empathy. There are people just don’t care if others are hurt. To disguise this indifference most of the time they just blame the ‘victims’. This actually occurred to me when I came across a thread in chanel forum. The divisive replies in that thread even drove me to search whether there are studies about relationship between wealth and empathy level...

Back to OP’s question - I didn’t think too much when I saw the image and the text; I thank all the contributors here for all the knowledge they share about this term.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I particularly appreciate your idea of the threshold (which is evident in our conversation here!). We all have different experiences in life that may make us more or less sensitive to how others feel.

 

[eunaddict]

I'll add that a lot of Indigenous people in Australia also have concepts very similar to spirit animals, it's not limited to the Indigenous of North America. But more importantly, it's not about the phrase itself (because that's clearly English) and whether any Indigenous language contain that particular phrase, but rather it's use of a concept that is significant to and shared by a lot of Indigenous cultures to sell zebra prints.

Eg. Nyupun is used by the Wergaia people to denote the idea of a spirit being, often portrayed as an animal.

Not indigenous so I can't speak to the offensiveness of this particular ad. But the fashion industry as a whole has a history of being insensitive to minorities, whether through casting of models and the lack of representation or that horrendous D&G chopsticks ad from last year. IMHO it deserves discussion.

Also, there's a a pretty clear line between appreciating multiculturalism and adopting someone else's culture as your own. Go to Korea, put on a hanbok, eat traditional foods, learn a few phrases - that's appreciating a culture. Take that back with you to the USA and call your Caucasian boyfriend "Oppa" because it's the trendy thing to do, with the popularization of Kpop and Kdrama, borders on appropriation. I don't think anyone finds that offensive per se, but I know my Korean friends find it incredibly cringey.

 

[papertiger]

Does the frequency of use of a certain term make it more acceptable?

Personally I dislike the term 'mixed-race' although I have yet to find anyone to share my opinion. Either we're one race or we're not. A lot of terms and ideas that should have been buried in 1945 seem to be in common usage.


In terms of the original question:

Most Fashionphile customers will perhaps see the composed message the way the brand means it. In a pop-culture collage or quick reference points.

The shared signifier of zebra (print) is I supposed to = Zebra/Africa. Zebra not common except in Zoos in North America. There are cultures in Africa that also see different individuals and groups as having a deep connection to that animal, and for example Hermes pays tribute/commercially expoits this in its scarf Ndop (which I own and is one of my favourite scarves) https://www.businessincameroon.com/...pired-from-the-cameroonian-traditional-attire businessincameroon.com).

The phrase "spirit animal' is of course a Fashionphile (fashion) reference to zebra-print. It supposed to make us think in terms of across decades/designers and how we can group together our own preferences from pre-loved as well as current clothing trends.

That few people have any real understanding of the idea of First Nation spirit animals is a sad reflection not only of our times but the past too. When we see full regalia or cheap copies of ceremonial head-dresses used as adult 'cos play' at festivals there is a worrying factor. I am very glad that you are exploring this in your lectures as hopefully it will make people think more about all of these issues.

I do however also agree very strongly with @Sheikha Latifa. The more we share the better. I personally don't mind when 'outsiders' play 'our' music and sing our songs. Someone went to such trouble to learn difficult languages and sing complicated songs/rhythms without digging deep into the culture and the history, but maybe if a brand emailed me, putting together 3 stereotypical images together and stuck an orientalist caption underneath so that I could spend money with them it may be a different story.