You probably remember the furor a while back about the girl who wore a 'Chinese dress' as her prom dress. It became a huge story and got everyone in a tizzy about cultural appropriation, what it means, when it becomes problematic and if, just maybe, we are all becoming just a little too damn sensitive with all the social issues?
The debate is still ongoing, with polls from China indicating that the Chinese themselves are baffled by the controversy, and actually take great pride when foreigners appreciate the beauty of their culture. However many Chinese-Americans point out that the experience of growing up as part of a minority and profoundly different culture was different for them. If a Chinese-American turned up to prom in traditional clothing, they might experience the mocking and bullying that many grew up with, but when a white girl does it, she's lauded for being 'unique' and 'exotic.'
And now we have reached the inevitable 'backlash against the backlash,' and it is thankfully a little more lighthearted this time! People have taken to mocking the tweet that started the whole thing: “My culture is not your prom dress.” In a series of hilarious viral memes, the phrase is hilariously lampooned in ever more absurd fashion, providing some much needed comic relief to the culture shock saga which shows no signs of going away just yet.
Scroll down to check out the cultural appreciation and appropriation parodies for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
Keziah Daum is an 18-year-old girl who recently had her senior prom
On April 22nd she posted pictures from the big event which she attended wearing a stunning Chinese qipao
This kicked off a heated debate about cultural appropriation that has been raging ever since
And it all started with one Twitter user tweeting the now iconic phrase
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In my opinion the people who bullied this girl for wearing a dress are evil. (don't hate it a reference)
It is appreciation, not appropriation for the loe of god. The Chinese, in China love this dress nd love that their culture is being promoted. Literally a brief look on Baidu shows this. I mean, if you want to do this cutural appropriation bollox, I could point out that the Qipao comes from Manchu dress, which was popular because high class women wore it in the Qing Dynasty. So the design is "approriated" already. The ao dai of Vietnam also comes from Manchu dress, the kimono of Japan and hanbok of Korea were inspired by the hanfu of China. All apppropriation right? This is stupid.
I agree with you. And to whomever downvoted this comment, please, explain why. Give your facts. Learning about various world cultures and histories is always interesting.
Load More Replies...Not to mention the guy who began this debate about the girl, has a slew of hateful racial slurs throughout his twitter.
It is appreciation, not appropriation for the loe of god. The Chinese, in China love this dress nd love that their culture is being promoted. Literally a brief look on Baidu shows this. I mean, if you want to do this cutural appropriation bollox, I could point out that the Qipao comes from Manchu dress, which was popular because high class women wore it in the Qing Dynasty. So the design is "approriated" already. The ao dai of Vietnam also comes from Manchu dress, the kimono of Japan and hanbok of Korea were inspired by the hanfu of China. All apppropriation right? This is stupid.
I agree with you. And to whomever downvoted this comment, please, explain why. Give your facts. Learning about various world cultures and histories is always interesting.
Load More Replies...Not to mention the guy who began this debate about the girl, has a slew of hateful racial slurs throughout his twitter.