Wedding officiants OKC can be a little difficult to find, especially since they are people with their own beliefs and ideals. Therefore, they hold personal beliefs, or in some cases, can hold prejudices that could stop them from working with certain people. But what an officiant doesn’t say can be just as important as what they do, such is the case of Kyrsten Sinema.
Senator Kyrsten Sinema was officiating a wedding where the guests wore objectionable clothing; to put it mildly. And even though the senator herself was not wearing the costume at the wedding venue OKC, she didn’t say anything either. The fact that she didn’t say anything begs a deeper question about people’s tolerance towards racist actions, especially as marriage officiants OKC.
The Incident That Occurred
Senator Kyrsten Sinema officiated a marriage where guests wore highly offensive traditional Native American clothing. But they didn’t stop at just the clothing, as the also applied the face paint and wore headdresses. While the senator did know the bride and groom, she did not know the other family members and participants at the wedding venue OKC according to a statement after the incident went viral.
It was a troubling display, with pictures by the wedding photographers OKC from the day, show the senator smiling with the bride and groom on stage. The senator later condemned the action, calling it racist and disrespectful. She also mentioned that the she did not interact with the other guests, which was later disproved with videos of her dancing with guests at the wedding ceremony.
Despite her saying that she condemns such behavior and how she thought that it was highly disrespectful, people think it is highly unlikely that she never interacted with the guests. They also find it suspect that she would have at least seen the individuals who were wearing the very disrespectful clothing. And throughout that time, she didn’t say anything to those people at the event. What she did was inexcusable but not very surprising.
America has an unfortunately long, and very uncomfortable history with using certain traditions and features as racist props. And with such a long history of racial intolerance, it does hurt to say that it was not very surprising to see a senator still smile in a wedding venue OKC with an audience dressed in racist outfits.
A Racist History of Intolerance
You could say that the history of racial intolerance dates back to the civil rights movement, the civil war, or even the beginning of slavery itself. However, these racist stereotypes have been ingrained into people through relatively subtler means. They were initially normalized by the media, with various cartoons and television shows boiling down entire traditions into stereotypes. The Looney Tunes Show is a very good example, as it had racist depictions of Native Americans throughout various episodes.
Of course, Native Americans were not the only people depicted as racist characters throughout the show. There were also various off-putting depictions of Asians, along with deeply offensive depictions of African Americans. Throughout its time on TV, Looney Tunes had some of the most racially insensitive or downright disrespectful characters in any medium. And even though it is very much a product of its time, it helped an entire generation see traditions and cultures as props.
Moving from the TV to the big screen, many Hollywood actors and actresses engaged in black face for different roles. Instead of hiring black talent or talent that is more representative of the character’s ethnicity, they instead chose white actors and colored their skins accordingly. This issue even persisted until recently, where Johnny Depp took on the role of Tonto in the Lone Ranger in 2013.
Cultural appropriation comes in different shapes and sizes, and for some couples, they would even incorporate different cultural marriage elements into their weddings. They will sometimes hire wedding photographers OKC for events that copy marriage rituals from other cultures. Or they will wear marriage clothes from different cultures in front of their marriage officiant OKC.
And even though people have been trying to address this deeply offensive past, it is not enough.
Dealing with Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation, by definition, is when individuals from a majority make use of cultural aspects from a minority. So if a white person is wearing a Chinese dress, for example, to prom, it would count as cultural appropriation. Since the person wearing the dress in question is not Chinese, even if they are wearing it with respect, they are culturally appropriating a nationality and its culture, if that individual is also in the US. The same principle would apply in wedding venues OKC, where people sometimes think it is socially acceptable. Of course, if they were to wear this dress in China, the roles have been reversed, as they are a minority in a foreign country.
Therefore, people looking for their wedding ideas should try their best not to engage in traditions from other cultures. Even when done out of respect, it can seem offensive and disrespectful. There can be an argument for the people at the wedding where Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was the OKC wedding officiant. In that, they wore the dresses out of respect. However, the truth is cultural appropriation has very little to do with respect and more with power. Therefore, a majority community, like white people, cannot make use of cultural aspects from a marginalized community.
So if you want to avoid going viral on your wedding ceremony for misrepresenting an entire culture, you can engage in the services of Lifelong Wedding Ceremonies. We offer fulfill all of your wedding needs from finding a wedding officiant in Oklahoma City to finding a wedding videographer OKC. we even offer our services in Edmond Oklahoma.
We can also help you arrange a wedding venue in Oklahoma, to ensure you have a proper wedding at the best location. Dr. Makayla Saramosing and Dr. Tinsley Keefe will offer their expertise in the field to help you your wedding even more special.
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