Is a Chinese-Style Prom Dress Cultural Appropriation?

It's a dress that she thought was pretty and it was for sale. She bought it with money and wore it to a dance. End of story.

When I was young, and Chinese New Year came around, my mother gave me a qipao for me to wear, as we always try to stay true to our roots. However, after I wore this qipao to school, I was mocked and ridiculed by my white peers who bullied me relentlessly for wearing this traditional clothing of my culture. After this, I felt shame and fear for wearing anything related to my heritage. Yet, when a white girl wears a qipao she does not feel shame. She is not bullied nor ridiculed. She is praised. This is cultural appropriation. Asian Americans are taught that our culture is abnormal until white people make it interesting. Not only is it insensitive for Daum to be wearing this qipao to her prom, it is ignorant for her to deny cultural appropriation as an act of racism. Chinese Americans have been displaying how beautiful qipaos are for a long time, but we're satirized and ignored unless a white woman leads the way. Minorities constantly feel forced to whitewash themselves because of this bullying, which is blatant internalized racism. Minorities are the ones who face racism regularly, therefore we're the ones who deserve to show pride in our own culture. When POC wear their cultural garments, it represents a manifestation of love and pride, an emblem of self-respect and acceptance, a token that proclaims, "racism will not bind me anymore". A white woman wearing a woman of color's culture will never carry this much meaning, thus only making it an accessory for her to flaunt.

I think that if they can wear our clothes then we should be able to wear theirs. I believe that Keziah Daum has a good taste. If she thinks that she looks good in that dress on prom night, she should be able to wear it without having bad comments on Facebook or any other social media web site. This is America and in America we say home of the brave and land of the free. If they tell us that we can’t wear their style, where does the free go in land of the free? I really disagree and I understand that it is culture, but it was her night to shine. I bet that a bunch of people from other countries wear our style to their prom. Now if I was in her shoes I probably would have asked what was he wearing, because I bet he wasn’t wearing traditional Chinese clothes if he was in the United States. What would he have done if his own prom date had dressed like Keziah?

Culture is something that can be shared, appreciated, and experienced, yet those aren't the only things one must take into account when engaging in practices of another culture. I don't agree with how Ms Daum wore the cheongsam to prom, and this is just another way that Western culture disregards the customs and behaviours of other cultures to fit its own purposes. I can understand how Ms Daum would have wanted something beautiful and unique to wear to her prom but at the same time, one can be sure she doesn't know the history and customs of the culture she is borrowing from. The "prayer pose" image she posted on social media is offensive and demeaning to Chinese culture. The behaviour by Ms Daum is just part of the overarching issue of appropriation and misuse of other's culture by the West. In this age of globalization, more than ever we are being exposed to new culture. We need to be aware of how to respect and use others culture in a respectful way, and Ms Daum crucially skipped this step.

The biggest issue I have with cultural appropriation is that it's difficult to define. Assigning culture, a social construct, to a certain group is never completely valid as all cultures evolve and borrow from others. The idea of a privileged majority group that doesn't face backlash from "appropriating" minority cultural items is also flawed. To define social groups, you have to set criteria for who belongs to what and you end up drawing lines in the sand that only alienate and segregate. Then you play the oppression game, and dole out points for minority markers. Basing such a large part of someone's freedom of expression on their constructed identity is dangerous, and only leads to censorship and further promoting nationalism. Culture shouldn't be sacred or untouchable. People love certain clutures because they are born into them, not by their own merit. Just because something is cultural, doesn't mean it's good and above criticsm.

We all have different cultures. I am aware that racism has been a big problem in the past and is still an ongoing problem but the world has evolved and people are now trying to celebrate other peoples culture. As a girl who is Mexican - American, people talk about the drug cartels and crossing the border as a joke, while no one talks about the thousands of families are been been separated, or deported. Honestly, I believe she looked beautiful in that dress and that she wore it as a simple of beauty and appreciation towards the Chinese culture.

