Teen’s Qipao Prom Dress Sparks New Debate
Teen’s Qipao Prom Dress Sparks New Debate
06/07/2018
After some people on Twitter labeled 18-year-old Keziah Daum's qipao prom dress as cultural appropriation, the conversation around what that even means has taken a turn.
Last week, Keziah told Teen Vogue that she picked the dress "because [of] how beautiful it was. I never intended to send the wrong message of me being racist.” She also emphasized that she didn’t mean to offend anyone by wearing the qipao. “I love all cultures and have so much respect for them,” she said. “I'm simply showing my appreciation and in no way am I making fun of the culture. I hope everyone knows that I didn't mean any harm — I love everyone.”
Looking through the thousands of comments on various articles talking about the story, however, proves that the perspective on this topic is wide-ranging. While some consider what Keziah did to be outright cultural appropriation, others view it as a nonissue. The latter group is arguing that since some people in Asian countries don’t have a problem with Keziah wearing the qipao, that means it should be OK. For example, one Twitter user referenced a poll from an influencer in Singapore, which largely resulted in responses that didn’t see anything wrong with Keziah’s dress choice.
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