"Ouch, that really hurt. I asked you a question, as I stated from the beginning. "I am trying to explain to an individual why they should not wear tribal headdresses" No, you're not saying somebody can't represent who they are at all. And calling yourself a gypsy is just plain out contradicting. You are your own stereotype, hunny. Oh, and I'm anon because I don't have a tumblr. I was told about your ignorant post, and decided to say something. That is all." - Anonymous
Fucking.quote.me.or.stop.wasting.my.goddamn.time. That is all. Calling myself a Gypsy is not contradicting at all, and if you are too stupid to understand that..well, I am not sorry, and I am not surprised. So, stop typing paragraphs of utter bullshit to me, and quote me. Simple. Show me where I said that ANYONE cannot represent who they are. Show me. Should be reallyyyy easy, amirite?
And I am sooo sure that *someone* told you about my ignorant post and you dont have a Tumblr, lololol and you came here justttttttttt to talk to me!
Thats great and all..but…
If you dont have any actual valid arguments for me, and if you cannot show me where I said that someone cannot represent who they are, or that someone cannot represent their tribe, etc..then youre just going to have to sit the fuck down.
What you seem to be failing to understand is that I am not discussing Natives who are representing their tribes. I am not discussing Rromani women who are Tarot readers. I am discussing people who are misappropriating these, or other cultures. I am not talking about, or discussing, or referring to normal cultural exchange. I am not talking about, or discussing the normal, natural outcomes of living in a multicultural society where cultural exchange and some forms of appropriation are completely normal and a natural outcome. I AM talking about, discussing, and referring to, people who reduce PoC to stereotypes. A white woman dancing in a field with a crystal ball and her titties hanging out saying that shes a “Gypsy.” A white woman wearing bootie shorts and a wife beater with a full Plains headdress on. If you cannot see why those things are hurtful then I actually pity you, since you say you are Native American. I am not saying that ANYONE cannot do those things.
I am telling them why they should not. Representing who we are, whether white, black, purple or green…is NOT devaluing other cultures traditions by reducing them to inappropriate stereotypes. That is not representing who we are. That is not representing who ANYONE is. That is misrepresentation and misappropriation. Its..pretty simple.
As a matter of fact, since you cant seem to pose any valid counter arguments, I am going to recommend some reading material for you, since, quite obviously the ongoing ideology of white superiority in this country has gotten to you subconsciously and you cant seem to wrap your head around why white people shouldnt run around patting their mouths yelling “OH OH OH OH OH!!! hahahahahahahaha HOW! HAHAHA IM PART INDIAN HAAHAHAHA OH OH OH OH!”
Read:
Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation
and
Cannibal Culture.
Start with these two.
Often times when I am trying to explain to an individual why they should not wear tribal headdresses, or why they should not say things like “I think I was a gypsy in a past life, because I love to travel!” Or, when they post pictures of themselves with a crystal ball, or wearing a skimpy “gypsy” or “Native” Halloween costume….I am often met with the response that there is nothing wrong with admiring and incorporating other cultures traditions, dress, etc into our wardrobes, lives, pictures, etc.
That is true. There isnt. Cultural appropriation is not, in itself, inherently wrong. However, cultural MISappropriation is. A lot of people debate over the words “appropriation” and “misappropriation” so here, I am using appropriation to refer to the natural effects and outcome of living in multicultural societies, and the result of cultural exchange. I am using misappropriation to refer to the negative appropriation of a culture and their traditions by reinforcing negative or untrue stereotypes about said culture or tradition..whether by clothing, pictures, or whatever else.
This is what needs to be understood. Living in a multicultural society, a multicultural world..there will be cultural exchange and the result of that is appropriation ALL around the block. Not just whites appropriating non white cultures and traditions…but all cultures appropriating and borrowing from all different types of cultures and traditions. I admire MANY cultures and traditions, and oftentimes incorporate attire from cultures other than my own, into my own wardrobe.
However, I would not ever take a sacred, traditional item and devalue it by exploiting it, or devalue it by using it to reinforce negative and incorrect stereotypes about a people or culture. This is where the difference lies.
Many of you need to learn the meaning of the word “respect.” I am, many times, met with the response that, for example, the reason a young woman has taken a picture of herself in a field, wearing an extremely revealing, cheap halloween costume, with a crystal ball in her hands..is because she “loves and respects gypsy culture.”
No. Learn the definition of the word respect. Respect is not devaluing a people by depicting yourself in attire that reinforces negative and incorrect stereotypes about them. That is not respect.
This lady I teach belly dancing to came to class the first day and explained to me that she’s a professional belly dancer. Of course I asked why she was here taking classes then and she told me that it was because…
This…isnt entirely true. While Tribal bellydance is ‘American’ its origins lie in the Middle East, especially with Ghawazi style dancing, Ouled Nail, and Kuchi tribal dancing. Most costumes are made of of Kuchi items, as well.
