Halloween costume - offensive ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's offensive. I think that it's honoring--she wants to be a Native American, not to make fun of it, but because she is interested in it and likes the idea of it.

And her idea of it may be childish, but she is a child, and this is all about imagination--imagining being a Native American in the past, and with that opens the door to empathy. If it's shut down, then why be curious about what it's like to be something other than what she is? That just perpetuates the 50s "Dick and Jane-- we are all white and girls are all blonde" mentality.

My DDs read the AWESOME American Girl historical book set on "Kaya," and when they were OPs daughter's age, each of them wore some sort of outfit like this. My oldest is a savvy teen now, so I think if she dressed up at all, she would not do something like this for Halloween due to sensitivity, but that too is age-appropriate!

ke
If she's genuinely interested and wants to "honor" Native Americans (who are clearly a big homogeneous blob, despite consisting of thousands of tribes with millennia of history), then she should care enough to do a modicum of research.

What I'm hearing from OP is that her 7 year-old has a costume she really wants to wear, so she's slapping this "It's Sacagawea" idea onto it, despite the dress being nothing like what Sacagawea would have worn. OP knows that dressing up as another culture (one that still exists, by the way) is inappropriate, and likely so does her daughter.

I think this PP nailed it. If it is a specific person, she designs her costume around that person's known garb and distinguishing style. Otherwise she's trying to make something up to cover up the stereotypical costume's problems. I get it, OP's DD wants to wear her outfit but it isn't appropriate to wear it on Halloween.

[Anonymous]

If OP's DD were to do some research about typical Native American dress and donned the outfit of a blackjack dealer, would that be OK?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's offensive. I think that it's honoring--she wants to be a Native American, not to make fun of it, but because she is interested in it and likes the idea of it.

And her idea of it may be childish, but she is a child, and this is all about imagination--imagining being a Native American in the past, and with that opens the door to empathy. If it's shut down, then why be curious about what it's like to be something other than what she is? That just perpetuates the 50s "Dick and Jane-- we are all white and girls are all blonde" mentality.

My DDs read the AWESOME American Girl historical book set on "Kaya," and when they were OPs daughter's age, each of them wore some sort of outfit like this. My oldest is a savvy teen now, so I think if she dressed up at all, she would not do something like this for Halloween due to sensitivity, but that too is age-appropriate!

ke
If she's genuinely interested and wants to "honor" Native Americans (who are clearly a big homogeneous blob, despite consisting of thousands of tribes with millennia of history), then she should care enough to do a modicum of research.

What I'm hearing from OP is that her 7 year-old has a costume she really wants to wear, so she's slapping this "It's Sacagawea" idea onto it, despite the dress being nothing like what Sacagawea would have worn. OP knows that dressing up as another culture (one that still exists, by the way) is inappropriate, and likely so does her daughter.

I think this PP nailed it. If it is a specific person, she designs her costume around that person's known garb and distinguishing style. Otherwise she's trying to make something up to cover up the stereotypical costume's problems. I get it, OP's DD wants to wear her outfit but it isn't appropriate to wear it on Halloween.

LOL. No, it's fine. Get over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's offensive. I think that it's honoring--she wants to be a Native American, not to make fun of it, but because she is interested in it and likes the idea of it.

And her idea of it may be childish, but she is a child, and this is all about imagination--imagining being a Native American in the past, and with that opens the door to empathy. If it's shut down, then why be curious about what it's like to be something other than what she is? That just perpetuates the 50s "Dick and Jane-- we are all white and girls are all blonde" mentality.

My DDs read the AWESOME American Girl historical book set on "Kaya," and when they were OPs daughter's age, each of them wore some sort of outfit like this. My oldest is a savvy teen now, so I think if she dressed up at all, she would not do something like this for Halloween due to sensitivity, but that too is age-appropriate!

ke
If she's genuinely interested and wants to "honor" Native Americans (who are clearly a big homogeneous blob, despite consisting of thousands of tribes with millennia of history), then she should care enough to do a modicum of research.

What I'm hearing from OP is that her 7 year-old has a costume she really wants to wear, so she's slapping this "It's Sacagawea" idea onto it, despite the dress being nothing like what Sacagawea would have worn. OP knows that dressing up as another culture (one that still exists, by the way) is inappropriate, and likely so does her daughter.

