I do think about cultural appropriation as it relates to animals ... I keep finding myself thinking if it'd be appropriate to treat them or think of them in X way if they were people. Or if they were seen as people, at any rate.
In some ways, I think things like lolcats are the beginning of widespread cultural empathy towards animals, because they show an awareness that cats (in this case) have their own feelings and motives. They also seem, to me, more representative of cats' actual thought processes than a lot of more commercial stuff. I look at some of the things in my aunt's house, and they remind me of scrapbooking stores and magazines ... happily celebrating the people that they think exist, and oblivious to who they actually are.
What do you do if you feel someone's inappropriately identifying as therian, though? Like claiming to have a dolphin persona because of New Age stereotypes, when dolphins wage war on and gang rape each other. I guess it's something people have to decide for themselves after having these realizations, but it's a little uncomfortable sometimes. (And then there was the kitsune I saw who was trying to organize the celestial court ... )
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branchandroot
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Date: 2011-09-15 10:55 pm (UTC)In some ways, I think things like lolcats are the beginning of widespread cultural empathy towards animals, because they show an awareness that cats (in this case) have their own feelings and motives. They also seem, to me, more representative of cats' actual thought processes than a lot of more commercial stuff. I look at some of the things in my aunt's house, and they remind me of scrapbooking stores and magazines ... happily celebrating the people that they think exist, and oblivious to who they actually are.
What do you do if you feel someone's inappropriately identifying as therian, though? Like claiming to have a dolphin persona because of New Age stereotypes, when dolphins wage war on and gang rape each other. I guess it's something people have to decide for themselves after having these realizations, but it's a little uncomfortable sometimes. (And then there was the kitsune I saw who was trying to organize the celestial court ... )