the action of taking something for one's own use; allocation of funds
From Latin 'appropriare', from 'ad-' (to) + 'proprius' (one's own)
Appropriation literally means making something 'your own' - whether it's Congress appropriating funds or someone appropriating culture, it's all about claiming ownership!
Appropriation language often focuses on 'theft' of art/culture but obscures gendered appropriation: men claiming women's creative work, reproductive labor, emotional care as their own.
When discussing appropriation, include gendered forms: intellectual theft of women's research, emotional labor unpaid, caregiving unattributed to women innovators.
Women scientists (Rosalind Franklin, Jennifer Doudna) had their work appropriated or minimized; centering appropriation's gendered dimension reveals systematic erasure, not just cultural exchange.
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