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MountCleaners

(1,148 posts)

100. I don't know how I feel about this

Tue May 1, 2018, 07:25 AM

May 2018

It depends on the significance of the qipao, and I'm not Chinese so I cannot speak to that. She may have been to China, or have a genuine affinity for Chinese culture....or she could fetishize that culture, although in this case, I doubt it. This style is used in fashion quite a bit. It is a little bit odd, I myself wouldn't do it unless I had been an exchange student or had traveled to China or had some other Chinese connection. But I also don't believe in getting excessively worked up about it.

Some people rightfully get upset about cultural appropriation, though. For example, white women who appropriate Indian culture because of some colonialist ideas about "spirituality". Sometimes, if you come from the colonizing group, the idea that another culture is "better" or more spiritual than your own is patronizing. There are just some things that I as a (mostly) white woman wouldn't do. I myself get annoyed about distorted "Irishness" on St. Patrick's Day in the USA, so I can relate.

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Prom dress prompts 'cultural appropriation' row [View all] EX500rider Apr 2018 OP

Well, the President of China wears a suit and tie... First Speaker Apr 2018 #1

Exactly. n/t pnwmom Apr 2018 #4

And didn't have an issue with Meliana's jberryhill Apr 2018 #7

To be fair, wearing a local culture gown to a dinner is different than a prom elsewhere uppityperson Apr 2018 #49

Is it different in a meaningful way? marybourg Apr 2018 #53

It can be very different, of course. It depends on how and why it's done. uppityperson Apr 2018 #80

When Asians wear western style clothing, no one condemns it as appropriation. pnwmom Apr 2018 #2

Yeah seems to me if it's OK for Asian girls to dress western for their prom.. EX500rider Apr 2018 #8

And all the Asian guys are wearing "traditional" western suits or tuxes. n/t pnwmom Apr 2018 #26

Plus the makers and sellers of Asian clothing treestar Apr 2018 #65

The issue seems to be that minority cultures can appropriate but dominant cultures cannot. Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2018 #69

And with the size of China's economy and population, I don't see it as a minority culture. n/t pnwmom Apr 2018 #87

It is a minority culture in the USA. But I'm not expert on the issue or people's feelings about it. Bernardo de La Paz May 2018 #115

Who gives permission? christx30 May 2018 #113

Wait till guys start wearing Greek soldier uniforms to the prom Renew Deal Apr 2018 #3

The pom poms on the shoes really make the outfit pop. -nt Liberal Veteran Apr 2018 #6

You know somebody looked at that uniform and thought the shoes were too plain. Renew Deal Apr 2018 #19

You know somebody looked at that uniform and thought "make the pom poms bigger!". PoliticAverse Apr 2018 #89

You made me laugh. madaboutharry Apr 2018 #39

LOL! SharonClark Apr 2018 #64

love it. Demovictory9 May 2018 #134

Can't stop laughing.. rufnear May 2018 #142

Should I destroy my old Nehru jacket? Sneederbunk Apr 2018 #5

Yes. But no reason having to do with cultural appropriation. christx30 Apr 2018 #23

Lol. Good one. Bradshaw3 Apr 2018 #88

Yes MosheFeingold Apr 2018 #52

No. Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2018 #70

Indian People Love Seeing others Wear their Clothing JI7 Apr 2018 #78

Were is the line drawn? madaboutharry Apr 2018 #9

It's about cultures. and their specific cultural RandomAccess Apr 2018 #59

I get this, I think. TygrBright Apr 2018 #10

Uh huh jberryhill Apr 2018 #12

I don't know if they were, or not. I haven't seen any responses by Chinese women. n/t TygrBright Apr 2018 #15

My wife is Chinese NewJeffCT Apr 2018 #25

The ultimate cultural appropriation: Inter-racial marriage. The horror, the HORROR! DRoseDARs Apr 2018 #32

At the time NewJeffCT Apr 2018 #44

My wife is from Wuhan, and our biracial son recieves considerable attention when we are there... Marengo May 2018 #96

Love this post. nt 7962 Apr 2018 #75

But Chinese men wear traditional western style suits and evening jackets. Why is no one pnwmom Apr 2018 #27

