Problematic Women: Moms Fret Disney’s Moana Costumes ‘Cultural Appropriation’
Kelsey Bolar /
The concern over “cultural appropriation” and Halloween costumes isn’t just an issue on college campuses anymore. According to the New York Post, some moms are deeming Disney costumes such as Moana inappropriate for their daughters to wear.
Writing for the blog raceconscious.org, Sachi Feris said:
My 5-year-old, who I had successfully shielded from Disney princesses until recently, finally figured out that ‘Let It Go’ (which she had been singing with her friends for a over a year), was from the movie “Frozen.” My daughter promptly demanded to see “Frozen” along with “Moana,” inspired by a Moana-themed birthday party favor (sunglasses). We saw both films within the month and, in early August, she declared that she wanted to be Elsa from “Frozen” this Halloween, and Moana the following Halloween.
I had some reservations regarding both costume choices … about cultural appropriation and the power/privilege carried by whiteness, and about whiteness and standards of beauty … and so our conversations began.
In this week’s edition of “Problematic Women,” co-hosted with Bre Payton of The Federalist, we discuss whether some parents are taking political correctness and Halloween too far, the #MeToo campaign that went viral this week in light of the many allegations against Harvey Weinstein, and highlight the latest hypocrisy from anti-Trump protests.
Watch in the video above.