cripchick’s weblog

Thanks to Sudy at A Womyn’s Ecdysis for posting about the costumes.

One time this summer, I met a few friends at Union Station after work to get dinner and a movie. While waiting them, I walked through the “market” area and found that it brimmed of cheap cultural appropriation [taking something that is not yours].  The stock consisted of plastic butterfly hairpins that were supposed to look like jade, wooden dream-catchers with tags explaining their mystery, polyester handbags with good luck symbols on them, and Made-in-China African prints. I had the same feelings then that I did when I saw Mickey Rooney playing a Japanese landlord in a Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I had the same feelings as I do as now. It wasn’t WHAT the trinkets were made of but more of the fact that people didn’t appreciate or understand that they were treasures. What were once family heirlooms were now being mimicked for a few dollars.

This costume, as well as the China Woman costume, Sexy Geisha Glam Costume, and Oriental Delight costume that Angry Asian Man links at his site, not only appropriates culture but perpetuates [plays into, continues] the stereotype that Asian women are submissive, seductive delicate little things. By oversexualizing Asian women, our patriarchal society objectifies [making a person into an object] Asian women and creates a standard that is often unobtainable.  According to TIME Magazine, 1 out of 10 Korean adults have undergone cosmetic surgery for non-medical reasons. Not to make any statements about plastic surgery or another culture but the relationship between this high percentage and concepts about body image is something to think about.

And what makes it EVER okay to *try on* another race or culture (hopefully this where you can see how disability simulations fit into this.) Do people wake up and think “Hey! I think I want to be Chinese today! Hmm maybe Ghanaian tomorrow?”