Cultural Appropriation?

[Liam]

My first thought is why
do you want to identify with Scottish heritage if you have no connection? Yes I would view it as cultural appropriation.
Just my opinion....
Slante

[Steve Ashton]

Safeway the grocery chain, has a Tartan.
UPS has a Tartan. Yes, it's brown.
In both the Scottish Tartans Authority and The Scottish Register of Tartan there is a category for Corporate Tartans. Just as there is a category for those Tartans which are simply for fashion.
Burberry, a company based out of Wales which is most famous for its iconic trench coats, has its own Tartan which has lined their coats since 1927. It is the tan one with three equal width black lines and one thin red line that you see as a fashion accessory everywhere.

Countries, US States, Canadian Provinces, and individual Cities have Tartans.

Schools and Universities have Tartans.

Clubs, organizations and social and fraternal groups have Tartans.

This forum has its own Tartan. It can be seen as the wallpaper or background of every page.

There are Tartans which are registered as exclusive to one 8 member family or designed for a single wedding party. There is even a Tartan designed and registered to a single individual as his personal Tartan. And he lives in England, South of London and is not Scottish at all.

There are currently over 100 Tartans registered with The Scottish Tartans Authority that are of African Masai origin.

The truth is that the weaving of Tartan is at least 4,000 years old. Every human culture weaves cloth in one way or another and almost all have some pattern that would fit within the definition of Tartan. If the pattern of colors is the same warpwise and weftwise - and there are at least two pivot points, it is, by definition, a Tartan.
Yes, Tartan is a recognized symbol of the country of Scotland but Tartan was not invented or developed there exclusively, nor does Scotland hold any ownership over the idea of weaving Tartan.

[RectaPete]

The term "cultural appropriation", as CDN mentioned, most often refers to a dominant culture taking elements, often sacred, from another culture that it has oppressed. In a way, wearing a kilt if you are of English descent is therefore cultural appropriation due to the Highland Clearances and other atrocities committed against the Highlanders. However, I do NOT subscribe to the idea of collective or ancestral blame and thus see no problem with English people wearing kilts, particularly as it's not a sacred item. Hope that helps

[Jock Scot]

Interesting question, to which I have thought long and hard whether I should answer and even if I could answer it.

Personally, if you design a tartan for your specific group I don't think these days anyone could object, after all there are plenty of tartan examples around that make this point such as The American Army tartan, assorted American State tartans, Australia has a tartan and so on. So how could anyone object?

The possible problem comes and this occurs with all tartans, is that there are so many, -----some would say too many---- and even today nearly everyone----particularly some Scots------ still assumes a Scottish connection, even where there is none. This from a Scots point of view is an understandable thought as most of them are not aware that non Clan tartans in kilt form exist and do not have the advantage of spending time on a website such as this to inform themselves.

Personally, I would much prefer non Scots to wear non Clan tartans and I think over the coming generations the Scots in Scotland will be left with their Clan tartans and the non Scots elsewhere will wear tartans that are more relevant to their surroundings as time distances any connection to Scotland .This approach is in my opinion far more realistic, respectful and honest than the situation we have now. We are, I think, already in the early stages of this process.

[O'Callaghan]

My first thought is why
do you want to identify with Scottish heritage if you have no connection? Yes I would view it as cultural appropriation.
Just my opinion....
Slante

Just how Scottish does it have to be?

Wearing the clan tartan of someone else's Scottish clan? Probably, although others do that and see nothing wrong with it.

Wearing a Scottish tartan kilt when you have no links to Scotland? Ditto.

Wearing an Irish tartan/solid green/saffron kilt when you have Irish heritage but not Scottish? Some think so, but I might tap them on the noggin' with me shilelagh!

Wearing a kilt in a corporate/fashion tartan or another solid colour when you aren't of celtic descent? Possibly, but who really cares?

Wearing a denim or leather kilt? I doubt that anyone in their right mind sees that as cultural appropriation.

At some point it is just a garment. I don't think that someone wearing a solid colour kilt and no sporran is trying to look Scottish, unless of course they ARE Scottish, and if, say, they are wearing the corporate tartan of an organisation and are a member of same, I'd say that's the definition of being fully entitled to wear it, even if they are from Outer Mongolia of Serbian and Finnish descent.

[Tarheel]

Late to the thread but read through. Good points on all sides.
I would address the trend of fashion with the corporate image of designing a tartan Kyle. I still think IBM when I see a grey suit, even though any IT nerd (like my wife) will wear what they want in the business world. The same goes for the brown of UPS or blue of the US Postal service.
A fabric design that can be utilized in any type of apparel (tie, shirt, kilt, cap or socks) will give folks the idea that your company is represented. The idea of belonging to the larger collective is met with a personally chosen clothing item, even when fashion trends change.