"The worst thing that colonialism did was to cloud our view of our past" (Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance). Colonization has impacted many countries in several ways: economically, politically, socially, culturally, etc. Often its impact on culture is overlooked, however it is undeniable that colonization has drastically impacted the culture of its victims. This idea will be explored through an analysis on the origins of modesty, racism and xenophobia, and homophobia and transphobia in colonized countries.
Many cultures did not have the concept of modesty before colonization. Often their women would dress in ways that would be considered "immodest" in today's date. The concept of modesty was solely adopted due to the oversexualisation and harassment shown by the colonizer men towards colonized women. An example of this is the introduction of the blouse in South Asian women's sarees. A saree is a traditional South Asian outfit in which a garment of cotton or silk is draped around the body. Before the British colonization of India, Indian women would not wear a blouse underneath their saree, meaning their chest was only possibly covered by jewelry and the saree itself. However, when the British men came to India, they would sexually assault, harass, sexualise and discriminate against these women in sarees, resulting in Jnanadanandini Debi creating the blouse to cover the chest in order to protect herself and other women ("Dressing the Indian Woman through History." BBC.com). The fear of being harassed grew so greatly in Indian and South Asian women that they and their culture adopted the ideology of modesty. In current day South Asia, women who do not dress "modestly" are often treated the same way women in the past would - they are sexualised, sexually assaulted, harassed and discriminated against. The obsession with modesty has now been adopted in South Asian culture primarily as a result of being introduced by the British. It is evident with this example that colonization has negatively impacted South Asian culture.
Furthermore, for many countries, xenophobia and racism were adopted as fear responses after being colonized. Being colonized is traumatizing to go through, and as a result, once they are liberated, countries will do anything they can in order to protect themselves from going through the same thing again. Unfortunately, some of these protection methods are extremely xenophobic and racist, which then gets adopted into the country's culture. A prime example of this is South Korea's response to being liberated from Japan. Immediately after their liberation, South Korea imposed a ban on all forms of Japanese media and culture - anime, manga, and Japanese music was all banned entirely in South Korea. Evidently, this seems extremely xenophobic, however it is crucial to take into consideration South Korea's intention. Japan had changed everything about South Korea during its regime; its education system, its religion, even its language had been colonized. In fear of South Koreans losing their culture and origins further to Japanese culture, the South Korean government imposed these bans ("Minister Proposes Allowing Japanese Dramas into Korea." donga.com). And in fear of other countries attempting to do the same thing, South Korean culture began adopting xenophobia and racism, particularly towards the Japanese people. These tensions and ideologies of xenophobia and racism have continued to flourish in South Korean culture even today. While this response is not ideal at all, it is crucial to understand the factors that caused it. Due to their trauma and fear from colonization, South Korean culture adopted xenophobic and racist mindsets to ensure that the possibility of suffering from colonization again is very low.
Finally, the adoption of homophobia and transphobia in many cultures is a direct result of colonization. Many cultures and religions actually normalized homosexuality and transgenderism before they were colonized ("History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements." apa.org). When their colonization occured, homophobic and transphobic propaganda was spread by colonizers and such ideologies were normalized and adopted in the colonized's culture. The entire continent of Africa suffered from this. Before colonization, gender fluidity and homosexuality was normalized in the majority of African countries. However, during the British's colonization of Africa, they introduced anti-homosexual and anti-transgenderism laws and in some places, beat the homophobia and transphobia into Africans ("Africa: Homophobia Is a Legacy of Colonialism." theguardian.com). They then whitewashed the entire continent, religiously colonized Africans, and converted forcibly and willingly to Christianity. In Christianity, homosexuality and transgenderism is strictly forbidden, so as a result of this religious colonization, African culture adopted homophobia and transphobia. Today, many countries in Africa have been labeled as the most unsafe countries for LGBTQ+ people. A similar thing occurred in India as well. Many ancient Indian and Hindu myths have transgender and homosexual themes ("Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ Issues: Hinduism." hrc.org). However, when the British came, they banned homosexuality and as a result, the Indian culture adopted homophobia (Bloom, Laura Begley. forbes.com). In 2018, India was finally able to annul the ban and legalize gay marriage; unfortunately though, the Indian culture is still struggling to connect with its once accepting self and LGBTQ+ people are still at risk due to the ongoing impacts of the British Regime. It is evident that both African, Indian, and many other cultures and its peoples are suffering even today due to the British's past colonization and ideologies.
In conclusion, after a thorough analysis on the introduction of modesty, racial discrimination and homophobia and transphobia, it is evident that cultures of colonized countries are gravely impacted by colonization even in present day. However, it is crucial to note that while such issues have been introduced through colonization, it does not excuse them whatsoever. It is critical that the people of these cultures continue to work hard to eradicate such negativity from their culture and resort it to its once peaceful state. Reversing the effects of colonization on culture is an extremely difficult task but in order to achieve acceptance and harmony among people, it is a task that must be fulfilled. Society's current response is to criticize such countries for their "outdated" views while failing to recognise the recency of liberation for many countries and how integrated these ideologies have become in their cultures. Instead of bashing them, it is crucial that society supports change, and while holding them accountable, holds the colonizers, who face little to no backlash, accountable as well.
Works Cited
"Africa: Homophobia Is a Legacy of Colonialism." The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 30 Apr. 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/30/africa-homophobia-legacy-colonialism.
Blakemore, Erin. "How Japan Took Control of Korea." History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Feb. 2018, https://www.history.com/news/japan-colonization-korea.
Bloom, Laura Begley. "20 Most Dangerous Places for Gay Travelers (and the 5 Safest)." Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 29 June 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2019/11/25/most-dangerous-places-safest-lgbtq-gay-travelers/?sh=6736a9831169.
"Dressing the Indian Woman through History." BBC News, BBC, 6 Dec. 2014, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30330693.
"History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements." American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.
"Japanese Influence on Korea." Koreatimes, 30 Aug. 2020, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2021/11/739_295056.html.
"Korea under Japanese Rule." Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/place/Korea/Korea-under-Japanese-rule.
"Minister Proposes Allowing Japanese Dramas into Korea." Www.donga.com, https://www.donga.com/en/List/article/all/20110225/400707/1.
Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. Delacorte Press, 2021.
"Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ Issues: Hinduism." Human Rights Campaign, https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-hinduism.