I think that Ms.Daum has a right to wear her Qipao because not only are the Chinese people proud to show their culture. She is not trying to be racist she just thought it was beautiful.

We all have different cultures, not that Daum was intentionally racist, she clearly says that she wanted to wear something unique, she wanted to wear something that had meaning behind it, although she may have not known the meaning behind the dress and the culture but she did know that there was a meaning behind it or else she would have gone a looked for other dresses. She thought the dress was beautiful, she admired the beauty of the culture and as an american, my opinion does not have a huge impact. The voices that should have a big impact are the people from that culture. though as an american I know that there aren't many options for prom dresses - and they all look very similar so I can see her view on wanting to stand out. From some of the tweets there were people from that culture saying that she looked beautiful and that they were glad and appreciate the fact that their culture is spreading around the world - There is really no intent on this teenage girl, attending her senior prom, just wanting to look beautiful, being racist. People may get the wrong idea on the pose her and her friend had made, it can be twisted and I can see the side of that most most people not in that culture see it as a "squad goals" pose. There will always be one negative comment, it's 2018, it's the internet, its expected. I see both sides to this, I just want to point out she looked like she had a good time and she looked beautiful overall. Agree the Disagree, the way of life.

I don't get why people are so upset about this. Proms in America are so basic, the same glossy and sparkly dress and the same makeup and trying to standout but they all look the same. Daum was just trying to be different and had no intention to be racist. In fact, most seniors won't remember their senior prom unless something really special happens. Daum is going to remember it as her going in a traditional Chinese dress, but now she's going to remember as a time where she got backlash for trying to be different.

I think people should know the culture behind what they are wearing, if it is traditional to a different culture. The Chinese tradition dress symbolizes something special to the Chinese community. She shouldn't have wore the dress to prom, however if she was impressing and teaching about Chinese culture, the dress would have been appropriate

Culture is something to be shared and valued not something t be "outraged" by. There should be no "cultural appropriation", as long as something does not encourage harm, physically or emotionally, to others, it should be okay to be expressed by people.

As a Brazilian, I am amazed at this controversy. I am pretty sure if a young woman chose to wear a Chinese dress to her prom she would be lauded on her style, elegance and originality. No one would be offended thinking that our own culture was being somehow attacked or diminished by this. Goodness, how narrow-minded can you be.

Asian immigrants face so much racial discrimination in their daily lives. I don’t think I need to explain the type of mockery an early immigrant who doesn’t speak fluent English or act very ‘American’ would face. Speaking as an Asian immigrant, we have been implicitly and explicitly taught by American society that our culture is lame, so much so that we have had to erase all traces of an Asian identity to be accepted. So the fact that a white girl can casually pick up a qipao for prom because she thought it was ‘pretty’ is precisely the problem. White people who casually adopt and discard cultural symbols to adorn themselves for their self-expression of the week are being a bit insensitive to the people of that culture who face very real and serious structural racism for representing their own culture. It is a privilege to be able to adopt something from a minority culture and claim it as part of your own self-expression without having to face the discrimination that comes with it. (This is also why Chinese people in China don’t have the same reactions as Asian Americans - they can be as Chinese as they want in China to no consequence.) Culture sharing would be great, and calling something cultural appropriation is not a rejection of that. It’s pointing out the power imbalance in one culture’s adoption of another. I am not outraged. I am simply unamused.

The girl meant no offense wore the dress beautifully. However, I do find legitimacy in those who were offended &am appalled by some of the online responses to them. In comedy people speak of ‘punching up’, that you shouldn’t make fun of ‘others’ who are being marginalized, especially if you yourself sit in a position of relative privilege. I find it’s sort of a similar rule with cultural appropriation. AsAms in places where we are a minority are often flippantly mocked. AsAm Women I find are often over-sexualized &silenced (an extension of sexism in general), &valued for our perceived social/physical traits of submission/sex slavery. We are fetishized. What I think really offended people was the combination of her dress &what looks like a sexy “China Doll” pose. “China Doll” imagery, &the phrase itself is used more often towards AsAm women than you might think. These kids were just copying some silly YouTube channel,H3H3, but the misunderstanding is real, &could have been addressed. There is a difference between Asians in Asia, where they are the unchallenged ethnic and cultural majority, & AsAm, who still suffer under-representation at all levels of American society. The history of trauma that many AsAm groups have suffered in the US&Can is not understood in Asia at all. AsAm kids, when a minority, know what it means to have anime/sexy As clothes popularized by the same people who silence us. But I do love cultural exchange where we can all be heard & seen. More of that plz