I think this PP nailed it. If it is a specific person, she designs her costume around that person's known garb and distinguishing style. Otherwise she's trying to make something up to cover up the stereotypical costume's problems. I get it, OP's DD wants to wear her outfit but it isn't appropriate to wear it on Halloween.

So any costume that's historically imperfect is offensive. Do you people even listen to yourselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've definitely had this conversation with my child and it's actually not THAT hard:

I'd say this:

"I know you want to dress up as a Native American but it's actually not kind to take another person's traditional dress and use it as a costume."

Then I'd share an example to drive the point home, depending on the child and our culture. Like, "Would you like it if someone wore a kippah and tzitzit as a costume or would that make you feel like someone was kind of making fun of Jewish people?"

I would think it was cool that someone thought Jews were cool enough to dress up as one. Kids choose things they love to be for Halloween; they aren't making fun of anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's offensive. I think that it's honoring--she wants to be a Native American, not to make fun of it, but because she is interested in it and likes the idea of it.

And her idea of it may be childish, but she is a child, and this is all about imagination--imagining being a Native American in the past, and with that opens the door to empathy. If it's shut down, then why be curious about what it's like to be something other than what she is? That just perpetuates the 50s "Dick and Jane-- we are all white and girls are all blonde" mentality.

My DDs read the AWESOME American Girl historical book set on "Kaya," and when they were OPs daughter's age, each of them wore some sort of outfit like this. My oldest is a savvy teen now, so I think if she dressed up at all, she would not do something like this for Halloween due to sensitivity, but that too is age-appropriate!

ke
If she's genuinely interested and wants to "honor" Native Americans (who are clearly a big homogeneous blob, despite consisting of thousands of tribes with millennia of history), then she should care enough to do a modicum of research.

What I'm hearing from OP is that her 7 year-old has a costume she really wants to wear, so she's slapping this "It's Sacagawea" idea onto it, despite the dress being nothing like what Sacagawea would have worn. OP knows that dressing up as another culture (one that still exists, by the way) is inappropriate, and likely so does her daughter.

I think this PP nailed it. If it is a specific person, she designs her costume around that person's known garb and distinguishing style. Otherwise she's trying to make something up to cover up the stereotypical costume's problems. I get it, OP's DD wants to wear her outfit but it isn't appropriate to wear it on Halloween.

So any costume that's historically imperfect is offensive. Do you people even listen to yourselves?

No, they're just bored at work and looking to sound "woke."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who are so quick to say that OP is "over-thinking" this, or that those of us who are explaining why we think her daughter should have a different costume are "tedious' or "haven't smiled in a year" should do some actual research on this topic.

Here's a place to start
http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/12/what-exactly-is-cultural-appropriation-and-how-is-it-harmful/

I've read a ton on this topic. I teach in "area studies" (women's studies), and I totally disagree. Halloween especially is about playacting, embodying something you want to try out. You should never exploit others for your own gain, and you should not make fun of other people or hurt them. However, this movement is making it very, very difficult to introduce people to other cultures through play: clothes, food, dance, art ... That's how most people come to appreciate other cultures first, before they delve into the history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's offensive. I think that it's honoring--she wants to be a Native American, not to make fun of it, but because she is interested in it and likes the idea of it.

And her idea of it may be childish, but she is a child, and this is all about imagination--imagining being a Native American in the past, and with that opens the door to empathy. If it's shut down, then why be curious about what it's like to be something other than what she is? That just perpetuates the 50s "Dick and Jane-- we are all white and girls are all blonde" mentality.

My DDs read the AWESOME American Girl historical book set on "Kaya," and when they were OPs daughter's age, each of them wore some sort of outfit like this. My oldest is a savvy teen now, so I think if she dressed up at all, she would not do something like this for Halloween due to sensitivity, but that too is age-appropriate!

ke
If she's genuinely interested and wants to "honor" Native Americans (who are clearly a big homogeneous blob, despite consisting of thousands of tribes with millennia of history), then she should care enough to do a modicum of research.

What I'm hearing from OP is that her 7 year-old has a costume she really wants to wear, so she's slapping this "It's Sacagawea" idea onto it, despite the dress being nothing like what Sacagawea would have worn. OP knows that dressing up as another culture (one that still exists, by the way) is inappropriate, and likely so does her daughter.

