In Spring of 2018, a white Utah teenager named Keziah Daum posted photos of herself and her prom date on Facebook and Twitter. She was wearing a red qi pao (or cheongsam), a traditional Chinese dress popularized in China in the 1920s. Twitter users quickly responded that her decision to wear the dress was an example of cultural appropriation. Others argued that it was simply cultural appreciation.
In this episode, seminar participants discuss the way that national and international media reported on this incident and examine the assumptions US commentators make how commentators in the United States make decisions about who is allowed to speak on behalf of whom. We also consider the utility of the concept of cultural appropriation itself.
