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Anonymous wrote:To 16:54 - so then it's also not ok to dress up in a kilt, or like an Irish lass, etc....anything associated with a culture is strictly off limits? Can an Asian wear a southern belle costume? I think they can. Wearing something...anything...is far different from mocking a culture or being insensitive.

I wonder how you people deal with International night at your school, or with international themed school projects/events. Do you pitch a fit, stomp your feet, and refuse to let your kid participate?

Not 16:54, but to me, the difference is between dressing up as a character (e.g. Cinderella) or a role (e.g. Hippie, doctor, ballerina) or a specific person (e.g. Abraham Lincoln).

Examples: Putting on a basketball uniform and telling people you're LeBron James, or a Washington Wizard is fine. Wearing the same costume and saying you're a "black person", not cool.

Dressing your kid, regardless of ethnicity, in a kilt, and having him tell people he's Duncan McLeod of the Clan McLeod, or in a traditional Irish dancing dress as a "dancer" is totally fine, wearing a stereotyped Scottish or Irish outfit and pretending to represent an entire culture is weird.

If my kid really wanted to wear a kimono that I thought was tasteful, then I'd say "that is a beautiful outfit, isn't it. Let's read some books and figure out who you could be that might wear that outfit." and help her to discover a character, or famous person, or role (not Geisha) that fit with the outfit.

International night is totally different. It's not "dress up and pretend" it's "learn about other cultures". Having said that, I'd raise my eyebrows if someone came to International night in a costume from the Firefly catalog, but an authentic kimono, or a Tshirt from a family vacation to Japan with Kanji on it, would be fine.

Anonymous wrote:Because we are insensitive white devils!

Anonymous wrote:I practice Wicca. Can I assume all of you going on about the kimonos won't dress up as a witch for Halloween? After all, it's offensive to my religion.

Anonymous wrote:To 16:54 - so then it's also not ok to dress up in a kilt, or like an Irish lass, etc....anything associated with a culture is strictly off limits? Can an Asian wear a southern belle costume? I think they can. Wearing something...anything...is far different from mocking a culture or being insensitive.

I wonder how you people deal with International night at your school, or with international themed school projects/events. Do you pitch a fit, stomp your feet, and refuse to let your kid participate?

Anonymous wrote:It is all about youuuuuuuu.

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What's wrong or offensive about portraying a culture as an "other"? People don't typically wear kimonos in American culture, so of course it's something different to us. What's wrong with recognizing that it's something different?

"Other" doesn't mean different. "Other" means "not as human as we are".

Anonymous wrote:this is insensitive and offends me

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I don't think adding whiskers makes your costume any more "authentic." Easier to discern, sure. But Halloween isn't particularly about "authenticity," sometimes, at least when you're a little girl, it's about wearing something pretty and out of the ordinary, like a kimono or a sari or a bunad. It's trying on another persona. I was a nurse in the first grade; so sue me, my costume was accurate(-ish) to the 1940s, and not to what nurses wore in the 1980s when I wore the costume.

Halloween can and should also be a time when we teach our children not to throw out their morality and sense of social justice just so they can "dress pretty". It is teaching them right from wrong and explaining why wearing that pretty kimono is akin to dressing like an American Indian or AA. It is appropriating a something from another culture or race in a way that may be offensive to others, and thus, perhaps that doctor or nurse, or kitty cat, or astronaut costume which is race and culture neutral would be a better choice.

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Anonymous wrote:I would bet $100 that all of the posters who are getting so upset about the kimono/sari Halloween costumes are white women.

Yes, white women who have all repeatedly said they see nothing offensive about a Japanese or Indian (or other race) wearing kilts/lederhosen/etc that are commonly worn among our European ancestors. So why is the reciprocal automatically so disrespectful?

Anonymous wrote:Because we are insensitive white devils!

I don't think adding whiskers makes your costume any more "authentic." Easier to discern, sure. But Halloween isn't particularly about "authenticity," sometimes, at least when you're a little girl, it's about wearing something pretty and out of the ordinary, like a kimono or a sari or a bunad. It's trying on another persona. I was a nurse in the first grade; so sue me, my costume was accurate(-ish) to the 1940s, and not to what nurses wore in the 1980s when I wore the costume.

