Is this insulting to you?

[BellsFam]

Ok... I don't know why... (maybe because shes a miserable person...), but MIL told me tonight that dressing up my DD6 as Mulan, (costume from Disney Store) for Halloween, with geisha style make up... is insulting to the Chinese community and that I "can't paint her face white" (like a geisha)...

Now I'm kinda freaking out... DD just happens to like Mulan... and there is a parade at school with costume judging so of course we'd add makeup and hair...

Is this insulting? Or is it "just a halloween costume"?

 

[low-key]

not to me, but im sure some miserable person will be pissed off somewhere

 

[MattsPrincess]

Not even a little.

 

[MSLRAC]

Nope, in fact, I would kind of expect it for any sort of geisha style costume.

 

[georgina]

I'm not Chinese, so I have no idea, but think painting her face white for a school parade is over the top, especially for a 6 year old. Did Mulan dress like a Geisha? I don't remember. Thought Geisha were Japanese.

 

[wilkeliza]

The problem is painting her face white. You can have her be Mulan with out painting her face. Her face was only painted in the one scene where she met her match maker.

 

[superme80]

I wouldn't do the white face. I do know exactly what scene you are talking about though. I would just do a little make up. But Mulan should be fine. I bough the costume for a girl I baby-sat, when the movie came out. She never did heavy make up, but wore the costume for a couple of years.

 

[Princess Mulan]

I prefer a natural look...

 

[MomofKatie]

If you really want to do makeup, some blush on the apples of her cheeks and a little red lip would look good. White face with exaggerated black eyeliner and a red "rosebud lip" is more the Japanese geisha look (and probably inappropriate for a young girl, IMO).

 

[cijay]

Tell your MIL to just not worry about it for the 5 hours she is going to be dressed like Mulan. Hells bells, they're okay with Pocahontas but not with Mulan??

My friend's daughter has very bad hair. She isn't sick (often people ask if she is in chemo), the hair fairy just wasn't good to her genetically. They were going through the mall where they have the weaves and such at the kiosks and the lady wasn't busy so she put the little girl on the stool and tried some falls and hair pieces on her. Matched her hair colour so perfectly so her dad bought a couple. This is okay with most people but her maternal grandparents flipped out. She's only seven, why do you have her in wigs etc etc. Well...if they hadn't noticed, their granddaughter has no HAIR and if you look now, she's having fun whipping her head around and feeling the hair hit her face! It's not like they're false boobs or botox. It's hair pieces!

 

[sonnyjane]

Ok... I don't know why... (maybe because shes a miserable person...), but MIL told me tonight that dressing up my DD6 as Mulan, (costume from Disney Store) for Halloween, with geisha style make up... is insulting to the Chinese community and that I "can't paint her face white" (like a geisha)...

Now I'm kinda freaking out... DD just happens to like Mulan... and there is a parade at school with costume judging so of course we'd add makeup and hair...

Is this insulting? Or is it "just a halloween costume"?

I don't really have a dog in this fight, but a quick google search yielded that yes, this is considered offensive. The most recent celeb to receive backlash was Katy Perry for a performance in 2013.

Just the costume would be fine for a little girl dressing as a Disney character, but I would skip the makeup.

 

[smiths02]

But you are dressing her like Mulan, not a geisha. I would skip the white makeup, even though there is one scene

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

I would skip the make up. I don't think the costume is the big deal but the make up would be and honestly I don't really think its appropriate anyway for the whole make up part.

 

[monsterkitty]

Mulan is Chinese. Geisha are Japanese. Geisha make-up for a 6 year-old is not appropriate. Just have her dress as a call girl instead. A plain Mulan costume is very appropriate.

 

[bcla]

It wouldn't be accurate, as geisha style makeup is Japanese in origin. The costume should be enough. Maybe some makeup, but Mulan wasn't pale at all.

Why even bother with makeup? A coworker brought his daughter to our company's Halloween event as Doc McStuffins, and they didn't put blackface on her. I saw a couple of African-American girls dressed as Anna and Elsa from Frozen, and they didn't try to lighten their skin tone. The costume itself was pretty obvious.

 

[bcla]

Mulan is Chinese. Geisha are Japanese. Geisha make-up for a 6 year-old is not appropriate. Just have her dress as a call girl instead. A plain Mulan costume is very appropriate.

I do agree that the origin is correct, but it's kind of a misconception that Geisha are prostitutes. They're supposed to be hostesses. It's a bit complex, but you can look it up.

 

[elaine amj]

I'm Chinese and I can't imagine what on earth would be insulting about a little girl dressed up as Mulan. How is that insulting to the Chinese? Does this mean that when my Chinese daughter dresses up as the red headed Ariel, we are insulting Caucasians? The whole idea of dressing up is make believe and IT IS NOT REAL.

I assume you mean to paint her face like in this scene? I don't see any harm with this, even on a little girl.

Geisha makeup is very similar but please - it is more insulting to wipe out an entire dynasty's worth of traditions because Westerners are more familiar with the look of Japanese geishas. The Tang dynasty had very similar makeup and the movie portrays it pretty accurately. Heavy face powder, defined eyebrows, lots of blush, and bright lipstick. Then again, this is set in a time quite long ago - and many of us Chinese don't even know this is part of our history, simply because it isn't portrayed in movies, etc particularly often.

Check this explanation out: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/User_b...That_Irritates_Me-_Mulan's_Matchmaker_Clothes

So don't worry, you are not dressing your 6 yr old up as a geisha - but as a woman from the Tang dynasty.

 

[dotfurio]

Chinese wore make up, too, though Geisha is Japanese. But I agree I wouldn't go full face makeup, maybe just a little eyeshadow and lipstick. I'm imagining the mess and discomfort of wearing a white face all day at school. I know my DD loves her play makeup when she's dressing up as a princess!

 

[SMD]

First, make sure that the school allows makeup. Some don't allow makeup and/or masks, so this could be moot. I think that one problem with the argument that they wore similar clothes in the Han Dynasty and possibly similar makeup in the Tang Dynasty is that they are 700-900 years apart, and neither is the correct time period of the real Mulan story. If you look for pictures of the Mulan character in the parks wearing the dress from that scene, she doesn't have her face painted white or any lightening makeup on at all. I think that just because the movie may have inaccuracies, that is no reason to perpetuate any possible stereotypes just because it's accurate to inaccurate movie. I agree with PP that if makeup is allowed at the school I'd just do lipstick and some eyeshadow for a 6 year old.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have no idea if the white makeup is offensive, but I would not use it on a little girl under any circumstances. For a school parade, the costume and a little makeup would be all I would use, and call it day.