Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 44 to 50.

The name is a bit of a mouthful, but cultural appropriation happens when a dominant culture takes things from another culture that is experiencing oppression. Cultural exchange is different from cultural appropriation. Things like tea, gunpowder and pasta have been shared between different cultures throughout history. These ‘borrowings’ aren’t the same as cultural appropriation, because they don’t involve power. When dominant groups take from an oppressed group, we’re dealing with appropriation, not cultural exchange. Cultural appropriation is also very different from assimilation. ‘Assimilation’ describes what happens when minority cultures are forced to adopt features from a dominant culture in order to fit in.

When we look at a culture that’s experiencing oppression, it’s often a result of colonization, where a dominant group has claimed ownership of the land and its people. When the dominant group continues to steal aspects of the non-dominant culture, it continues the economic oppression and disadvantage of that culture. In Australia, there are cases where white Australian businesses have stolen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks for use on T-shirts and souvenirs. This allows the dominant culture to make money from the non-dominant culture, without benefiting the original artists.

Cultural appropriation also has a nasty habit of giving the dominant group credit for aspects of a culture that they have taken, reinforcing the power imbalance between the two groups. For example, Kylie Jenner was credited with starting an ‘edgy’ new hair trend, while black actress Zendaya faced criticism for wearing her hair the same way. What’s interesting about this, is that Zendaya’s natural hair was seen as a negative. But Kylie Jenner, a person with no ties to black culture, was given credit for taking something that wasn’t hers.

Cultural appropriation creates stereotypes. The Native American chief, the Japanese geisha or the Arab sheikh can be examples of stereotypes that pop up during Halloween. When people from dominant cultures ‘dress up’ like this, it reduces something of cultural significance to a costume just so that the dominant group can have ‘a bit of fun’. It also keeps these kinds of stereotypes going.

There are times when it’s encouraged to try something from a different culture. Being invited to an Indian wedding where the hosts are cool with you wearing traditional clothing is not cultural appropriation.

(Source: https://au.reachout.com/)

The word “it” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _______.