i have a lot of thoughts on this — and i do share them every time a cultural appropriation discussion pops up. i’m going to try to make this the abridged version — a lot of my personal thoughts have already been covered!
in considering intentionality, it’s not the intent of using a name that matters— it’s the impact. i love dakota. i think it sounds beautiful. i would never use it because i have no native heritage and the genocide of native americans by colonists and continued mistreatment of natives by the us gov gives names like dakota, cheyenne, etc. a depth that maybe we don’t intend to evoke— but do. history & culture don’t take a spot on the shelf when we don’t want to think about the implications of our actions. dakota, nonetheless, is a popular name. we must ask ourselves, should it be?
specifically when borrowing names from marginalized or oppressed cultures, it’s our ethical & just duty to critically examine why we want to use them. is it because we think they’re exotic and enjoy the allure that comes with exoticism? do we admire the culture? have we taken the time to understand the culture? how do we want others to perceive our usage of this name? do we just like this name and have little to no interest in understanding the parent culture on a level beyond xyz? is this name a sacred name? who wears this name? names inexplicably become the label on our identity— so in choosing one that may harm someone else or further oppresss our neighbors — it really requires Big Thought.
the fact of the matter is, white people and the frame of white privilege and the institutions that uphold whiteness as the norm/standard inherently oppress POC and marginalized cultures & people. we cannot separate ourselves from this, just work to stop perpetuating harm. marginalized & “ethnic” names have been disparaged for eons in contrast to whiteness. so to borrow a specifically “ethnic” name from a culture than is not your own can carry unwanted baggage for you, a child, a child’s environment. intent vs. impact.
does this mean people can never use names that are not apart of their culture? of course not. but you should be mindful in choosing— and respectful of the owners of the culture’s POV. rule of thumb is to avoid sacred names—if you’re iffy, it’s best to admire without adopting. learn something new about the culture. be respectful.
i am icked out by “melting pot” of culture in the US because we are not a melting pot. many americans do have strong cultural ties. and sure, many do not. in my own experience, my parents are first gen. both sets of my grandparents raised my parents without strong ties to their cultures because, when they arrived, it was not a very good time to be any of them. using cultural names, for many who are kind of unmoored, to feel connected to a culture (assuming their own ancestral one but i mean). i do think that’s valid— but that also requires a hearty attempt at self & social education and the same applies!
cultural appropriation is a huuuuuuuge deal. we can’t trivialize it — because then we are just complicit in perpetuating racism.
