Dressing down teens gets us nowhere
Most of my days are spent with words — writing them, changing them, making sure they’re spelled correctly (or trying to anyway). Over time I’ve developed an affection for many (I really like “thwart” for some reason) and a bunch I would like to see the back of.
Top of the loathed list has to be “awareness”, mainly because it’s become so overused.
It seems like it is constantly being raised or promoted or created, and usually in connection with things people are already well aware of, like cancer or driving when you’re too drunk to see the road properly.
But it’s a word I’ve thought about a lot recently during the qipao controversy, which flared up when an 18-yearold white student wore the Chinese dress to her high school prom in Utah in the United States.
Social media, with its everwatchful hordes just waiting for something to get offended about, was quick with the condemnation, accusing Keziah Daum, the teenager in question, of cultural appropriation.
Well that was the case in the US at least, where the criticism basically amounted to cyberbullying.
In China, Daum was told she “rocked” by a host of mainly supportive voices defending her against claims of insensitivity.
And Daum also hit back at any suggestion of racism, telling The Washington Post that wearing the dress “really gave me a sense of appreciation and admiration for other cultures and their beauty”.
Now, I am on Ms Daum’s side.
To my mind, it’s all about intention, and hers was completely innocent.
It reminded me of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to India earlier this year, when he was mocked by political commentators and social media users (naturally) for wearing traditional clothing that critics said bordered on the stereotypical.
Again there were claims of cultural appropriation.
And I sympathize with the argument. I come from Scotland, where the traditional dress for a man is the kilt, which dates back to Roman times and was banned in the mid-1700s in an attempt to suppress the Highland clans.
If you’re looking for cultural appropriation of a garment you need search no longer.
The beloved tartan has been co-opted by rappers such as Snoop Dogg and mocked in television shows all over the world, including, I’m afraid to say, in China.
Not that you’ll find many Scots getting too precious about it. We generally just laugh it off, perhaps because we realize that even in these gender-fluid, nonbinary times, a guy in a skirt can still be pretty funny.
But it all highlights our lack of, well, awareness. Of the sensitivities surrounding race and culture, and how our actions, despite our best intentions, can have unintended consequences. Such as firing up the all-too-predictable online insta-fury.
As with most things, communication and education are key.
Or, as Daum puts it, “perhaps it’s a conversation we need to have”.
Because one thing is certain: Attacking a young woman over her choice of prom dress will get us nowhere.