Cultural Appropriation?

[KyleAisteach]

I'm new to the community, so if this isn't the right forum for this question, I'd love it if folks could point me in the right direction.

This one's a bit complicated...

I'm a volunteer for a large, non-profit professional organization. One of my fellow kilt-wearers and I suggested that the organization should have its own tartan, so the kilt-wearing members could kilt up at our formal events and raise the organization's visibility by being seen in the tartan in public. We were blindsided by the board's primary concern about the proposal, though, which means it's something that's worth seriously considering:

Is wearing a kilt if you are not of Celtic extraction cultural appropriation?

My first reaction was to laugh, but those doing the appropriation never feel like they're doing anything inappropriate, so I thought it was important for me to get some actual input on the question (leading me to stop reading X Marks only in the public-facing side of things and actually register). Our organization has nothing to do with Scotland or Celtic heritage, except, of course, that many of our members are Scottish-American or Irish-American. So would it be inappropriate of us to register a tartan? (And the board isn't likely to be persuaded by "Bank of America did," because someone else doing something inappropriate does not make it appropriate.) Is encouraging our non-Scottish members to buy a kilt in the organization's tartan culturally appropriative behavior?

Our industry is particularly sensitized to this issue right now, so we want to be able to have a serious conversation about it. I'd especially love to hear from those of you who live in Scotland and Ireland. How do you feel when you see a random American with no connection to your country and your culture running around in a kilt? Does what tartan they're wearing affect that opinion?

Have any of the rest of you had this conversation before? (My Google Fu failed me for seeing if there's been a conversation about it in the public sphere previously.)

Thanks in advance!

[CDNSushi]

It's too easy these days to get caught up in the whole "cultural appropriation" web. As with many such awareness movements, things can swing quite overboard in my opinion. I am a certified yoga instructor, and even though yoga has become almost mainstream in western society in culture (and perhaps arguably BECAUSE of it), people have started saying that it's inappropriate to practice or teach yoga in a setting removed from its original context, by an instructor who is not an Indian guru... And again, I would respectfully disagree.

In order for cultural appropriation to take place, there needs to be a culture that is (and often has traditionally been) exploited, such as has been the case of indigenous cultures in North America. Then, using their sacred, or otherwise honourable traditions, cultural elements, and symbols, and perverting them for profane uses, or at least in ways that are disrespectful, or capitalistic, making money for a member of the privileged group, as a part of that exploitation.

I would not call kilts or tartans symbols eligible for cultural exploitation, really, as I wouldn't call the Scots a particularly oppressed or exploited culture, and in the broader sense, neither tartans nor kilts are being used even remotely in the same way as, say for example, a teen wearing a first nations sacred headdress with feathers to a rave.

I see it the same way as other cultural elements that we borrow from quite freely, and if those who cry "cultural appropriation" at the drop of a hat got their way, none of us would ever even be able to enjoy a taco, or Chinese food, dance a tango, or wear a beret out of fear of "appropriating" something from another culture.

[Liam]

My first thought is why
do you want to identify with Scottish heritage if you have no connection? Yes I would view it as cultural appropriation.
Just my opinion....
Slante

[Steve Ashton]

Safeway the grocery chain, has a Tartan.
UPS has a Tartan. Yes, it's brown.
In both the Scottish Tartans Authority and The Scottish Register of Tartan there is a category for Corporate Tartans. Just as there is a category for those Tartans which are simply for fashion.
Burberry, a company based out of Wales which is most famous for its iconic trench coats, has its own Tartan which has lined their coats since 1927. It is the tan one with three equal width black lines and one thin red line that you see as a fashion accessory everywhere.

Countries, US States, Canadian Provinces, and individual Cities have Tartans.

Schools and Universities have Tartans.

Clubs, organizations and social and fraternal groups have Tartans.

This forum has its own Tartan. It can be seen as the wallpaper or background of every page.

There are Tartans which are registered as exclusive to one 8 member family or designed for a single wedding party. There is even a Tartan designed and registered to a single individual as his personal Tartan. And he lives in England, South of London and is not Scottish at all.

There are currently over 100 Tartans registered with The Scottish Tartans Authority that are of African Masai origin.

The truth is that the weaving of Tartan is at least 4,000 years old. Every human culture weaves cloth in one way or another and almost all have some pattern that would fit within the definition of Tartan. If the pattern of colors is the same warpwise and weftwise - and there are at least two pivot points, it is, by definition, a Tartan.
Yes, Tartan is a recognized symbol of the country of Scotland but Tartan was not invented or developed there exclusively, nor does Scotland hold any ownership over the idea of weaving Tartan.

[RectaPete]

The term "cultural appropriation", as CDN mentioned, most often refers to a dominant culture taking elements, often sacred, from another culture that it has oppressed. In a way, wearing a kilt if you are of English descent is therefore cultural appropriation due to the Highland Clearances and other atrocities committed against the Highlanders. However, I do NOT subscribe to the idea of collective or ancestral blame and thus see no problem with English people wearing kilts, particularly as it's not a sacred item. Hope that helps

[Jock Scot]

Interesting question, to which I have thought long and hard whether I should answer and even if I could answer it.

