A Model Investigating How Cultural Appropriation Increases Group‐Based Stigma Through Racialized Objectification

ABSTRACT This work proposes a model exploring how cultural appropriation increases group‐based stigma through racialized objectification, drawing on objectification theory and insights from intergroup relations. First, I discuss how cultural appropriation reduces minoritized individuals to external aesthetics and stereotypes, reinforcing white supremacy and maintaining racial hierarchies. The model then extends objectification theory to explain how cultural appropriation facilitates dehumanization and fetishization, where minoritized groups are objectified, commodified, and stripped of autonomy and humanity. This process is tied to racial capitalism, where cultural products from subordinated communities are exploited for profit. Next, I explore how cultural appropriation leads to racialized self‐objectification and stigma, encouraging internalized oppression and self‐surveillance among minoritized individuals. Interventions to reduce the negative impacts of racialized objectification are discussed, including activities that promote embodied wellness and participation in cultural movements that empower minoritized groups to reclaim and affirm their identities. Last, I discuss boundary conditions and interventions aimed at reducing objectification through increasing historical knowledge, facilitating social connectedness and reducing stereotyping.