Turns out, only privileged Americans are outraged over a teenage girl wearing a Chinese-themed dress to prom.
Keziah Daum, an 18-year-old from Utah, became the target of a social justice warrior who deemed her an undercover racist for allegedly appropriating his culture. “My culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress,” he wrote in a viral tweet.
Here’s the dress, which, according to the South China Morning Post, “symbolised a silent protest to promote gender equality after the fall of the dynasties and the beginning of the republican period in the early 1900s, and was worn during the 1919 reformist May Fourth Movement.”
But throwing a wrench into the SJW’s perpetual offense-taking scam is the reaction of Chinese internet users, who heaped praise on Ms. Daum.
“Very elegant and beautiful! Really don’t understand the people who are against her, they are wrong!” one person commented on an article by Wenxue City News, according to SCMP. “I suggest the Chinese government, state television or fashion company invite her to China to display her cheongsam!”
“It is not cultural theft,” wrote another. “It is cultural appreciation and cultural respect.”
“Weibo users added that Daum looked beautiful and criticised those who have accused her,” notes the SCMP.
“Culture has no borders,” read one post. “There is no problem, as long as there is no malice or deliberate maligning. Chinese cultural treasures are worth spreading all over the world.”
Upon learning about the background of the dress, the 18-year-old told the SCMP, “One person commented it represented female empowerment. If that is the case, then it is a wonderful message for any young woman my age to learn, regardless of culture and background.”
She has unapologetically kept the “offensive” prom post up on her account and told The Daily Wire last week that if she had to do it over, she’d wear it again.
“I thought it was absolutely beautiful,” she told The Washington Post, adding, it “really gave me a sense of appreciation and admiration for other cultures and their beauty.”