Little girls should not dress up as Moana this Halloween because it is 'RACIST cultural appropriation' or Elsa from Frozen because it promotes 'white beauty', activists warn
- Dressing white children in a Disney Moana costumes for Halloween 'is racist'
- A parents blogger has written of the risks of 'cultural appropriation' for costumes
- Brooklyn mum Sachi Feris claims white westerners risk being racially insensitive
- Polynesian Moana 'is based on real history and a real group of people,' she said
- Parents should also think twice about Frozen's Elsa who promotes 'white beauty'
Dressing children up as Disney's Moana this Halloween is racist, according to one parenting blogger.
While parents should also think twice about letting their brood dress up as Elsa from Frozen because her character promotes 'white beauty'.
Writing in her popular blog Raising Race Conscious Children, parent blogger activist Sachi Feris urged parents not to dress their children up as characters from backgrounds different to their own as it is 'cultural appropriation.'
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Dressing children up as Disney's Moana this Halloween is racist, according to influential parenting blogger. Sachi Feris' blog has attracted nearly 100,000 shares online this week, where she claimed allowing children to go as Moana risks parodying Polynesian culture
Although many would see the strong-minded Moana as a perfect role model for their child, Feris said it's racially insensitive and risks parodying Polynesian culture.
Describing her own discussions with her five-year-old daughter, Feris said: 'Moana is based on real history and a real group of people.
'If we are going to dress up a real person, we have to make sure we are doing it in a way that is respectful. Otherwise, it is like we are making fun of someone else's culture.'
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The parent, from Brooklyn, New York, revealed that after her discussion about 'cultural appropriation' with her daughter, the young girl decided to go as Mickey Mouse instead.
The blog has attracted almost 100,000 shares on social media and attracted a string responses from other bloggers since being published.
Moana, a 3D animation, was one of Disney's biggest hits of 2016, raking in $640 million at the box office globally, while also winning praise for having a non-white female character, based on mythology from indigenous Polynesian people.
The blogger also took aim at Disney's Frozen character Elsa, adding: 'I feel like because Elsa is a White princess, and we see so many White princesses, her character sends the message that you have to be a certain way to be "beautiful"'
Parents helping their children with costumes have been warned not to dress them up as characters from different backgrounds, or risk being accused of 'cultural appropriation,' says Feris, on her parents blog , Raising Race Conscious Children (Pocahontas and costume)
However, Feris warned parents about allowing their children to go as the South Pacific princess unless they come from the same background.
The blogger also took aim at Disney's Frozen character Elsa, another of her daughter's Halloween picks, adding: 'I feel like because Elsa is a White princess, and we see so many White princesses, her character sends the message that you have to be a certain way to be "beautiful"'.
The concept of 'cultural appropriation' has sparked widespread discussion in recent years with white westerners being urged to be wary of borrowing from other societies.
The concept of 'cultural appropriation' has sparked widespread discussion in recent years with white westerners being urged to be wary of borrowing from other cultures (Princess Jasmin and costume)
Social media users flocked to Twitter to bemoan the humourless trend, with one writing that children should be allowed to enjoy Halloween without being dubbed racist
Wearing sombreros, growing dreadlock-style hair, wearing Bindis and Native American outfits are among the trends white westerners have been told to avoid.
The growing movement has caused a backlash, with many calling the trend humourless and a method of censorship.
One writer for the National Review hit out at the absurdity of applying cultural appropriation to Halloween, writing: 'Do you have to be Transylvanian to dress up as Dracula? Do you have to be Egyptian to be The Mummy? Do you have to be dead to be a ghost?'
Another said why does it matter if your kid dresses as Moana? Let kids be kids! It's Halloween!
While a parent commenting on the blog wrote: 'Kids don’t care about race. What do you think your kid is going to tell her friends? She can’t be Moana because Moana is different race and culture?
'Then when one of her friends is dressed as Moana she’s going to tell her it’s offensive because she’s not the same skin color.
'This is literally forcing your kid to be racist. I understand and admire the efforts to remain respectful but she’s five.'
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