Cultural Exploitation

Cultural Exploitation

People, entities or corporations may adopt the practices and customs of a community or society without providing due acknowledgement or misusing them (Johnson & M.Z., 2015). Cultural exploitation is synonymous with cultural appropriation. While cross-cultural sharing of practices and ideas has been encouraged, the use of these practices without the consent or with disregard to the feelings of the said culture is viewed as exploitation. The practices and customs may include the traditional dressing pattern of a community, their music, food, skills and knowledge, and other areas of that culture (Johnson & M.Z., 2015). The roots of cultural exploitation, especially for the Aboriginal population in Canada, have been identified to be the colonization and the ongoing oppression of the people. This has been evident with the use of symbols that are culturally significant to the Aboriginals in the design of non-indigenous products. The images of these communities have also been used in sports logos, with the particular sport having no relevance to the Aboriginal people. In the instance of the Aboriginals, appropriation acts of colonialism applied the perceived superiority of race and power to exploit the practices and cultural items of the Indigenous people (Johnson & M.Z., 2015). This exploitation has been seen to disregard the meanings of certain practices that may be sacred.

The reading identifies another way through which the culture of a community may be exploited. The community celebratory events are occasions where community members converge in public spaces to recognize socially important functions. While these events are widespread across the world and have been used as development strategies for communities and urban centers, care has to be taken to ensure they are authentic in their goals and objectives to enjoy the support of that community (Delgado, 2016). This is to avoid a scenario where the expectations of corporate sponsors , whose involvement in these events have evolved and grown over time, conflict with those of the community. Corporate sponsorship has moved from the philanthropic nature to expect returns on their investment. Corporate sponsors have been known to exploit cultural symbols economically in these celebratory events through their use in commercials and advertisements to entice patronage from a specific group. When the use of these symbols is not authentic, both sponsors and organizers alike run the risk of alienating their audience through cultural insensitivity (Delgado, 2016). These events should not be structured in a manner to value economic gain over the other elements that have spurred attendance by the community. Commercializing community celebratory events through branding may subvert the primary role of enhancing community capacity and community identity.

Participatory Democracy

This democracy actively promotes self-determination and self-rule, where individuals make decisions on the way they are to be governed. Citizens are accorded a central role in the formulation and passage of policies, mainly through public forums of discussions and voting (Bherer et al, 2016). Citizens in this their democracy have the right to express their views and directly contribute to making decisions concerning the social, economic and political matters that affect their lives. The leaders of these governments are only tasked with enforcing these policies that have emanated from the people (Bherer et al, 2016). This ensures the power of governance lies and is concentrated in the local and regional communities and is only delegated to the national government when it is necessary. This involves several factors which are not limited to; individual empowerment facilitated by access to relevant information, grassroots institutions that enable decisions to be made at the lower levels, and breakdown of inequalities that may deter participation (Bherer et al, 2016). In these systems, citizens are empowered to take action. Bringing the voices of everyday citizens into public involves using civic engagement practices that may be achieved through models.

The reading identifies why community celebratory events must adopt participatory approaches that ensure the community’s goals and expectations are met. Putting in place an evaluation advisory community that is made up of community individuals will ensure measures are put in place that guides the evaluation of an event and ensures that empowerment and principles of participatory democracy make the central core of capacity enhancement (Delgado, 2016). The value of celebration events is pegged on their ability to bring together diverse people in a community. The politics of inclusion and exclusion during these events capture the tension that may be there in a segregated society. Community members’ conceptions of what it means to participate in the celebration events identify the local cultural factors that have shaped their expectations and their view of what these events mean to them and the community. Participation in these events is recognized for its prominence. It is used to assess the overall success of these events as increased participation means the event and its significance has been accepted by the community (Delgado, 2016). Evaluation reports of these events are used as Interventions that allow the community to participate actively and provide a basis for further actions.

Sociodemographic Factors

Sociodemographic factors in a community affect community members’ ability to function normally in their everyday life. Social support has been identified to play a significant role in ensuring a community with wholesome individuals. The inability to perform standard social functions is considered as social handicap and may be contributed to by the sociodemographic factors (Greenlfield & P.M., 2016). Characteristics of these factors include sex, age, ethnicity, education, marital status, and income. A range of social aspects determines the different aspects of community life. Demographic factors dwell with the areas and nature of the residences of the various community members, their gender, ethnicity, and where they had migrated from (Greenlfield & P.M., 2016). Socioeconomic factors involve the state of employment of community members, the level of pay and the household socioeconomic circumstances. The environmental factors encompass the perception of the neighbourhood, neighbourhood safety, aesthetics, and the accessibility of businesses and services (Greenlfield & P.M., 2016). A person’s ability to function normally in a community is determined by the predisposing and environmental factors or the quantity and quality of the social support available in that community setting. The better the social support in a community, the better the functioning of individuals and their contributions to the community.

The reading has focused on the demographic factors that act as motivation for community members to attend community celebratory events. The age perspective has been to have an impact as adolescents have been seen to be more excited by parades (Delgado, 2016). Gender and age have been identified to affect the attendance of musical festivals. The gender of the event leaders and stakeholders also has influenced the way the event unfolds and results. The religious affiliation of the attendees determines the level of attendance to a particular event. The sexual identity of participants influences their expectations and perceptions of these events. The appeal of celebratory events has been varied due to the heterogeneous makeup of communities based on sociodemographic factors (Delgado, 2016).

Conclusion

The attendance and success of community celebratory events in achieving capacity enhancement of the community and improving social interactions is dependant on several factors. The first factor is how the event is presented with respect to the culture of the people of that community and the culture of other communities. Events have to be culturally sensitive and avoid the commercialization of cultural practices and symbols. The second factor is a participatory democracy where the community members have to be consulted and involved in the planning and evaluation of these events to ensure they resonate with the community goals. The final factor is the sociodemographic factors, which are the characteristics of individual community members and how this may affect their perception and attendance of these events.

References

Johnson, M. Z. (2015). What’s wrong with cultural appropriation (Doctoral dissertation, These 9 answers reveal its harm. Everyday Feminism. Retrieved from http://everydayfeminism. com/2015/06/cultural-appropriation-wrong).

Bherer, L., Dufour, P., & Montambeault, F. (2016). The participatory democracy turn: an introduction.

Greenfield, P. M. (2016). Social change, cultural evolution, and human development. Current Opinion in Psychology, 8, 84-92.

Delgado, M. (2016). Celebrating urban community life: Fairs, festivals, parades, and community practice. University of Toronto Press.