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Anonymous wrote:I have four kids - maybe I'll dress one up as an African American person, one as a Chinese person, one as a Hispanic person and leave one white and they can go as diversity or the UN.

No one is suggesting dressing up as any of the people you describe. Dressing in a Sari or dressing in a Kimono is not dressing up as an Indian person or a Japanese person. Same reason why dressing up in Lederhosen or wearing Klomps as the dutch do is not a mockery.

Are you really this stupid IRL, or do you just play a stupid character on the internet?

So how would you answer the question about what her costume is? If your child dressed in a kimono or a sari and someone asked what were you for Halloween - what would she respond?

"It's a kimono! Isn't it beautiful?"

exactly. apparently common sense isn't good enough anymore when choosing a Haloween costume.

I'm a Kimono is a weird answer. She is wearing a kimono. Saying it's a kimono isn't answering the question of what the costume is, kimonos are a piece of clothing, not a costume. That is like someone dressed in a ballerina dress, answering what are you with It's a dress. Doesn't make sense - they would say what the dress signifies - a ballerina.

So if what the kimono signifies is that her costume is a little Japanese lady then answer that. You could also put a black wig on her and maybe do some eye shaping with make-up or tape to complete the outfit.

why would anyone do that? This thread is about someone wearing a kimono.

Because the kimono isn't just an outfit she is wearing out one day, it is her Halloween costume - she would better complete the costume (of dressing up as a Japanese lady) if she went for more than just the kimono. Just like if you are dressing like a cat, adding the whiskers with face paint makes it more authentic.

I don't think adding whiskers makes your costume any more "authentic." Easier to discern, sure. But Halloween isn't particularly about "authenticity," sometimes, at least when you're a little girl, it's about wearing something pretty and out of the ordinary, like a kimono or a sari or a bunad. It's trying on another persona. I was a nurse in the first grade; so sue me, my costume was accurate(-ish) to the 1940s, and not to what nurses wore in the 1980s when I wore the costume.

Exactly, so she is trying on the persona of a Japanese lady. Just like you went as a nurse and not as a uniform - you went as the persona the outfit represented, not as an outfit.

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Anonymous wrote:I have four kids - maybe I'll dress one up as an African American person, one as a Chinese person, one as a Hispanic person and leave one white and they can go as diversity or the UN.

No one is suggesting dressing up as any of the people you describe. Dressing in a Sari or dressing in a Kimono is not dressing up as an Indian person or a Japanese person. Same reason why dressing up in Lederhosen or wearing Klomps as the dutch do is not a mockery.

Are you really this stupid IRL, or do you just play a stupid character on the internet?

So how would you answer the question about what her costume is? If your child dressed in a kimono or a sari and someone asked what were you for Halloween - what would she respond?

"It's a kimono! Isn't it beautiful?"

exactly. apparently common sense isn't good enough anymore when choosing a Haloween costume.

I'm a Kimono is a weird answer. She is wearing a kimono. Saying it's a kimono isn't answering the question of what the costume is, kimonos are a piece of clothing, not a costume. That is like someone dressed in a ballerina dress, answering what are you with It's a dress. Doesn't make sense - they would say what the dress signifies - a ballerina.

So if what the kimono signifies is that her costume is a little Japanese lady then answer that. You could also put a black wig on her and maybe do some eye shaping with make-up or tape to complete the outfit.

why would anyone do that? This thread is about someone wearing a kimono.

Because the kimono isn't just an outfit she is wearing out one day, it is her Halloween costume - she would better complete the costume (of dressing up as a Japanese lady) if she went for more than just the kimono. Just like if you are dressing like a cat, adding the whiskers with face paint makes it more authentic.

I don't think adding whiskers makes your costume any more "authentic." Easier to discern, sure. But Halloween isn't particularly about "authenticity," sometimes, at least when you're a little girl, it's about wearing something pretty and out of the ordinary, like a kimono or a sari or a bunad. It's trying on another persona. I was a nurse in the first grade; so sue me, my costume was accurate(-ish) to the 1940s, and not to what nurses wore in the 1980s when I wore the costume.