Cultural appropriation has got to be the most ignorant outgrowth of identity politics to have entered the national conversation. Civilizations evolve and grow by sharing cultural elements, including clothes, music, religion, food, etc., etc. Would those offended by a white person wearing a traditional Chinese dress also be offended by an Asian playing a violin in a Mozart concerto? Every nation is replete with cultural elements that didn't originate there, and in many cases they didn't even know it wasn't their invention. If anything, so-called "appropriation" is a sign that humans can learn from each other - isn't that progress?

According to Wikipedia this form of dress is an early 20th-century modernization of traditional Chinese clothing that some think was influenced by Western styles. For example, it was originally worn with trousers, then later with stockings.

Anyone who would go out of their way to play the offended victim because of single garment — worn by a girl who probably thought it was pretty — undermines real issues about cultural appropriation that carry some weight. But that is not the case here. Reactions against the dress are falling in line with the increasing tendency to seize the moment — any moment — to rage against imagined oppression, to conjure up offensiveness where none was intended, to loudly demonstrate one’s status as victim. That is not an empowering thing to do. Especially as in this case the basis of your argument is so specious. If you’re going to take offense because of a dress worn by a teenager for one night you need to find a better way to spend your time.

I was born and raised in Ireland. I believe that soon, Irish-Americans will decide I should be offended by a box of Lucky Charms. Take my culture, do whatever you want with it. Power to you! I hope you receive some enjoyment out of it. As long as you're not exploiting my culture to mock me, I genuinely couldn't care what you do. Otherwise, I kindly request you cease production of Lucky Charms, close all the Irish Pubs, cancel St. Patrick's Day, and burn the Dropkick Murphys at the stake.

Culture appropriation is a real thing and it's not just people being oversensitive. The only people that don't see culture appropriation as a problem are people that either have no culture or have never experienced it to the degree minorities like Asian, African Americans and Latinos experience it. As a Latina woman growing up I remember seeing people from my culture get criticized and looked down upon for "fashion trends" that are now cool because a white person decided to appropriate it (i.e Kylie and Kendall appropriating Los Angeles Cholo fashion). At the end of the day this girl was old enough to know what she was doing and people have a reason to be mad if they want to. As a younger generation were sick of just brushing things off that our parents' generations refused to call attention to.

Adopting caricatures of other groups, national, racial, ethnic in the name of innocent cultural appropriation is, of course, wrong. However, real cultural appropriation is to turn a phrase, "the sincerest form of flattery." And more importantly, the appropriation is not static. It leads to new cultural forms. Historians might prefer to see this as a necessary cultural diffusion that began at the dawn of the Neolithic period. Thank God for thoughtful, respectful and acknowledged cultural appropriation, or to put it another way, "It's Only Rock N' Roll" (But I like it!).

When it comes to seeing whether someone is appreciating another’s culture there are multiple things that should be considered. For example is the person directly making fun of the culture or using it in a way other than what it was intended. I believe that when it comes to the prom dress incident the person is in no way disrespecting Chinese culture. A quote from an anonymous user from China states “I am very proud to have our culture recognized by people in other countries,”. After hearing this it becomes plain to me that that there was no disrespect of culture and only people who got mad that others not of their heritage starting wearing clothing associated with their culture. I see no reason for why these people are upset as what’s the point of cultural traditions if no one carries them on and people just criticize those who try to in their own respectful way. It is remarkable to think that there are people who believe that because you are not directly associated with a culture that you are automatically off limits to everything that that culture covers. Although I understand where critics are coming from as I am sure that many people have borrowed things from other cultures and using them in ways they weren’t meant to be or just plainly making fun of them.

