Human Hybrids
Adam Gopnik deplores the fashion for attacking so-called 'cultural expropriation', as in the recent fuss over American students wearing sombreros at a Mexican theme party.
Adam Gopnik deplores the fashion for attacking so-called "cultural expropriation" as in the recent fuss over American students wearing sombreros at a Mexican theme party.
"Cultural mixing - the hybridization of hats, if you like - is the rule of civilisation not some new intrusion within our own. Healthy civilisations have always been mongrelized, cosmopolitan, hybrid, corrupted and expropriated and mixed.".
Last on
A Point of View: When does borrowing from other cultures become 'appropriation'?

A series of cases where Westerners (mainly white people) have been accused of stealing other people's cultures, leads Adam Gopnik to wonder what wrong has been committed.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Adam Gopnik |
| Producer | Sheila Cook |
Broadcasts
- Fri 11 Mar 201620:50BBC Radio 4
- Sun 13 Mar 201608:48BBC Radio 4
Podcast
![]()
A Point of View
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.