I think this PP nailed it. If it is a specific person, she designs her costume around that person's known garb and distinguishing style. Otherwise she's trying to make something up to cover up the stereotypical costume's problems. I get it, OP's DD wants to wear her outfit but it isn't appropriate to wear it on Halloween.

So any costume that's historically imperfect is offensive. Do you people even listen to yourselves?

That's not what PP is saying. A costume that is based on stereotyping, particularly when you're stereotyping a marginalized group (Native Americans, African Americans, etc) is not ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who are so quick to say that OP is "over-thinking" this, or that those of us who are explaining why we think her daughter should have a different costume are "tedious' or "haven't smiled in a year" should do some actual research on this topic.

Here's a place to start
http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/12/what-exactly-is-cultural-appropriation-and-how-is-it-harmful/

I've read a ton on this topic. I teach in "area studies" (women's studies), and I totally disagree. Halloween especially is about playacting, embodying something you want to try out. You should never exploit others for your own gain, and you should not make fun of other people or hurt them. However, this movement is making it very, very difficult to introduce people to other cultures through play: clothes, food, dance, art ... That's how most people come to appreciate other cultures first, before they delve into the history.

I partially disagree, but I respect your disagreement! I, too, have issues with the idea that you can only "respect" the culture you were born into and I agree that hyper-protectiveness in many cases is self-defeating.

But dressing up as a "Chinese person" or a "Native American" still, to me, isn't ok. You can't really "try out" what it means to be Native American, and even though Halloween is supposed to be fun, I can totally understand why people would take issue with their culture -- particularly one marginalized in the US -- being something to dress up in for your own amusement.

[Anonymous]

Father of 2 native DCs here, one of whom is 7.

I think it's great that you're taking the time to consider whether the costume is appropriate. Kind/thoughtful of you.

As the prior posts illustrate, there's no consensus on this issue. Some certainly do find native "costumes" offensive (members of my kids' tribe find the very term "costume" offensive when used to describe tribal regalia). Others would view it as inoffensive, provided that it didn't include "cartoonish" elements or items of religious significance.

For my wife and kids, it certainly is strange to see kids dressed as natives--even when done with the best intentions, it feels like a parody or trivialization of things (traditional dress, etc.) that they take quite seriously. Not offensive exactly, but uncomfortable for them.

I'd suggest using this as a teaching moment. Discuss the issue and concerns with your DD and let her make the choice. She'll have learned something and, if she does choose to dress as Sacajawea, she'll hopefully present/explain her costume in a respectful way.

[Anonymous]

"But dressing up as a "Chinese person" or a "Native American" still, to me, isn't ok."

We've heard your objections, and since you have no further arguments than it "isn't ok" to you, we disagree with you.

Veterans have traditionally been a marginalized group, and they are a protected class. Is it offensive to dress up as a soldier or sailor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"But dressing up as a "Chinese person" or a "Native American" still, to me, isn't ok."

We've heard your objections, and since you have no further arguments than it "isn't ok" to you, we disagree with you.

Veterans have traditionally been a marginalized group, and they are a protected class. Is it offensive to dress up as a soldier or sailor?

NP here. The bolded is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:she needs to be a specific historical person, not just an American Indian.

Yup. You can't be a race for Halloween. I'm going to go as a black person! No, but you CAN be Rosa Parks. Same thing as going as a "native american girl". But she can be Pocahontas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"But dressing up as a "Chinese person" or a "Native American" still, to me, isn't ok."

We've heard your objections, and since you have no further arguments than it "isn't ok" to you, we disagree with you.

Veterans have traditionally been a marginalized group, and they are a protected class. Is it offensive to dress up as a soldier or sailor?

There's not just one of me, and we disagree with you.

As will history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:she needs to be a specific historical person, not just an American Indian.

Yup. You can't be a race for Halloween. I'm going to go as a black person! No, but you CAN be Rosa Parks. Same thing as going as a "native american girl". But she can be Pocahontas.

+1 The problem isn't with dressing up across races. It's with dressing up as another race/ethnicity. Of course, if you dressed up in baggy jeans and fake dreadlocks and then claimed to be Rosa Parks, that would also be problematic and that's basically what OP's daughter is proposing - to dress up as a stereotype and then just call herself a historical figure.

I think OP guesses at this, which is why she's asking the question. A lot of folks wouldn't have even thought to ask.