PROM DRESS SETS OFF FIRESTORM
Like many other teenagers preparing for prom, Utah senior Keziah Daum wanted to find a dress that would stand out, “something that would be more unique and bold and had some sort of meaning to it,” she said.
In a downtown Salt Lake City vintage store she came across a red cheongsam, also known as a qipao — the high-collared, form-fitting traditional Chinese dress.
“I thought it was absolutely beautiful,” said Daum, who is not Chinese.
On a Sunday after the dance, she posted a photo in her dress alongside her friends. “PROM,” she wrote.
“My culture is NOT your ... prom dress,” a man named Jeremy Lam tweeted days later.
“I’m proud of my culture, including the extreme barriers marginalized people within that culture have had to overcome those obstacles,” Lam also wrote. “For it to simply be subject to American consumerism and cater to a white audience, is parallel to colonial ideology.”
The tweet, which has been shared nearly 42,000 times, spurred an onslaught of similar criticism of Daum’s prom dress, with many people on Twitter accusing her of cultural appropriation.
“This isn’t ok,” wrote another Twitter user. “I wouldn’t wear traditional Korean, Japanese or any other traditional dress and I’m Asian. I wouldn’t wear traditional Irish or Swedish or Greek dress either. There’s a lot of history behind these clothes.”
Another wrote: “you just don’t wear it if ur not. chinese ... it’s not something to play dress up with.”
It was the latest example of the long-running debate over the fine line between appreciating and appropriating culture.
Similar controversies over cultural appropriation have erupted in fashion and in Hollywood, across college campuses and in response to advertising campaigns. There was a tone-deaf Pepsi ad, and the time the Kardashian sisters were accused of appropriating black culture with shirts showing the image of the Notorious B.I.G. Greek chapters have stirred outrage through “Mexican” themed parties, and concertgoers have been accused of appropriating Native American culture at music festivals such as Coachella. Some of these instances are clear-cut, while others fall into a disputable grey area.
Daum responded to the barrage of criticism by saying she meant no harm in wearing the dress, and was “in no way being discriminative or racist.”
“I don’t see the big deal of me wearing a gorgeous dress I found for my last prom,” she tweeted. “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.”
The Twitter outrage also prompted a wave of support for Daum.
“I am a collector of cheongsams, with Chinese heritage and I think it is ridiculous other people are judging you!” one woman wrote on Twitter. “As Chinese, we are very proud and delighted to share our cultural fashions with anyone around the world. I love how you wear the dress with confidence! You rock!”
YING LI tweeted “I am a Chinese woman. I support you. You rocked that dress!!”
“So this dude found a random girl online and convinced 100k+ people to bully her over a prom dress,” tweeted Ethan Klein, the man behind the popular YouTube channel h3h3Productions.
In the days since the photos went viral, Daum said she has made a point of researching the significance of the dress in Chinese history and culture.
But she said, “There are people who are going to find something to offend them no matter what it is.”
“I’d wear it again,” she said of the dress.
HISTORICAL NOTE
Alyssa Rosenberg in The Washington Post writes: “According to Chor Lin Lee and Chung May Khuen’s ‘In the Mood for Cheongsam: A Social History,’ the gown originated as a Manchu garment. Both the dress and certain styles of shoes became part of a complex series of cultural interactions between Manchu and Han Chinese people; the dress was ultimately assimilated into Han Chinese culture, while a less restrictive style of Manchu women’s shoes lost out.
“In the 20th century, Chinese women accessorized cheongsams with elements of Western fashion to create an iconic look.”
She adds, “Maybe the conclusion you draw from this history is that only people of Manchu descent should wear cheongsams — or that everyone should reject them as an emblem of a centuries-old attempt at cultural domination by the Manchu. Maybe it’s that our standards for fashion and our ideas about gender roles have changed dramatically since a figure-hugging dress could be seen as an emblem of liberated modernity. Or maybe it’s that our perennial fights over cultural appropriation aren’t always as simple as they seem.”