Because hypocrisy, with a touch of myopic cluelessness. nt DRoseDARs Apr 2018 #34

No. It's about power relationships between cultures, up / down. In some case there are sacred issue Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2018 #71

I don't want to speak for anyone. TygrBright Apr 2018 #36

Neither am I. But I've been bothered by some similar discussions. pnwmom Apr 2018 #40

Some people who "relax" their hair get bullied by peers for acquiescing to power dominance. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2018 #72

My opinion is no one should care about anyone else's hair. But I spent a few years pnwmom Apr 2018 #86

The word is conk. Cold War Spook May 2018 #121

The woman appropriating western culture in eyeglasses and course tweed jacket might be.... marble falls Apr 2018 #41

I've seen the Pakistani guys in my area wearing these outfits, and I want one.... jberryhill Apr 2018 #33

While I appreciate your kind attitude the premise expressed by Ms. Lam simply isn't shared in "Asia" grantcart Apr 2018 #46

Reminds me of the laughs we had on DU treestar Apr 2018 #68

"which plays into the whole "dragon lady chic" thing" Takket Apr 2018 #55

A leg slit would also allow her to take normal steps LoveMyCali May 2018 #116

It's more basic than that tho that's probably a part of it as well RandomAccess Apr 2018 #62

"It is possible to read the history of this country as Hortensis May 2018 #144

I learned about cultural appropriation primarily from the RandomAccess May 2018 #145

Hey look! Shiny object over there....pay no attention to Trump...buy more, think none... Moostache Apr 2018 #11

Joy Reid ate the last cookie in the jar, and didn't replace the toilet paper roll jberryhill Apr 2018 #14

My god...BURN HER!!! While we're at it, are there any other women telling jokes who need to go? (n/t Moostache Apr 2018 #17

In The Bathroom At Olive Garden ProfessorGAC May 2018 #105

Covered in cornflakes, and breast-feeding. kwassa May 2018 #114

Oh, I See You've Heard The Whole Story, Then! ProfessorGAC May 2018 #117

I didn't even mention the pitbull. kwassa May 2018 #120

Well said. I should have stopped reading here. n/t CanSocDem May 2018 #124

Cultural Appropriation - packman Apr 2018 #13

How dare this person imitate one of the Frost Giants! snort Apr 2018 #21

Anyone who isn't of Anglo-Saxon descent speaking English is engaging in cultural appropriation. DRoseDARs Apr 2018 #16

Thank you for calling this out. volstork Apr 2018 #18

Better not catch him with a fuckin fork! snort Apr 2018 #24

English is spoken cultural appropriation DBoon May 2018 #131

It goes back and back and back... nt DRoseDARs May 2018 #137

I wore a cheongsam MontanaMama Apr 2018 #20

Yeah it seems more about cultural appreciation to me. EX500rider Apr 2018 #22

+1000 Freethinker65 Apr 2018 #42

i'm getting old, I remember when someone wearing an object associated with your culture ... PoliticAverse Apr 2018 #28

Another great point! nt 7962 Apr 2018 #77

These people should be happy ripcord May 2018 #106

I know just how Jeremy feels... flotsam Apr 2018 #29

You mean referring to myself as O'Bronstein won't fly next year??? .... marble falls Apr 2018 #43

I think she looks very pretty. gay texan Apr 2018 #30

WTF is wrong with people? "My culture is not your... prom dress". Really? YOHABLO Apr 2018 #31

What's sad is that "her culture" reduced to a dress is Igel Apr 2018 #81

This is a really good point about culture constantly changing. cemaphonic May 2018 #119

Oh for crying out loud. Jedi Guy Apr 2018 #35

I don't care if anybody dresses like me or not. More power to her..... marble falls Apr 2018 #37

I do the same. I go to work dressed as if I'll be working. Instead, I'm ... well, never mind. NT mahatmakanejeeves Apr 2018 #38

Jeremy! Floyd R. Turbo Apr 2018 #45

I wonder if he talked to his parents ... DashOneBravo Apr 2018 #56

Bingo! Floyd R. Turbo Apr 2018 #92

This cultural appropriation thing has gone too far onetexan Apr 2018 #47

So? This is what we have come to? Ferrets are Cool Apr 2018 #48

What culture is the name "Jeremy" appropriating? Any Chinese emperors named "Jeremy"? keithbvadu2 Apr 2018 #50