Personally, if you design a tartan for your specific group I don't think these days anyone could object, after all there are plenty of tartan examples around that make this point such as The American Army tartan, assorted American State tartans, Australia has a tartan and so on. So how could anyone object?

The possible problem comes and this occurs with all tartans, is that there are so many, -----some would say too many---- and even today nearly everyone----particularly some Scots------ still assumes a Scottish connection, even where there is none. This from a Scots point of view is an understandable thought as most of them are not aware that non Clan tartans in kilt form exist and do not have the advantage of spending time on a website such as this to inform themselves.

Personally, I would much prefer non Scots to wear non Clan tartans and I think over the coming generations the Scots in Scotland will be left with their Clan tartans and the non Scots elsewhere will wear tartans that are more relevant to their surroundings as time distances any connection to Scotland .This approach is in my opinion far more realistic, respectful and honest than the situation we have now. We are, I think, already in the early stages of this process.

[O'Callaghan]

My first thought is why
do you want to identify with Scottish heritage if you have no connection? Yes I would view it as cultural appropriation.
Just my opinion....
Slante

Just how Scottish does it have to be?

Wearing the clan tartan of someone else's Scottish clan? Probably, although others do that and see nothing wrong with it.

Wearing a Scottish tartan kilt when you have no links to Scotland? Ditto.

Wearing an Irish tartan/solid green/saffron kilt when you have Irish heritage but not Scottish? Some think so, but I might tap them on the noggin' with me shilelagh!

Wearing a kilt in a corporate/fashion tartan or another solid colour when you aren't of celtic descent? Possibly, but who really cares?

Wearing a denim or leather kilt? I doubt that anyone in their right mind sees that as cultural appropriation.

At some point it is just a garment. I don't think that someone wearing a solid colour kilt and no sporran is trying to look Scottish, unless of course they ARE Scottish, and if, say, they are wearing the corporate tartan of an organisation and are a member of same, I'd say that's the definition of being fully entitled to wear it, even if they are from Outer Mongolia of Serbian and Finnish descent.

[Profane James]

....My Google Fu failed me ....

LoL @ Google Fu! I think I'll be using that term from now on.

[KyleAisteach]

Thank you for all the replies.

My own instinct, which I kept quiet about in the original post to encourage discussion, is that registering our own corporate tartan is the best way to avoid cultural appropriation.

I've always felt very uncomfortable with the idea of wearing a tartan from a clan or region with which I have no connection, so I tend to stick to Irish-American / Celtic Heritage or universal tartans. (Typical Irish family -- we have no idea where we came from, and the surnames are entirely too common to be of any help. And to make matters worse, 23 & Me revealed that I'm actually only about 1/8 Irish despite having been raised half Irish my whole life. Apparently marrying an Irishman made you Irish even if you were 100% English or German.) I've recently solved the problem altogether by registering my own tartan and I'm now saving my pennies to get it produced. The kilt, to me, is not distinctly enough Scottish or Irish for me to feel like I'm being appropriative wearing one as long as I'm wearing it in an appropriate tartan. So creating an organizational tartan would allow those who just love kilts to finally have a "clan" to identify with, albeit a corporate one.

But, again, those doing the appropriation never feel they're being inappropriate, so I want more perspectives on this.

[jthk]

Thank you for all the replies.

My own instinct, which I kept quiet about in the original post to encourage discussion, is that registering our own corporate tartan is the best way to avoid cultural appropriation.

I've always felt very uncomfortable with the idea of wearing a tartan from a clan or region with which I have no connection, so I tend to stick to Irish-American / Celtic Heritage or universal tartans. (Typical Irish family -- we have no idea where we came from, and the surnames are entirely too common to be of any help. And to make matters worse, 23 & Me revealed that I'm actually only about 1/8 Irish despite having been raised half Irish my whole life. Apparently marrying an Irishman made you Irish even if you were 100% English or German.) I've recently solved the problem altogether by registering my own tartan and I'm now saving my pennies to get it produced. The kilt, to me, is not distinctly enough Scottish or Irish for me to feel like I'm being appropriative wearing one as long as I'm wearing it in an appropriate tartan. So creating an organizational tartan would allow those who just love kilts to finally have a "clan" to identify with, albeit a corporate one.

But, again, those doing the appropriation never feel they're being inappropriate, so I want more perspectives on this.

Comrades,

Excuse the intrusion but just to clarify -- the tartan kilt as we know it isn't Irish but is Scottish in origin unless I'm mistaken (which is entirely possible). Also, "Celtic" descent doesn't really matter as not all Celtic cultures had a tartan kilt. Since I currently don't live in Ireland or Scotland and am not Irish or Scottish, I will be very careful about my response to the cultural appropriation question. I agree with Jock, Steve, and CDN -- I don't think it's cultural appropriation in this situation at all. If I were to get tattooed with spiritual and sacred images of another culture, or to wear another culture's spiritual head-dress then that's an entirely different story.

(Further, which I hesitate to include ... but six of my eight great-grandparents were born in Ireland and subsequently moved to the US. I have spent years traveling and living in Ireland, I am a fluent Irish-speaker, and play traditional music but I don't consider myself Irish. I'm American ... yes, with Irish background but when people ask, "Are you Irish?" my response is "No, I'm American." One doesn't have to be French to enjoy French wine or to speak French after all.)

Regards,
Jonathan