In art, there’s this gal who has quite a bit of potential in her artistic skill and it shows. But I walked over to her and noticed she was sketching out Ganesh for a painting. Now my first reaction is “Cool! You’re going to illustrate Ganesh?” Referring to the elephant headed man with multiple arms, his limbs poised in his classic welcoming stance.

“Who is that?”

I had to pick my jaw up from the floor. “Ganesh?! The Hindu diety who is known as the remover of obstacles? He’s good luck in situations of passage? The GOD you’re drawing?” Mind you, this fifteen year old american high schooler, who very obviously does not engage or believe in Hinduism, continued to look blankly at me.

“It’s incredibly important to research and understand what you’re creating. You should certainly look more into Ganesh.”

I left her with that, but I will be bringing it up again as cultural appropriation. If she was well educated about Hinduism, and Ganesh was the perfect icon for a message she was trying to portray to a specific audience, it may not have been cultural appropriation.

But even I don’t attempt to illustrate gods who are not my gods, though I may admire and find their history interesting.

What do you guys think?