Indo chic: Cultural Appropriation, Online Activism and Diasporic South Asian Cultural Identity in Australia

Abstract

My research tracks and interrogates the many manifestations of the aesthetic tradition ‘Indo chic’, analysing how South Asian diasporic (desi) communities in the West interact with the trend, and in particular, how the trend has led desi women to engage in political activism online. The term ‘Indo chic’ refers to the Western production and consumption of 'South Asian/Indian inspired' commodities and images that connote a specific, yet generic, 'exotic cool' such as yoga or Bindis. Using a mixed methodology of critical visual analysis and ethnographic interviews, I examine how the aesthetics of contemporary Indo chic affect the cultural identity of desi women living in the West, with a particular focus on the experiences of desi women living in Australia. Broadening the category of diasporic South Asian identity, I also engage with mixed-race diasporic South Asian relationships to Indo chic which illuminate the messiness and constructedness of culture as embodied experience. As such, this project situates itself within wider arguments concerning the diasporic experience, whiteness and racial privilege, online activisms, and cultural authenticity.