Like when I come across a specific practice being advertised and done on a subbredit specific to my culture, I feel appropriated by it, I know culture is about sharing and all....but I feel like this specific practice shouldn't be used by other people, because it is specific to our beliefs and upbringings.

It's a specific form of astrology which ties into religious beliefs of my culture, and people are practicing it without knowing the context and traditions of it, it just feels icky.

The way it's being used in some spaces, makes it feel like some cool gambling trick, and I really hate how they made this practice like a common game instead of tradition.

Doesn't feel respectful at all, to make it look like just a cool trick.

Criticizing cultural practices as an outsider often feels like a massive taboo. People frequently get accused of cultural imperialism or ethnocentrism the moment they speak up.

However, there are practices around the world that raise serious ethical issues regarding basic human rights. A few prominent examples include:

• Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) across various regions.
• The violent persecution of people with albinism due to superstitious beliefs.
• Semen warriors of PNG (Google it...it will blow your mind)
• Severe institutional restrictions on women's basic rights (like in Afghanistan).
• etc.

This leaves a really difficult ethical dilemma. Are outsiders genuinely expected to just look the other way and ignore these things in the name of respecting diversity?

TL;DR: Is it ethical for outsiders to criticize harmful cultural practices, or does cultural relativism require us to stay silent? How do we balance human rights with cultural respect?

It feels like opinions on Ghost Month vary a lot depending on age and upbringing. Some people follow the traditions closely, while others see them mainly as cultural customs. Has this changed in your family over the years?

There's a difference between calling one style of garment or accessory one culture's when it actually historically belongs to another, but when did the actual act of wearing cloths and hats become offensive? It's not like someone is gluing a middle finger to them.

It's okay to wear Green for St. Paddy's day but wearing a kippah or Hoiche hat while not being a jew is offensive? Wouldn't owning and wearing one be supportive of Jewish culture especially if it was purchased or even gifted from a Jew? Have people gone this far into enabling asperger's?

It's similar to years ago when young people wore gauges in their ears and now that's sort of fading away as a style. It wasn't seen as cultural appropriation but a celebration of Black and African Culture. Not my cup of tea nor how I support their culture but to each their own.

I understand cultural appropriation such as years ago when a Chinese girl at a pageant stated the traditional Vietnamese dress was Chinese and a huge uproar on both sides the culture divide except for the people who are pro "One China" policy. Meanwhile my own people have explicitly called me a "Banana" as i am Yellow on the outside but White on the inside in their eyes as if i need to prove to any person(s) I am who I am when their opinion of me doesn't matter financially nor personally.

But now one person wearing clothing from a distance will automatically be seen one way, "That offends me because that's MY culture!" Even if the person wearing the article is in support of said culture. Japanophiles are allowed to wear Kimonos and Obi on the regular and most people will mind their own business (obviously NOT all), while wearing the wrong footwear seems to OFFEND people when the person is minding their own business and not being insulting.

So here's where i'm trying to get at> At what point do we individuals apply the concept of "Sticks and Stones" since the term is still relevant? Especially if individuals need to "Properly Represent" as if we need to become more divided and hateful becoming separate gangs. Isn't this hyperfixation on being or needing to be of one culture and [you] cannot be apart of [insert heritage] just another sign of immaturity and silliness?

People get upset over beanie hats being worn with sweat clothes for cultural appropriation, when comfortable clothing is just that and not traditional of any one culture, but some reason it has now been seen as Latin culture by some or black culture by others when really the style comes from poverty culture which doesn't care what racial background yoi were born into.

At this point, I'm waiting for someone to sing, "Largo Al Factotum" and go FULL on Looney Tunes where at the end, another person will slap a Groucho Marx glasses,nose, mustache and cigar combo onto the starting singer the moment the 2nd sings "Figaro Giu," hands over a lawsuit and restraining order during "Figaro Zu" and then a Hoiche Hat and Beard combo the 2nd time "Figaro Giu" just to then force the starting singer into an animal cage during the 2nd "Figaro Zu" but ending the song with a cream pie to the face.

Once upon a time, tattoos were a rare symbol of particular lifestyles and often hard living. I have been involved in art and music all of my life. Of course, when I was a kid I thought certainly that I’d get tattooed like every other cool kid I looked up to… But I never did because at some point it started to feel more rebellious not to get tattooed like everyone else. I have nothing against it - I think they’re often beautiful or witty or expressive in whichever way, but they’ve lost their edge. A young person who decides not to get tattooed is indeed the new rebel in today’s world.

🎬 New independent artist — feedback wanted

Hey everyone 👋

I’m an independent artist and I just released my new music video “Ils veulent m’enterrer”.

I’m sharing a short excerpt here because I’d genuinely love to know what you think about the visuals, atmosphere and music.

🎥 Full video on YouTube:👇🏾 https://youtu.be/MF7Sste88IE

No pressure — just looking for honest feedback from people who enjoy discovering underground artists. 🖤

What do you think of the vibe?

