Every year, there are movies that come out and inspire the most popular costumes when Halloween season rolls around.
Every year, there are movies that come out and inspire the most popular costumes when Halloween season rolls around.
From Frozen to Moana, Disney has come out with some pretty popular female leads over the past few years.
In fact, one mom recently opened up about why she won't let her daughter dress up as Moana for Halloween.
Sachi said she told her daughter:
"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."
While Sachi's daughter may be too young to understand this concept, it's never too early to start teaching our kids to respect other people's cultures.
She tried to convince her daughter to dress up in the "spirit" of the character instead, showcasing her "bravery."
"I don't like the idea of dressing up using the same traditional clothing that someone from Moana's culture may have worn because that feels like we are laughing at her culture by making it a costume.
A child whose family is Polynesian could dress up using that type of traditional clothing but Moana's culture is not our culture. If you want you could dress up as someone from one of your cultures, you could be a tango dancer from Argentina ... (or as Che Guevara!)."
So, she offered an alternative.
"Otherwise, maybe you could be a modern-day Moana and dress up in the clothing you think Moana might wear today."
Not all kids understand the concept of cultural appropriation, especially because not all parents feel so strongly about it.
People thought choosing Moana as a Halloween costume was fairly harmless. It just meant that the child likes that character.
Some people believed that these characters served as important role models for kids.
Turns out, Sachi's daughter ended up wanting to go as Mickey Mouse for the holiday instead.
People's cultures are not always there to be used as costumes.
Do you think censoring kids and their likes or dislikes is fair?