--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..Acts of appropriation are part of the…" description: "\"..Acts of appropriation are part of the process by which we make ourselves. Appropriating - taking something for one’s own use - need not be synonymous..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/bell-hooks-464_appropriation_acts-of-appropriation-are-part-of-the-pr_1009052.jpg" --- # ..Acts of appropriation are part of the process by which… ![“..Acts of appropriation are part of the process by which we make ourselves. Appropriating - taking something for one’s own use - need not be synonymous with exploitation. This is especially true of cultural appropriation. The “use” one makes of what is appropriated is the crucial factor.” quote by Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/bell-hooks-464_appropriation_acts-of-appropriation-are-part-of-the-pr_1009052.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/bell-hooks-464_appropriation_acts-of-appropriation-are-part-of-the-pr_1009052.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/bell-hooks-464_appropriation_acts-of-appropriation-are-part-of-the-pr_1009052.jpg) > “..Acts of appropriation are part of the process by which we make ourselves. Appropriating - taking something for one’s own use - need not be synonymous with exploitation. This is especially true of cultural appropriation. The “use” one makes of what is appropriated is the crucial factor.” [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identity is formed by adopting and adapting elements from the world, and using them responsibly differs from exploiting them. **In simple terms:** We shape ourselves by using what we take, not just by taking it. Key Takeaway Use borrowed cultural elements responsibly. Themes identity culture responsibility appropriation Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - education - artistic creation - personal development - community building Key Concepts social theory postcolonialism ethical use Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when use becomes exploitation? - What criteria guide ethical appropriation? A Different Perspective Responsibility can be hard to determine, especially across power imbalances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appropriation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriation/) [Exploitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploitation/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [The main problem with cultural appropriation comes from dominant groups 'borrowing' from marginalized groups who face oppression or have been stigmatized for their cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franchesca-ramsey/the-main-problem-with-cultural-appropriation-comes-from-dominant/) [Franchesca Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franchesca-ramsey/) > [“The people of Earth cannot progress in isolation from each other. The family unit, community spirit, and society as a whole are fragmenting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/the-people-of-earth-cannot-progress-in-isolation-from-each-other-the/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [I think cultural appropriation has been an issue since the beginning of time and I think it's so important for us to tell our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-a-brown/i-think-cultural-appropriation-has-been-an-issue-since-the-beginning/) Camille A. Brown > [I think one big thing with food and race that is a hot topic is cultural appropriation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sohla-el-waylly/i-think-one-big-thing-with-food-and-race-that-is-a-hot-topic-is/) [Sohla El-Waylly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sohla-el-waylly/) > [Cultural appropriation is a big problem, but the thing is, I didn't invent my life. I really lived in Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jain/cultural-appropriation-is-a-big-problem-but-the-thing-is-i-didn-t/) [Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jain/) > [Our modern understanding of cultural appropriation is highly individualised. It's all about what Halloween costume you wear, or who's cooking biryani. But the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/our-modern-understanding-of-cultural-appropriation-is-highly/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [The concept of cultural appropriation is nothing less than an intellectual fence: Keep out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/the-concept-of-cultural-appropriation-is-nothing-less-than-an/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [“In other words, (cultural) exchange is about teasing out points of conflict, among other things. (Cultural) Appropriation suggests a significant amount of self-satisfaction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-holmes/in-other-words-cultural-exchange-is-about-teasing-out-points-of/) [Anna Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-holmes/) > [Few of us doubt that stealing is wrong, especially from the poor. But the accusation of 'cultural appropriation' is overwhelmingly being used as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bari-weiss/few-of-us-doubt-that-stealing-is-wrong-especially-from-the-poor-but/) [Bari Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bari-weiss/) > [ I think now because of this whole social media thing, people obviously felt these things \[about cultural appropriation\] before, and they comment on everything. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guido-palau/i-think-now-because-of-this-whole-social-media-thing-people-obviously/) [Guido Palau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guido-palau/) > [I am hopeful that the concept of 'cultural appropriation' is a passing fad: people with different backgrounds rubbing up against each other and exchanging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-am-hopeful-that-the-concept-of-cultural-appropriation-is-a-passing/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [If you want to talk about cultural appropriation, we have to go back to the Greeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/if-you-want-to-talk-about-cultural-appropriation-we-have-to-go-back/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [I'm not tied to the news cycle. I can do an episode on cultural appropriation, not on Rachel Dolezal. We might make a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-kasher/i-m-not-tied-to-the-news-cycle-i-can-do-an-episode-on-cultural/) [Moshe Kasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-kasher/) > [Here one must think profoundly to the very basis and resist all sentimental weakness: life itself is essentially appropriation, injury, conquest of the strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/here-one-must-think-profoundly-to-the-very-basis-and-resist-all/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Feminist pedagogy can only be liberatory if it is truly revolutionary because the mechanisms of appropriation within white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/feminist-pedagogy-can-only-be-liberatory-if-it-is-truly-revolutionary/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) ## More by Bell Hooks > [Right now, for many Americans, class is being foregrounded like never before because of the economic situation. It doesn't mean that race doesn't matter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/right-now-for-many-americans-class-is-being-foregrounded-like-never/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“Most folks believe we are hardwired biologically to long for sex but they do not believe we are hardwired to long for love. Almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/most-folks-believe-we-are-hardwired-biologically-to-long-for-sex-but/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [... we need to interrogate "reverence," for idolization can be another way one is objectified and not really taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/we-need-to-interrogate-reverence-for-idolization-can-be-another-way/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Couples