Bellydance itself can hardly be called “traditional.” While many styles are rooted in traditional dances…the dances themselves shift and change with the years and the audiences. There isnt anything wrong with that. The dance group Bal-Anat is considered the “mother” of tribal. It was started by Jamila Salimpour and built from there (from the 1950s or so). Art is living. It evolves just as life does.
I think I should add that what is referred to as “ren faire style” was attributed only to a few groups in Cali. It is…not accurate to group all tribal bellydance together as it differs GREATLY from person to person and ‘troupe’ to ‘troupe.’
And I think this is a more accurate depiction of Tribal costuming:
You do realize that Jamila Salimpur was from California and her students performed in Ren Fairs as I stated? And Jamila’s dance training came from her father’s imitation of the Ghawazee and her imitation of things she’d seen in movies? “Bal-Anat tended towards folk dance in appropriate costuming. The aim was to present a variety show with different members of the troupe representing dancers and musicians from different areas. The dances were not 100% accurate, Jamila had never visited the Middle East or North Africa, and much of the costuming and general aesthetic were based on images from photographs, Orientalist paintings or magazines such as ‘National Geographic.”
The entire history of tribal belly dance is full of crap like that. One of Jamila’s students Masha Archer didn’t even think that belly dance should belong to the Middle Eastern people and that American women were more deserving of it.
So no, the roots of tribal belly dancing don’t lie in the Middle East, they lie on the west coast with women that thought it was their right to take the dances they’d seen and the clothes they thought were so wonderfully cultural and claim them as their own. As I said originally it’s great that belly dancing is so universal but there are those that take it to a whole other level, those are the people I was referring to.
Well, the reason I mentioned Sampour and then further went on to mention the Californian Tribal Style is due to the reason that Bal Anat gained its fame on the Ren Faire circuit on the West Coast. But, as I said, this is one ‘troupe’ and Tribal style differs greatly from person to person and group to group, so to define it as one particular thing is a bit incorrect. Its nomer is AMERICAN Tribal Style for a reason.
I do not know if you are aware, but Ghawazee and other Rromani dances are not ‘set’ dances. A lot of folk dances are not ‘set’ dances with steps that are performed in a certain way every single time they are performed. I am a Rroma and I have been bellydancing for years, with American Tribal Style being one of my favorites and from what I know of my OWN cultural dance, and the bits of pieces that ATS has borrowed from….they really arent that different.
With all of that said…what exactly is wrong with borrowing and evolving on a particular dance form? American Tribal Style doesnt advertise that they are Raqs Sharqi, or Ghawazee, or Kuchi, or Bardo Cham or Cherew. Its called AMERICAN….TRIBAL….STYLE…and yes, the moves ARE rooted in many dances that come from the Middle East and South Asia. Dance is art and it evolves, and is improved upon constantly, rethought, and re enacted. This is the same with very, very folkloric dances that come from all over the world…they are not performed one way every single time they are danced and never have been.
Arguing that any bellydance is exactly traditional would be….pretty tough to follow up. Every dancer and every teacher at the very least adds their own style to the art, and interprets the art through their own being, adding to, or taking from different aspects of the dance.
American Tribal Style is a big amalgamation of MANY different types of dances, and MANY different interpretations of types of dances. There isnt anything wrong with that. If someone didnt come along and re-interpret Ghawazee…we wouldnt have Raqs Sharqi. Even bellydancing COSTUMING is an “appropriation” (if youre looking for appropriation in the art of bellydance). The bedlah style that we are familiar with are a product of Orientalism and Harem fantasy, and now it is STANDARD wear by bellydancers in MANY parts of the world, regardless of WHAT style they are dancing.
Bellydancing, in its many forms, will often itself, as an entity, take and borrow from classical dance, or popular dance, folkloric dance, cabaret dance…..
As a Rroma, and bellydancer. I see nothing wrong with American Tribal Style. Art does not “belong” to just one group of people.
I think its important to mention that the term “Tribal” bellydance is really less about where the dances came from or what they were inspired by, but that it was one of the first kinds of bellydances that employed a “group” or…a tribe of women and sometimes men.
(Source: samirathejerk, via samirathejerk)
This lady I teach belly dancing to came to class the first day and explained to me that she’s a professional belly dancer. Of course I asked why she was here taking classes then and she told me that it was because…
This…isnt entirely true. While Tribal bellydance is ‘American’ its origins lie in the Middle East, especially with Ghawazi style dancing, Ouled Nail, and Kuchi tribal dancing. Most costumes are made of of Kuchi items, as well.
Bellydance itself can hardly be called “traditional.” While many styles are rooted in traditional dances…the dances themselves shift and change with the years and the audiences. There isnt anything wrong with that. The dance group Bal-Anat is considered the “mother” of tribal. It was started by Jamila Salimpour and built from there (from the 1950s or so). Art is living. It evolves just as life does.
I think I should add that what is referred to as “ren faire style” was attributed only to a few groups in Cali. It is…not accurate to group all tribal bellydance together as it differs GREATLY from person to person and ‘troupe’ to ‘troupe.’
And I think this is a more accurate depiction of Tribal costuming: 
(Source: samirathejerk)
