deadinmagazines:

slicesofyou:

autoclaveheart:

centaurel:

This is so fucking stupid. People dress up as cowboys too, idiots. What’s wrong with dressing up as a Geisha? Seriously, people get butthurt too fucking easily.

I have never encountered someone calling someone else racist for dressing as something outside of their culture on Halloween. I am so very confused.

This is pretty stupid.

This is a very touchy subject. When I was younger I dressed up as Pocahontas for Halloween one year. She was my favourite and she just happened to be Native-American. I didn’t see anything wrong with that. Is wanting to be like someone else for a night really that terrible? The whole point of Halloween is to dress up as something you’re not for a night, and I’m not Pocahontas. I didn’t get upset when someone dressed up as me for Halloween one year! (yes that actually happened and I thought it was hilarious and I was actually quite flattered) I just laughed and appreciated the attention to detail.

WHAT IS THIS WHITESPLAINING BULLSHIT? REALLY?

As the ever eloquent Emma put it:

“Except that in the United States, Western culture is the dominant culture and therefore cannot be appropriated.

Let’s review the definition of appropriation: appropriation is what happens when the traditional practices of a group without institutional power are devalued by those at the top of the social hierarchy. The group is thus stripped of its identity and culture. It’s what happens when colonialists replace the traditional culture of those they colonize with their own, then steal the vestiges of that culture they deem worthy. Check the Wikipedia page for a more in-depth definition.

So no, the traditional practices of cowboys cannot be appropriated by those living in the United States, because cowboys are part of the dominant Western culture. Geishas, on the other hand, belong to a minority culture (within the Western context). While it’s true that cowboys have traditions of their own, power structures built upon colonialism and Western globalisation have rendered its appropriation unlikely. (Think about how Western film has found popularity in Japanese cinemas, while Japanese film is a rarity in the West.)

…aaaaand it’s still yellowface to dress as a geisha, because are a Japanese cultural marker.

Hopefully this clears things up.”

(Source: angelastrikesback)