#pukwidgie

afshdBDVBDBDB i’m glad i could bring u some giddy joy in these trying times

I thought that was appropriation. I’m American, but I’m scottish and irish heritage. If I saw a chinese girl or a chinese-american in traditional highland dress or kilts or whatnot, I wouldn’t get mad, but if she was trying to pass it off as Chinese THEN i’d get pissed. That example isn’t to invalidate your feelings! I’m just confused on then what exactly appropriation is. Really am not trying to be rude, just want to learn. And I saw a ton of Native Chinese people complimenting her, so then

how does that work? Again, not to invalidate your feelings or anyone elses! I’m just a bit lost. I hope this was respectful

Hi hi!! Cultural appropriation is when you intrude on some aspect of a foreign culture (such as clothes or dances) without having an affiliation or true understanding of that culture and take it for your own. It also has to do with your place and power over that culture. So in the case of the white girl wearing the qipao/cheongsam to prom, she was clearly appropriating the Chinese culture because she herself was not Chinese, did not know Chinese, had Chinese family, and had no understanding of the significance of the Chinese traditional dress besides for the fact that it’s pretty. She bought the dress from a vintage shop and did not have the invitation of an actual Chinese person to engage in that aspect of their culture. East-Asians wear their traditional garb to honor their ancestors and to celebrate the new year and have to refrain from wearing it in public to avoid ridicule. So who is she to wear it so freely? Does this make sense? It’s like owning a house and having someone barge into it without your permission and claiming it as their own with “it’s pretty” or “houses are meant to be shared!” as their sole reasoning.

Also in the case of the mainland Chinese people complimenting her, here is something that I said in response to a similar question: 

This has to do with the context of the situation. The white girl wore a qipao in America, where minorities/poc were persecuted for refusing to assimilate to western culture (EG: Native Americans and Japanese Internment camps, in addition to many more) and still face ridicule/discrimination for showing pride in their culture to this day.

People from the mainland countries have never experienced the things that their diaspora suffered from because they’re from the mainland- where they are NOT minorities of a population and thus have never suffered the marginalization that poc go through in America. And so, it is easier for them to view a white person/non-asian wearing a qipao as cultural appreciation rather than appropriation bc they do not see the historical/societal context that the diaspora view it with

Here are some other answers of mine that might clear things up: x x x