People are calling Twitter user Keziah racist because of her prom dress. She got the dress at a vintage shop and decided to wear it because she thought it was beautiful. Sounds innocent enough, right? Not to Twitter. She had no intent to disrespect Chinese culture, but, if anything, to show her admiration for the culture. In what world is it racist to be proud of admiring another culture? That, to me, is the polar opposite of racism.
Some girls will wear Confederate flag or other highly political dresses to their prom, but this dress was about as political as any other formal clothing item. She saw it, liked it, and wanted to wear it. Why make it political? For those of you who don't know, this dress is a cheongsam or a qipao. It is a type of traditional formal dress that is worn at weddings and other formal occasions. Seeing that prom is a formal occasion, Keziah is wearing the dress in the appropriate context. Therefore, this situation is not comparable to wearing a Native American headdress, which is in line with wearing fake military insignia.
Others said that the difference between appropriation and appreciation is an "invitation" from a person of that culture. Okay...how does that work? Does current nationality have anything to do with it? Can mixed-race people give the official invitation? How many invitations are needed? Chances are, if you think culture is so fragile that it can be destroyed by the "wrong" person wearing an article of clothing in the appropriate context, you're the racist, not the person wearing the item.
Overall, I think this dress is stunning and that there's nothing racist about it. I think it's interesting that more Asian-Americans than actual Chinese nationals were speaking as the Asians she's "stealing" from whereas the Chinese nationals appreciated seeing the cheongsam in a Western setting. I even asked a Chinese friend about it and she thought the outrage was as stupid as I thought it was.
Sources and Photos:
https://twitter.com/daumkeziah/status/988115815068139520
- daumkeziah