When I was 12 I dressed up as a gypsy; traditional dress, dark eye shadow, rosy pink cheeks, black eyeliner and gold jewelry everywhere. Naively my intention was to wear a costume that was fun to wear and that made me feel free like a “tramp gypsy”. Only years later did I realize how little I knew about the real difficulties my costume represented. The gypsies did not have a great desire to travel, indeed they had no other choice but to move in a constant attempt to escape for their lives. I represented nothing more than a dazed form of contempt for the culture it appropriates. People think cultural appropriation is harmless, but it's actually deeply disrespectful. The Difference Between AppreciationThe most common type of cultural appropriation today however comes in musical form. There is nothing wrong with an individual from a dominant group trying to learn a traditional Hispanic dance. However, the issue of cultural appropriation comes into play when people like Dirty Dancing director Emile Aldolino used white actors as the primary informed source of a Hispanic cultural dance and labeled it “Dirty Dancing.” In doing so, Emile Aldolino tied the protagonist's (a young white woman) loss of innocence to a cultural dance created to celebrate women. When you take the dance customs of a culture and not only ignore the origin of that dance culture, but even label the dance as something dirty, you get an example of why cultural appropriation should be frowned upon . It is in events like that where dominant cultures deprive minorities not only of recognition and credit but, more importantly, of the importance of great cultural value. Likewise, during the 1950s, since African Americans were not yet widely accepted in American society, record executives preferred to sign white artists rather than the discriminated black race, in an attempt to form some kind of replication of the musical styles that originated with black musicians. Regardless, cultural appropriation is not only undeniable but also inevitable in a mixed society. However, while one cannot help but be intrigued by other cultures, it is important to realize that when one “borrows” cultural aspects without proper representation and/or permission it is not a form of appreciation but rather appropriation. For this reason, it is not only suggested but required that people in a salad bowl society learn the difference between borrowing and taking. Just as you would like your image to be respected and adequately recognised, you must make it a personal duty to never misrepresent or despise, for this reason, that of others.