Everything is appropriated MosheFeingold Apr 2018 #51

+1000000000 treestar Apr 2018 #67

I always get a kick.... jberryhill May 2018 #110

The last time I checked , if she paid for it weissmam Apr 2018 #54

Oh For F_cks Sake. It was a pretty girl wearing what she thought was a pretty dress. Western women OregonBlue Apr 2018 #57

When did China become a minority culture? n/t eggplant Apr 2018 #58

Well there are only 1.379 billion Chinese in China.... : ) EX500rider Apr 2018 #60

Monty python wrote a song about that very subject n/t gay texan Apr 2018 #73

ALWAYS been a minority culture in the USA!? But more about power relationships up down btwn cultures Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2018 #76

In the US it is. Which is why they were banned from coming here JI7 Apr 2018 #85

Bill Maher - That's Not News Oneironaut Apr 2018 #61

Winner of the non-issue of the day Nash Teeth Apr 2018 #63

Now don't make me go to twitter to respond to "Jeremy" Lam. SharonClark Apr 2018 #66

The dress is beautiful and so is she. This is getting ridiculous. Beyond. 7962 Apr 2018 #74

The new "call out culture" of social media EllieBC Apr 2018 #79

Oh ffs matt819 Apr 2018 #82

No more Chanel, Dior, Lagerfeld, Hermes, Dolce e Gabbana, etc for the wives of Chinese, Japanese fierywoman Apr 2018 #83

I guess I need to stop eating at ethnic restaurants NoodleyAppendage Apr 2018 #84

Yup. Jedi Guy May 2018 #104

Man, this means I'm back to turnips Codeine May 2018 #135

Of for pity's sake. TomSlick Apr 2018 #90

My adult daughter was chastised for wearing French braids, crim son Apr 2018 #91

Hope she told them to Fuck Off. n/t MicaelS May 2018 #126

It's odd.... Yorkist Apr 2018 #93

Post #10 seems to have an ounce of support... EX500rider Apr 2018 #95

iggy azalea has said outright bigoted stuff JI7 May 2018 #97

The thread was about cultural appropration though EX500rider May 2018 #98

but the context matters JI7 May 2018 #99

I think the average DUer comes from a generation when.... RhodeIslandOne May 2018 #107

+1 jberryhill May 2018 #111

proms are a show biz production, dresses merely costumes nt msongs Apr 2018 #94

I don't know how I feel about this MountCleaners May 2018 #100

Absolutely nothing wrong with this obamanut2012 May 2018 #101

no more jeans for anyone else in the world!!!!! Javaman May 2018 #102

Denim? de Nimes? NT mahatmakanejeeves May 2018 #127

I'm eating tamales with chopsticks. This is why America was founded Dr. Strange May 2018 #103

LOL cemaphonic May 2018 #122

My opinion, which I'm sure is not shared by most, is that it all depends on the context and intent. Nitram May 2018 #108

About this whole cultural appropriation thing Abu Pepe May 2018 #109

This stood out to me. skypilot May 2018 #112

Two questions come to mind jmowreader May 2018 #118

When my uncle came home after WWII, Cold War Spook May 2018 #123

Fuck the dissenters. MicaelS May 2018 #125

Ridiculous issue of the day award HopeAgain May 2018 #128

The dumbest thing to cry about. JNelson6563 May 2018 #129

I suspect that if the prom attendee wore traditional African dress, this thread might look different David__77 May 2018 #130

Yeah, the picture would be different. The "cultural appropriation" complaint would still be bullshit DRoseDARs May 2018 #138

David Lo Pan would have no problem with this. Henry Krinkle May 2018 #132

Meh... Odd choice for prom, but nothing wrong with the dress... Blue_Tires May 2018 #133

Somebody's mad because this young lady Codeine May 2018 #136

So which is it, Jeremy or Lam? malthaussen May 2018 #139

Oh FFS. n/t X_Digger May 2018 #140

in the hreat words of the movie stripes- "lighten up, frances." pansypoo53219 May 2018 #141

Shouldn't she wear whatever the fuck she wants? BigDemVoter May 2018 #143