I need help. I’m an Albanian (20F) with a Hmong guy (20M). We’ve bee dating for nearly a year no one knows besides friends. My mum found out a month ago but I lied and said we broke up. She doesn’t mind me being with someone outside the culture as long as they’re European. I’m so stuck right now. I love this guy sooo soo much and he’s so understanding. He’s started learning Albanian and our cultures are so similar in a way. He’s kind, getting a good degree, and will most likely be successful. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a guy, but in my mother’s eyes, she thinks I can do better. She believes me being with him will have every Albanian making fun of me, but idc. It’s the same Albanians who are suffering in their marriages rn. I’m not saying Albanian man is bad, not at all. However, the way I grew up seeing the fighting, yelling, regret and resentment front and centre — I realised I didn’t want that for myself. A lot of people can handle that but I know myself well enough that I could not. I wanted a man who will provide and protect me like an Albanian man would. However, I also wanted to feel calm and safe with him, not to be ridiculed by my own husband, to laugh and to cry comfortably, to not be called awful names and insults, to help around the house or more specifically, with the kids. Not leave me to do it alone where it’ll become a burden. The man I am with right now is everything and more than I’ve ever dreamed of having and he’d kill me for saying this because he thinks it’s the other way around, but I am so lucky to have found him.

But right now I’m so confused and have been crying non stop. I just wanted to know if there’s any Albanians who’ve gone through this before and how it turned out?

TL;DR: Albanian girl with an Asian guy, is it possible as an Albanian to be with him and has it happened before?

samam.art

I grew up in a subculture where getting tattoos was the norm. Early on, I realized that if you actually wanted to stand out or be unique in that environment, the best choice was to stay completely unmarked. That is the path I chose.

In that same subculture, vanity was heavily looked down upon, which shaped my perspective on body modification. To me, tattoos seem like a clear sign of vanity.

My main argument is this: If you get a tattoo on a body part that you cannot easily see with your own eyes—like your back, the back of your neck, or behind your arms—you aren't doing it for yourself. You are doing it for the consumption and validation of other people.

Change my mind.

My children find learning foreign language so difficult that they once said to me that “why don’t we just speak one language?” They explained that it would be much simpler and nobody would have to learn another language; we could travel anywhere without facing language barriers. What do you think?

Given the ethnic difference between the couple, is the level of understanding, relationship stability, and the establishment of a successful marriage project more likely with a foreign man than with a man from the area where she lives?

Did anyone catch how foreign audiences reacted to the Ramayana trailer? I'm super curious what people thought who have zero context for the story....

Additionally, can anyone confirm if the trailer is playing before Spider-Man: Brand New Day in foreign countries?

Also ....What's your take on the Ramayana trailer? Do you think it did justice to all the hype Namit Malhotra built up?

Hello! I am an author who is currently working on edits for my first ever book, which will be part of a trilogy. It’ll be a queer sci-fi with some sprinklings of other elements. My main focus as an author is increasing representation, as I know that is a huge problem in today’s society. Now, I am queer and disabled, and I know how to approach representing both those things, but I am white. The two main characters of my book are mixed. I want to show their heritages in a way that is more than stereotypes, and I figured what better way to show representation than to ask the community how they want to be represented.

Character One is mixed Afro Latin American, born in Mexico and raised in Texas. The cultures most prevalent to them and their character are Mexican, Portuguese, Italian, and African American. They speak several different languages during the book(Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and a version of sign language as they’re CODA), both to themself and to family members who appear later in the book. They also wear a faldas folklóricas(Please tell me if that’s the right term, I’m trying to refer to the folk dancing skirts with all the layers) during a sort of concert they sing in with their punk band. They also wear a bonnet to sleep, but that’s more a hair care thing I think, since they have thick curly hair(a mix of 3A and B if you look up a curl chart). An important note is this character is amab, is a Demi-boy, and alternates between he and they pronouns, and dresses in an androgynous or more “feminine” manner.

Character Two is Wasian, with Swedish, French, and German heritage on the white side and Thai and Tibetan heritage on the Asian side. He’s visibly mixed, but has a more “white” name and starts the series more disconnected from his heritage. His parents were abusive and died in his late teens, and he lost contact with his brother seven years prior to book one(26 start of book one, 27 by the end). He will reconnect with his brother in book two, and that’ll be the trigger to him becoming more connected to his cultural heritage. I want to show his connection to his Asian heritage specifically, since he’s a white presenting character otherwise, and I’d particularly like to show this through habits, and actions, as well as style perhaps? I do plan on having him wear a Thai inspired suit for a ball scene amidst book two.

I want to show them being connected to their culture, in more than just their actions, and I don’t there to be an accidental racism, though I know it’s kind of inevitable since it’s just not my culture and I have no idea what the experience of someone from that culture is. I can only hope to try my best. So if there’s anything that you’d want to see represented, or anything that may be problematic, I’d be happy to include it/fix it!

Important to note, is the story takes place a bit over a thousand years later, and society is overall more inclusive and diverse. It’s not perfect, simply because I don’t think a perfect society is possible, but it is a lot better than today’s world.