Too many thoughts, I'm going to focus on a few things. As a Chinese Asian-American, there are several things I am genuinely and passionately angry about. First, those who simply observe that some Chinese Media outlets are praising this lady, I would say that there is lot more context not shown. China itself has a racism problem. Those who are not Chinese are often ostracized, and there's been commercials in China that suggest ethnic cleansing. Also, in my opinion, China has the effects of post colonialism. To some extent, Chinese people do genuinely believe that white or Anglo-Saxon people are superior. Also many Chinese don't understand the significance of the prom dress in American culture and it's need to be unique. As such, I would genuinely suggest those looking into this to talk to many Asian-Americans. Second, to those saying it's just a dress, it's far from that. While yes, the Qipao was originally made to be flirtatious and show off curves, it's history is a lot more. It's also a status symbol, as well as the dress itself facing historical persecution as during a period of time, it was seen as a part of old culture that was to be erased, only to be saved. Source? Myself and multiple friends who have lived in China and are well versed in Chinese history. Finally, people are saying chalking it up to ignorance and leaving it. I personally chalk this up to ignorance, but we need to address that ignorance, teaching people to recognize when they could be being ignorant.

Wearing qipao could be a cultural appropriation, but only in the positive sense. No Chinese person would find this offensive in any way. Why? A qipao is a DRESS. A prom is a formal occasion where a woman is supposed to wear a DRESS. It is a proper use of the clothing! It is not satirizing or making fun of the dress or culture if you wear it with dignity and respect and honor. To say that it is offensive would be equivalent of saying that Asian men cannot wear a Western-style suit. This is not the same as someone wearing a Native American chief's dress (which has deep cultural and religious meaning) to a football game.

I believe cultural appropriation is real, but this isn't an instance of that. This girl isn't claiming to have invented this dress, and she later said she had respect for Chinese culture. As long as she gives credit where it is due and doesn't claim to have invented the style (i.e. Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian) then it is fine. While cultural appropriation can occur when someone takes a cultural relic and wears/uses it without understanding the significance and disrespecting it, this is not an instance of that. The cheongsam has no deep-seeded meaning to Chinese people other than it being a traditional piece of clothing, so there is no cultural significance to understand. She is not exploiting Chinese culture and values; on the contrary, she is respecting it. Just look at the reaction Chinese people had when they heard about this! They were excited that a Westerner was wearing Chinese clothing and sharing in the rich and beautiful history of China. I do have to say that seeing all these people ridicule her for dress choice is disheartening.

So when Jennifer Aniston wore the same type of dress in Friends, it was okay, but now this girl wearing one to her prom, is offensive?? Ridiculous!!

Wearing a Chinese style prom dress is by no means cultural appropriation. In fact, it was actually the opposite. By choosing a dress that celebrates another culture, Ms. Duam is showing her support for it. I admire her for wearing a statement piece that has a story and history, not just a typical prom dress. I respect those who believe that what Ms. Duam did is cultural appropriation, but I am failing to understand what this girl did wrong. To attack a high school student over her clothing choice is down right unjust, and is one of the best examples of today's "outrage culture."

Look, at the end of the day, it's just a dress, and she's just a kid. The problem exists if you push it. I see it that she was appreciating the beauty of another culture and embracing it. I believe beauty has no borders, and she felt beautiful. That's more important than pushing some agenda. However, if somebody was TRULY offended, it is better to educate than criticize. The world is a big place, and we only get to experience a small fraction of it. Why not come together and show our appreciation by embracing each other's culture? In doing so, we all educate each other as well. I'm Irish, hence the surname. I will admit, I do get a little agitated on Saint Patrick's Day, but I learn to brush it off. Yet, if I see somebody wearing a claddagh ring, I love to talk about what it means in my culture. I don't declare that they can't wear a symbol from my culture. The values of love and friendship are not limited to the Irish people. There are those who tattoo Celtic knots and crosses on their body, and that can agitate me as well. However, I don't own my culture. My culture is a social construct, and we are all in this world together. It is better to educate the values than to respond with outrage. Of course there are examples of demeaning cultural representation. But learn to differentiate those who exploit culture and those who appreciate it.

