There's such a thing as respect for someone or something. There's even such a thing as respecting that someone or something so much that you want to also experience them/it. It's hard to put into words but at that point is when someone will begin appropriating. Cultural appropriation, by definition, is a sociological concept which views the adoption or use of elements or one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon. It basically means that if you're taking on important aspects of another culture. I've seen this done in both negative and positive ways.

Here's a few examples:

My first example is fairly recent enough, which should help most people can understand what I'm talking about - Kylie Jenner's adoption of cornrows as a hairstyle:

For her, this was something that was 'cool' and 'stylish' but it was also appropriating black culture. She has no interest in black culture or black views but she still wants to use part of their culture to her benefit and that's not right. There's a difference between being involved in the black community and their problems; wanting to adopt parts of their culture into your life in a positive way, and just taking a hairstyle that you think looks cool. It not only makes you look bad but it also makes you look insensitive. You have no concept of the black community, what their problems are, what they've gone through to be where they are, and you don't have black pride if you use cornrows to make yourself look cute.

Another example of cultural appropriation is one that I hold closer to my heart and I've actually seen in person, which is the adoption of Eastern religious symbols for decoration. One of which being the hamsa sign, most often seen on shirts and necklaces:

I, personally, wear a hamsa necklace just like this but the difference between myself and someone else is that it's a religious symbol to me and I understand its meaning. To most people, this is worn as a pretty or 'cute' accessory. On occasion, I've complimented someone on their necklace and asked them what it meant but they had no idea. If you wear a hamsa you better, at the very least, know what it means in the Jewish culture, Hindu culture, or even Buddhist culture. Yet most people don't, and that's appropriation.

Most people appropriate without even knowing that they are but there's a huge difference between wearing a bindi because you think it's cute and you want to wear it to a music festival, and someone that has meditated for hours in a day and put on a bindi to open up their third eye. It's almost as if you're poking fun at the other culture and it's definitely disrespectful.

You shouldn't be tattooing the ohm symbol on your body or putting buddhas up all over your house because you like the way they look without having a single understanding about how important they are. More and more people are starting to understand what cultural appropriation is, and I'd like it if there could be more sensitivity about these topics because it's wrong to mock other cultures for your own benefit without understanding any of the sufferings they've had. If you're someone who likes to decorate your body with Chinese or Japanese symbols, you better know what they mean and what alphabet you use. Is it Hiragana? Katakana? How about Kanji? If you don't know, then you're appropriating. There's a fine line between respecting one's culture and mocking it, so make sure you aren't crossing that line.