American Tribal Style and creating culture

Disclaimer: Some of the statements herein may be made due to my ignorance of the heritage of ATS. Please educate me if you feel that I've missed an important point.

I've always been very intrigued about the 'culture' aspect of American Tribal Style bellydance. Of course, many types of dance groups are 'cultures' or 'tribes' unto themselves, but this seems moreso with ATS because they actually borrow practices and clothing from other tribal cultures. I'm sure someone out there has done an actual ethnography of ATS troupes (btw if you know of one, please direct me to it!).

I've always been curious and still somewhat confused about the culturally appropriative aspects of ATS. First of all, nobody sat me down and explained to me where all the accessories and clothing come from, which is interesting in itself because that is more like the process of enculturation- you learn by doing and seeing, not by analyzing or self-exposing. From independent exposure to the cultures I am aware that much of the clothing/jewelery comes from Indian, Pakistani and Afghani tribal cultures, as well as Flamenco dance and Latin American dance. So in one sense, ATS is an unabashedly appropriative dance form. It's basically as if ATS rearranges the syntax or assembling together of different (often folkloric) cultural symbols to create its own culture. While all ATS 'tribes' use just about the same vocabulary of movements, other Tribal Bellydance tribes have different vocabularies and perhaps languages and often a different 'syntax' of costuming as well.

Same goes for Ren Faire troupes- my friend who is a costumer once said that her conception of Ren Faire bellydance costuming was basically 'fantasy Middle Eastern' - it doesn't adhere to the dominant costume of any Middle Eastern cultures at any times, but like ATS, borrows from various tribal cultures from various time periods.

Given that Tribal bellydance styles are often culturally appropriative, why do many American (often Caucasian or European-American) women desire to study and re-create a fictive tribal culture rather than study traditional folkloric dance, for example? Is it because it means less to them personally, as thoroughly assimilated Americans, than creating a fictional tribal culture? Is it because independent gynarchies and women's spaces are created as a byproduct of women's bellydance culture and people are attracted to that (1)? Is there an element of visual self-exoticizing that Western women derive from studying and costuming ATS or Tribal Styles as opposed to other forms that makes Tribal Styles more appealing? Is it even fair to cry 'Orientalism' anymore in some cases, or is it just pure ignorance? Is the accusation that ATS or Tribal Styles aren't 'real' bellydance valid?

I don't have the answers, but I've always been curious.
(1) Some bellydance instructors explicitly do not permit men in their classes.