Reclaiming the Debate on Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation is one of the most contested issues of our time – but what does it actually feel like to have your culture taken, repackaged, and sold back to you? In this book, Rina Arya moves beyond familiar debates to place the lived experiences of minoritised communities at the centre of the discussion. Drawing on postcolonial theory, lived religion, cultural studies, and her experiences as a British South Asian, she examines how cultural forms are commodified, transformed, and returned to their communities with renewed authority. Arya argues that the deepest harms of cultural appropriation are not only economic or representational but also psychological, reshaping how people understand their culture and identity. Combining rigorous scholarship with personal testimony, this book challenges readers to rethink who has the authority to define culture - and what is lost when that authority shifts away from the communities from which culture originates.