I recently was in a forum where someone asked about cultural issues with dressing up as a Disney character. I thought that some of the points were worth sharing here.
1) My first problem with dressing up as a Disney character is that it supports an oppressive corporate culture with a long history of abusing employees.
2) My second problem is that the Disney portrayals of cultural stories (even those from white cultures) are inaccurate and misleading, and frequently gut the story of its intrinsic archetypes, cultural heritage, and of the life lessons it was created to pass on. (“Little Mermaid,” “Pocahontas,” “Moana,” I’m looking at you!)
3) My third problem is that the Disney portrayals of the characters often reinforce inaccurate white American stereotypes of the characters’ racial/ethnic/social backgrounds. (“Aladdin,” a story about a Turkic Chinese ethnic minority lower class young man, ʻAlāʼ ud-Dīn [nobility of faith], who seeks to win the Chinese princess Badr-ul-Budūr* [full moon of full moons] and overthrow the ruling oligarchy but is enticed by the riches and power)
But. . . kids LOVE Disney characters. SO we can use this as a way to teach the actual cultural heritage of those characters. Learn the traditional story that Disney appropriated, and go from there. Learn the reality about the awesome cultures and people (historical and/or legendary) Disney appropriated.
*High-ranking Chinese officials often married ethnic minority wives to seal bonds with the districts they were assigned to manage. In the telling I grew up with, Badr-ul-Budūr was the daughter of the ranking Chinese official of a city on the Silk Route, from the wife who was the daughter of the Turkic village leader.
Dressing as a specific historical person or legendary character can be a fun way to learn about amazing people and cultures. But, LEARN first.
And don’t use blackface, brownface, yellowface, or whatever-face.
One way to avoid cultural appropriation and whatever-colorface is to “flip it.” Does your daughter (a perfect Heidi, just look at those blue eyes and blonde braids) want to be Moana? Picture a Maori girl who wants to be Heidi. Would you put skin lightener and a blonde wig on her? Of course not. You just dress her in a dirndl and make two braids. So let a little girl who loves Moana dress up like Moana. Teach her the song, We Know the Way. Just don’t paint her brown. She does not even need a brown wig. Just brush her hair out over her shoulders.
MULAN – Mulan did not wear makeup. She was a soldier. I grew up with her story as an example of filial piety. She was not actually Han, as Disney has pictured her. She was Xianbei (a Chinese ethnic minority). So, right there, the Chinese already were appropriating her as the Han rose in power, Disney just continued the process! Anyway, being a strong warrior who fulfills duty to family is very cool, IMO. Just don’t do it in yellowface. Again, would you put Caucasian makeup on a Chinese girl and give her a blonde wig to be Supergirl? No. So if a Caucasian child wants to be Mulan, focus on bravery and honor, not makeup and wigs. You might even sign her up for wushu lessons. Joining a good school is a great way to get exercise, develop poise and confidence, and learn Chinese culture. And your child’s sifu will be able to answer questions about appropriate costume vs appropriation.
POCAHONTAS – Don’t do it. The poor girl was misrepresented, worked as diplomat, then kidnapped from her husband, raped, and kept as a display piece. The popular story was written as a huge PR campaign to justify taking the lands of her and other indigenous people of North America. Don’t perpetuate the abuse and lies. Disney should be ashamed of itself on that one.
LITTLE MERMAID – Just about every culture that has bodies of water has some kind of mermaid, so go for it. But you should study up on the type of mermaid. Disney really does a disservice to Anderson’s amazingly powerful story about desire, self-sacrifice, and coming to terms with ourselves.
a) The Sea Witch was not evil. She was simply a force of nature who tried to keep Ariel from throwing away her voice (Hmmmmmm. . . how many times do we sacrifice our voices for the sake of something we cannot have?)
b) Ariel does not get the prince. She dies in the end. But she turns into an air spirit because she died for true love. (And then Anderson wraps up with a bit of moralizing).
MOANA/MAUI – That thing where Disney was selling skinsuits with Maui’s tattoos was just gross, disgusting, and about as culturally inappropriate as you can get. If children want to be Maui and wear kākau, they should learn the stories of Maui, understand them, and then think of heroic deeds they, themselves, have done (saved a kitten? Reminded Mom to wear a seatbelt? Everyone has done something good and brave) and use an eyebrow pencil or something to draw their own kākau that tell their own story.
Costume Ideas
Girl Heroes! Your child can dress as a real-life change-making heroic woman.
Who are your heroes? Here are some ideas for dressing as the heroes we see every day!