Maybe Don't Dress Your Kid Up As Moana This Halloween? [View all]

[oberliner]

It's mid-October, which means Halloween is just two weeks away, which means it's way past time to decide on a Halloween costume for your kid. Chances are, you have a child that is enamored with all things Disney and wants to be all of the princesses. All of them! Especially Moana.

The New York Post recently highlighted an article on raceconscious.org about how that's probably not a good choice if your kid is white, and revealed that "moms are freaking out" over the culturally appropriative costume. Needless to say, the Post's coverage has only amplified the debate around what does, and doesn't, constitute cultural appropriation. Last year, Disney came under fire for its Maui costume, which depicted the demigod's painted brown skin. The company ultimately pulled the costume in response to the uproar, telling Entertainment Weekly in a statement that "The team behind Moana has taken great care to respect the cultures of the Pacific Islands that inspired the film, and we regret that the Maui costume has offended some." The Maui question may have been settled, but this year, there are plenty of tweets out there asking the internet (and Lin-Manuel Miranda) if it's OK to dress as Moana for Halloween.

The original article, written by Sachi Feris, discusses how her white daughter was torn between dressing as Elsa, from Frozen, or the titular character from Moana. Feris expresses concern that while an Elsa costume might reinforce notions of white privilege, dressing up as Moana is essentially cultural appropriation — the act of reducing someone's culture to stereotypes, and thereby belittling it. Though Feris puzzles over how one might wear a Moana costume respectfully, she ultimately decides it just isn't a good idea.

At this point, you might be saying something like: "But, I dressed up as Jasmine as a child, and I'm not a racist!", or, "It's just a Halloween costume, please chill the f*ck out." But one of the best things about time is that it moves forward. You should too. You can (and should) strive to be better than you were 10, 20, or 30 years ago. If you missed the mark when you were younger, maybe think about using this Halloween as an opportunity to teach your kids about the importance of cultural sensitivity. If your child's dream costume feels questionable, don't just throw up your hands and hand over your credit card. You're the parent here, and the onus of what your child wears falls on you. If your kid wears a racist costume … you're kind of wearing it too.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a13069023/moana-halloween-costume-racist/?src=socialflowTW