who rarely or never have sex can know lifelong love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/couples-who-rarely-or-never-have-sex-can-know-lifelong-love/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [The power of patriarchy has been to make maleness feared and to make men feel that it is better to be feared that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/the-power-of-patriarchy-has-been-to-make-maleness-feared-and-to-make/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“I feel enormously blessed to be a successful black woman writer in this culture, but I have found my small fame, such as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/i-feel-enormously-blessed-to-be-a-successful-black-woman-writer-in/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Language is also a place of struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/language-is-also-a-place-of-struggle/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [In this culture, the phrase 'black woman' is not synonymous with 'tender,' or 'gentle.' It's as if those words couldn't possibly speak to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/in-this-culture-the-phrase-black-woman-is-not-synonymous-with-tender/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [It's interesting to look at all the aspects where everyday Americans, many of whom are not college educated, are thinking deeply now about our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/it-s-interesting-to-look-at-all-the-aspects-where-everyday-americans/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [The true teacher is within us. A good teacher is someone who can help you to go back and touch the true teacher within,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/the-true-teacher-is-within-us-a-good-teacher-is-someone-who-can-help/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“Advancing the notion that there can be many "feminisms" has served the conservative and liberal political interests of women seeking status and privileged class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/advancing-the-notion-that-there-can-be-many-feminisms-has-served-the/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [I love my family, even as I critique their dysfunctionalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/i-love-my-family-even-as-i-critique-their-dysfunctionalities/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [You must have courage to love, you have to have a profound will to do what is right to love, and it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/you-must-have-courage-to-love-you-have-to-have-a-profound-will-to-do/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [To truly love we must learn to mix various ingredients - care, affection, recognition, respect, commitment, and trust, as well as honest and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/to-truly-love-we-must-learn-to-mix-various-ingredients-care-affection/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“Often emphasis on identity and lifestyle is appealing because it creates a false sense that one is engaged in praxis. However, praxis within any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/often-emphasis-on-identity-and-lifestyle-is-appealing-because-it/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) [Explore all 541 Bell Hooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) ## More Appropriation quotes > [What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/what-would-america-be-like-if-we-loved-black-people-as-much-as-we/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [We have some of the most influential Members of Congress here today, and I do hope that we can get this appropriation for these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-have-some-of-the-most-influential-members-of-congress-here-today/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“What you have now then is the marketing of racialized identities as tools for consumption. And certain racialized bodies and images are associated with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amalia-mesa-bains/what-you-have-now-then-is-the-marketing-of-racialized-identities-as/) Amalia Mesa-Bains > [Here one must think profoundly to the very basis and resist all sentimental weakness: life itself is essentially appropriation, injury, conquest of the strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/here-one-must-think-profoundly-to-the-very-basis-and-resist-all/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [As chairman of the Senate subcommittee responsible for NASA appropriations, I say not a penny for this nutty fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-proxmire/as-chairman-of-the-senate-subcommittee-responsible-for-nasa/) [William Proxmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-proxmire/) > [Feminist pedagogy can only be liberatory if it is truly revolutionary because the mechanisms of appropriation within white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/feminist-pedagogy-can-only-be-liberatory-if-it-is-truly-revolutionary/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-cleveland/i-can-find-no-warrant-for-such-an-appropriation-in-the-constitution/) [Grover Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-cleveland/) > [I'm not tied to the news cycle. I can do an episode on cultural appropriation, not on Rachel Dolezal. We might make a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-kasher/i-m-not-tied-to-the-news-cycle-i-can-do-an-episode-on-cultural/) [Moshe Kasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-kasher/) > [I propose in the following discussion to call one's own labor, and the equivalent exchange of one's own labor for the labor of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-oppenheimer/i-propose-in-the-following-discussion-to-call-one-s-own-labor-and-the/) Franz Oppenheimer > [“The postmodern notion of "appropriation" is not a good fit. In New Mexico, the "indigenous" is a syncretic fusion of Native American and Hispano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-r-lippard/the-postmodern-notion-of-appropriation-is-not-a-good-fit-in-new/) [Lucy R. Lippard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-r-lippard/) > [If you want to talk about cultural appropriation, we have to go back to the Greeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/if-you-want-to-talk-about-cultural-appropriation-we-have-to-go-back/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [Translation is not appropriation, as is sometimes claimed; it is a form of listening that then changes how you speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-weinberger/translation-is-not-appropriation-as-is-sometimes-claimed-it-is-a-form/) [Eliot Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-weinberger/) > [“The alternative to appropriation is a world in which artists only reference their own cultures." "That's an oversimplification of the issue." "The alternative to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/the-alternative-to-appropriation-is-a-world-in-which-artists-only/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [There are two methods, or means, and only two, whereby man's needs and desires can be satisfied. One is the production and exchange of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/there-are-two-methods-or-means-and-only-two-whereby-man-s-needs-and/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [“Even you, the professional helper, often mistaken for the enlightened Guru or Staretz, can become lost in your thoughts that you must be competent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-e-spradlin/even-you-the-professional-helper-often-mistaken-for-the-enlightened/) Scott E. Spradlin [Browse all 108 Appropriation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "..Acts of appropriation are part of the process by which we make ourselves. Appropriating - taking something for one’s own use - need not be synonymous with exploitation. This is especially true of cultural appropriation. 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