There is no question - this is a prime example of our current "outrage" culture. "Culture" - by definition - is collective. No single person or group of people "owns" it. Nor is culture static - it evolves naturally over time and is descriptive of how humans manifest themselves. People take ideas, expressions, thoughts, etc. from others, adapt them, and incorporate them into their lives. This has always occurred - and will always occur - throughout human history. People should stop feigning offense (or, worse, being actually offended) at how others choose to express themselves. Live your own life, get off of social media, and be a happier person. By the way - query how many of these "outraged people" are actually Russian trolls....

People are just trying to gain attention by being offended. Our whole society has evolved through the intermingling of cultures and ideas. Suggesting that a high school girl wearing an ethnic piece of clothing from China as her prom dress, is cultural appropriation is just absurd. This should be seen as and example of diversity flourishing in society and appreciation of other cultures. Also, as pointed out in the article above, the most complaints were from Chinese-Americans. These people, I'm sure have absorbed many aspects of American culture and therefore have no right to question the motives if this girl, who is simply going to pron.

I think that those with access to the internet are obligated to do research to better understand if the way you are using cultural artifacts offends others. In my opinion, a person should do their best to try not to offend others in most situations. Cultural and racial identity can bean especially difficult subject to bring up. In this way, we should go out of our way to make sure that we do not offend someone's culture or race.

First, America is an incredibly diverse country. The very culture of America would note be what it is today if it weren’t for the exchange of culture with other countries. Also, am I guilty of cultural appropriation when I go to my favorite Mexican place for dinner? What about when I try and learn Spanish? Another point I’d like to make is that all because some 18-year-old wore an Asian dress doesn’t mean your culture is being stolen. She thought the dress was pretty, and she wanted to wear it to prom. That’s it. There is not always a deeper meaning or a reason to get offended, a high school girl liked a dress.

Cheerleaders have a very distinct stereotype. Loud, happy, popular, mean and sometimes dumb. This year is my third year as a cheerleader and our entire team is not similar to this stereotype at all. The girls I cheer with are some of the nicest people I know and almost all of us are A-B students. We don't feel like we're better than others for cheering nor are we mean to others because we cheer. This part of my life is where I defy a stereotype the most. I don't like seeing cheerleaders brought down or picked on based on made up stereotypes and this is actually seen a lot. Being put in a stereotype and having so many things assumed about you is not a good experience at all.

Is a Chinese-style prom dress cultural appropriation? In a word, no.

"What is your opinion on the increasingly complex, nuanced and sensitive conversations about race in the United States?" This is a leading or loaded question. It begs the question of the conversations about cultural appropriation being "nuanced", when they are clearly not. The whole notion of "cultural appropriation" is debunked by the enshrined right of free expression: your culture is whatever you choose, and nobody can proscribe your expression, least of all based on race or ethnicity. To oppose so called "cultural appropriation" is to support cultural segregation and cultural apartheid. MLK rolls over in his grave...

“What do their clothes have to do with anything? Why would you be worried about a person’s clothes?” the mother said.

I find it quite interesting that Americans make such a big deal out of things such as cultural appropriation. But many people who live outside of the US see it as someone who is experiencing their culture; something that people love to share. It’s kind of a pattern I’ve seen especially with Asian culture. I think that cultural appropriation is a thing if people use it as a form of mockery or disrespect. But say a 7 year old American (of any race) girl wants to have a Japanese tea ceremony as her birthday party? I think that’s a fantastic opportunity for that girl to learn more about Japanese culture and expand her understanding of the world. Culture should be something that is cherished and shared. It’s what makes us unique but similar all at once. Restricting access to experiences because of your background I feel is akin to that of social segregation.