What is cultural appropriation?

The charge of 'cultural appropriation' is racist

Question: What is cultural appropriation?
Position1 of 5›: Political correctness gone too far
Argument‹2 of 3›: The charge of 'cultural appropriation' is racist

If the act of cultural appropriation was genuinely offensive, it would be offensive when everyone does it, not just white people.

The argument

The argument concerns the application of the charge rather than the cultural practices underneath it. Proponents observe that the accusation of cultural appropriation is, in practice, made almost exclusively against white people. A white person who wears henna, braids their hair or grows dreadlocks can expect to be accused of it; a person from another ethnic minority who takes up the same practice from a culture not their own generally is not. What the asymmetry shows, on this account, is that the stated principle is not the operative one. If the objection were really to the borrowing of cultural practices, it would apply to every borrower, since people of all backgrounds adopt styles, food, music and dress from cultures other than their own. The practice would be the thing judged, and the judgment would fall wherever the practice occurred. Instead the same act is treated as an offence or as unremarkable depending on who performs it, which means the operative criterion is the identity of the person rather than the conduct. Proponents regard that as the definition of a racial double standard, and it is the basis of the claim that the charge is itself racist: a rule applied to one racial group and not to others is drawing a distinction by race, whatever its stated justification. The conclusion drawn is that cultural appropriation is not really the concern being expressed. The borrowing is objected to only selectively, so the objection cannot be to the borrowing as such, and what remains is a framework that polices the conduct of white people in particular — which, on this view, is political correctness taken past the point of principle.

Context

In today’s politically correct world, white people are constantly accused of racism. Cultural appropriation is another example of minorities finding an excuse to make white people out as racist. If it wasn't, it would be unacceptable for all races to culturally appropriate, not just white people.

Premises

[P1]It is always white people who are accused of cultural appropriation for wearing henna, braids, or dreadlocks. [P2] When an ethnic minority does the same thing, they face no such accusation. [C] Therefore, since the charge targets only white people, cultural appropriation itself is not the issue and the accusation is racist — political correctness gone too far.

Counter-arguments

This is not true. There have been plenty of cases where minorities have been accused of cultural appropriation. For instance, Pharrell wore a Native American headdress on the cover of Elle magazine and was forced to apologize for cultural appropriation following a barrage of criticism.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Cultural appropriation is offensive when anyone does it.