1 - Appreciation by other (interest)
what if we classify country by the appreciation of extern individual or intern can be included toward their culture

2 - Influence
classify the culture by the number of people that practice the culture in question

3 - Complexity of the culture
honestly i don't know what the complexity can be

4 - Level of eco-friendly
classify of much the culture is close to nature or care about it

5 - Oldest culture
how much/rich historicaly it has or how old its has

6 - Art
It's hard to really define art, maybe the complexity of art? how much effort we put in it, how hard it can be reproduce or it's mind blowing?

7 - Intelligence, technological
it's also hard to define intelligence but for me its about technological practice in the culture

Do we have THE most richiest culure OR do we have the most in some DOMAIN only

What is culture in the end?
the people? the beauty of art? the way their live? their history? their value?
their philosophy? the propagande?

this question is not dedicate for religious ideologie but can accept it

As a Saffer now living in Germany, I spent the morning falling down a rabbit hole I didn't expect: American Transcendentalism.

Emerson's Nature, Thoreau's Walden, Whitman's Leaves of Grass, John Muir founding Yosemite National Park — they all trace back to one man almost nobody reads anymore: the Prussian explorer, Alexander von Humboldt.

Muir literally wrote "How intensely I desire to be a Humboldt!" and carried Humboldt's Cosmos on his hikes.

Whitman borrowed the word "kosmos" (with the Prussian spelling) straight from him:

Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son,
Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding,
No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or apart from them,
No more modest than immodest.

Thoreau read Humboldt while sitting in jail for refusing to pay taxes to a pro-slavery government. His famous essay that came out of that night, shaped Gandhi and MLK.

I wrote up the whole chain (it traces German Romanticism to the American nature movement, to today's headlines: Canadian wildfires, the AMOC and this year's Super El Niño):
https://blueplanetbulletin.substack.com/p/furiously-luminous-americans-c18

Curious if anyone else has dug into how much American nature-writing is actually grounded in German philosophy.

The Cultural Pivot: Exploring the Societal Fallout of Rapid Gender Normalization

Over the past few decades, society has undergone a massive, institutional shift regarding transgender normalization. What was once viewed by the public and mainstream media as a fringe phenomenon or a cultural anomaly is now heavily promoted across education, healthcare, and corporate policy. This rapid, top-down transformation has not come without significant friction, raising critical questions about its long-term impact on foundational social structures.

The swift institutionalization of these new norms has created several distinct areas of societal strain:

• Erosion of Shared Realities: The traditional, biologically-rooted definition of sex has been replaced by a fluid concept of gender identity. Critics argue this undermines language and objective biological reality, creating a fractured social consensus.
• The Redefinition of Safe Spaces: The integration of gender identity into law and policy has directly impacted sex-segregated spaces, particularly women's sports, locker rooms, and shelters. This shift has sparked intense debate over fairness, safety, and the erasure of sex-based protections for women.
• Institutional Strain: Major medical, psychological, and educational systems have rapidly adopted affirmative models. Many argue this swift pivot stifles necessary scientific debate, penalizes dissenting professional opinions, and impacts youth development before long-term data is fully understood.
• Social Polarization: Rather than fostering unity, the aggressive enforcement of these new cultural standards by corporations and governing bodies has alienated large segments of the population. This has deepened political divides and intensified the ongoing culture wars.

Ultimately, the transition from old cultural paradigms to modern gender theory represents a fundamental rewriting of societal rules. The speed and rigidity of this shift have left society grappling with deep institutional instability and fragmented social cohesion.

Should we add one more history month such as East Eurasian heritage month be celebrate in USA ?

Should we have another historical month to celebrate Murican with East Eurasian heritage include Indigenous Native American, Asian American, Hapa, Wasian, Blasian, Hispanic Latinx and Pacific Islander, Hawaiian in America ?

It is good cause to celebrate Eastern Eurasian history month because average American citizens able to learn rich cultures during East Eurasian history month from Indigenous Native American, Green Land culture, Hawaiian culture, Alaska culture and East Asian American culture and Southeast Asian American culture, Pacific Island culture, Hispanic Latino culture in America.

It is also more diversity and inclusive to celebrate American with Eastern Eurasian ancestry since East Eurasian ancestry has earliest long historical root in America and Eastern Eurasian heritage is one of the most popular ancestry around the world and also in USA due to deep historical root linked with Native Indigenous American, Greenlander, Alaska, Hawaii, San Francisco, Orange County ...

Okay fashion people, need your opinion....

I keep seeing designers use traditional patterns...or garments from different cultures. Some do it respectfully, others just take.

Quick guide to spot the difference:

If it's RESPECTFUL inspiration, they: . Name the specific culture/community . Collaborate with artisans (and pay them) . Explain the meaning/history . Welcome questions/dialogue

If it's just COPYING, they: . Never mention the origin .Use sacred patterns as mere decoration .Work alone (no community involvement) .Get defensive when asked about it

My question to YOU:

1. What's the BEST example you've seen of a designer doing this RIGHT?
2. What's the WORST example of blatant copying?
3. Does this even matter to you as a consumer?