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Teen slammed for 'offensive' Chinese dress at formal


Eighteen-year-old Keziah Ginger Daum wanted a unique dress for her school formal, so she visited a vintage shop in Salt Lake City in the US. The dress she chose was a qipao, a traditional Chinese dress that has become a cultural symbol of Chinese female empowerment.

In the week since Keziah posted her prom photos on Twitter, her outfit has sparked debate over cultural appropriation. Many online have called her out for ignoring the history of the qipao and fashionturning her prom into just another instance of white people wearing offensive things.

Photo courtesy of Keziah Ginger Daum
Photo courtesy of Keziah Ginger Daum

“My culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress,” Jeremy Lam responded on Twitter. He continued to explain the history of the garment, which evolved from “a loose dress/garment without shape, made for Chinese women to clean the house and do other domestic chores with” to “a beautiful form-fitting outfit to wear publicly, which Chinese women were not allowed to do during the times of extreme patriarchal oppression.”

Instead of apologising or walking back the concept behind her outfit, Keziah stood her ground. “I don’t see the big deal of me wearing a gorgeous dress I found for my last prom,” she wrote on Twitter. “If anything, I’m showing my appreciation to other cultures and I didn’t intend to make anyone think that I’m trying to be racist. It’s just a dress.”

Photo courtesy of Keziah Ginger Daum
Photo courtesy of Keziah Ginger Daum

“I chose the dress because I admired it and its cultural history,” Keziah tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Some argue cultural appropriation. However, it wasn’t. I was in no way making fun of the culture. I was quite surprised because I did this out of love.”

Others argue that her intention is irrelevant when it comes to cultural appropriation. Jeremy offers a distinction to the line between homage and appropriation on Twitter: “I think that it would be acceptable and appreciative if you did research on the traditional clothing, educate yourself of its importance and gain permission from multiple people from that culture to wear it in certain settings.”

Others have accused Keziah of outright racism or ignorance, while friends and fans are coming to her defence.

As the overwhelming response to this teen’s formal dress indicates, there’s a need to explore and credit Asian influences in pop culture. Nicki Minaj’s latest single, “Chun Li,” influenced by a character from the video game Street Fighter II, explicitly references Asian culture with lyrics like “I went and copped the chopsticks/ put it in my bun just to pop s***.”

The single also spawned the #ChunLiChallenge on social media, in which fans “re-create” Asian stereotypes like double buns and chopsticks in the hair. Of the almost 8,000 #ChunLiChallenge posts on Instagram, how many participants understand the cultural weight of chopsticks as a hair accessory? As David Yi writes, “it allows mistreatment of Asian culture to flourish.”

Earlier this month, Bella Hadid appeared in a new Instagram feed for her alter ego, an apparently Japanese-inspired creation named Rebekka Harajuku. While it’s unconfirmed whether Bella herself runs the account, it’s clear that the model is exploring the line between appreciation and appropriation as she poses with a Japanese cabdriver and blows kisses at a pair of chopsticks in her photos.

Rebekka Harajuku and her friend Jenny Nogizaka as seen in Tokyo tonight.

A post shared by Rebekka Harajuku (@rebekkaharajuku) on Apr 7, 2018 at 9:07am PDT

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