Thoughts about 'Maui' costume from Disney's Moana?

[robinb]

I wanted to also weigh in on the costume. I think that Disney was in a bit of a bind if they wanted to offer a Maui costume as his tattoos are part of who he is. So the costume needed to include the tattoos so they had to provide a canvas for the tattoos, in this case a leotard colored the same as the skin of the character. So far, I am personally a-ok with that. If Maui was blue, it would be blue. If Maui was white, it would be white. Heck, Disney's Hercules costume had white skin colored arms with muscles. Same thing.

However, I do draw the line at parents who feel that they must paint their children to match the color of the costume. THAT is where blackface comes in.

 

[Dinohood]

heres something i don't understand is maui the guys name or his race? That is why the maui people are getting mad saying were are not a costume, but they need to think it is a good thing boys can dress up even more for every 50 things for girls they are only maybe 5 for boys, and besides if they made the costume clear so you could see the tattoos are the kids they would be mad about that also i don't think you could see dark tattoos are dark skin kids anyone so the costume is needed as is.

 

[wilkeliza]

heres something i don't understand is maui the guys name or his race? That is why the maui people are getting mad saying were are not a costume, but they need to think it is a good thing boys can dress up even more for every 50 things for girls they are only maybe 5 for boys, and besides if they made the costume clear so you could see the tattoos are the kids they would be mad about that also i don't think you could see dark tattoos are dark skin kids anyone so the costume is needed as is.

Maui is his name.

 

[pryncess527]

heres something i don't understand is maui the guys name or his race? That is why the maui people are getting mad saying were are not a costume, but they need to think it is a good thing boys can dress up even more for every 50 things for girls they are only maybe 5 for boys, and besides if they made the costume clear so you could see the tattoos are the kids they would be mad about that also i don't think you could see dark tattoos are dark skin kids anyone so the costume is needed as is.

Maui is the name of a hero in Polynesian mythology. As far as I can tell, it's like dressing up as Zeus, Hera, or Thor.

 

[Dinohood]

wow don't worry the costume might not sale most boys like super heroes and star wars anyway

 

[PrincessShmoo]

heres something i don't understand is maui the guys name or his race? That is why the maui people are getting mad saying were are not a costume

Maui is his name. The Maori are the native or indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I admit to being surprised when adults don't understand why/how black face is offense. Sorry. I'm a little over sensitive with all the "but this is post-racism America" crap I've had to read that last several years.

I agree that we're not in "post-racism America" yet. But I think to really get there, we are eventually going to have to let go of sensitivity based on previous offense. Yes, black-face was, at an earlier time, used to ridicule people. It was crude, and racist, and a lot of good people worked hard to stop it.

But to little kids, a costume is just a costume. It doesn't become "too much like a mean thing people did before" unless we insist to them that it is. Eventually, we're going to have to let a generation grow up without having to think about their grandparents' prejudices - even for the purpose of rejecting them - in order for them to truly grow up making decisions in which race is not a factor at all.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

It's not worth "OUTRAGE!" but the character is a Pacific Islander. Dressing up as a character outside your race is "problematic".

 

[Magpie]

It's not worth "OUTRAGE!" but the character is a Pacific Islander. Dressing up as a character outside your race is "problematic".

It's only generally viewed as "problematic" if you're white.

From the Disney store's website:

Not to muddy the waters, but I'm reminded of how it's always been more acceptable for girls to dress like boys than it is for boys to dress like girls. And that's because people take for granted that "male" is synonymous with strong and capable - the more desirable gender. It's easy to understand why a girl would want to be a boy, but why on earth would a boy ever want to be a girl?

So, I wonder... outside of history and culture, is it still more acceptable for brown children to pretend to be fair-skinned characters (every little girl deserves to be Elsa!), than it is for fair-skinned children to pretend to be brown characters? And is that because "white" is somehow the gold standard, the way "male" used to be (and still is, for some people)?

 

[luvsJack]

Isn't this the character who is voiced by The Rock? Well there you go--the Rock is a mixture of nationalities and races. He is Black Nova Scotian, Irish, Somoain and white. You can safely wear the costume and just pick whichever one you so desire.

Is a kid's Halloween costume. Dressing up for kid is a just fantasy play. Being something they want to be or being something they would like to be or being someone they admire. Its just play. To get all offended by what the race of the person wearing said costume is has to be the dumbest thing to get offended by I have ever heard of.

 

[pryncess527]

It's not worth "OUTRAGE!" but the character is a Pacific Islander. Dressing up as a character outside your race is "problematic".

I disagree.
Like with most things, there is a tasteful/respectful way to handle this and a disrespectful way to handle it. But people are not automatically limited to costumes based on people from their own race or nationality.

 

[3Gsandme]

I agree that we're not in "post-racism America" yet. But I think to really get there, we are eventually going to have to let go of sensitivity based on previous offense. Yes, black-face was, at an earlier time, used to ridicule people. It was crude, and racist, and a lot of good people worked hard to stop it.

But to little kids, a costume is just a costume. It doesn't become "too much like a mean thing people did before" unless we insist to them that it is. Eventually, we're going to have to let a generation grow up without having to think about their grandparents' prejudices - even for the purpose of rejecting them - in order for them to truly grow up making decisions in which race is not a factor at all.

Sure, but this generation is still suffering from those prejudices and that's what we have to operate with. We have to deal with want we have with an eye toward what we want not jut pretend everything is absolved because it's clearly not. I'm sure no little children mean to do anything by offensive by wanting to look exactly like a character they idolize. No one thinks that. But, that doesn't mean we should let them do whatever because they mean no harm by it. You don't have to get into a protracted race discussion with your five year old, you can just say "no, honey, your skin is just fine" and move on.

 

[pryncess527]

You don't have to get into a protracted race discussion with your five year old, you can just say "no, honey, your skin is just fine" and move on.

I agree with this. Because, I think the overarching point is, skin color is not the whole of a persons identity, and you can dress up as a person without making their race part of your costume.

You can dress as Elsa, but you don't have to make your skin white to pretend to be Elsa.
You can dress as Pochantas without having to make your skin brown to pretend to be Pocahontas
Daveed Diggs managed to portray both Thomas Jefferson and Lafayette on Broadway -- he could embody the characters without coloring his skin white, because those men are more than their whiteness.

 

[kidshop]

It's not worth "OUTRAGE!" but the character is a Pacific Islander. Dressing up as a character outside your race is "problematic".

That seems...racist.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I struggle with cultural appropriation as well. I understand it but I don't always understand it. If that makes sense. However, the costume depicts someone if darker skin and I don't think it's appropriate on that level. Youre almost literally putting on the skin of a brown person.

What if you ARE a brown person already? What if your natural skin tone is darker yet?

 

[sailorstitch]

Is a kid's Halloween costume. Dressing up for kid is a just fantasy play. Being something they want to be or being something they would like to be or being someone they admire. Its just play. To get all offended by what the race of the person wearing said costume is has to be the dumbest thing to get offended by I have ever heard of.

This is true for anybody, not just kids. I cosplay. The word cosplay is a mash up of "costume" and "play acting". It's the same thing that you described.

My cosplay buddy has brown skin, but he cosplays as white characters all the time. As far as I know, nobody has ever said a thing to him about it.

sailorstitch

 

[pryncess527]

My cosplay buddy has brown skin, but he cosplays as white characters all the time. As far as I know, nobody has ever said a thing to him about it.

Out of sheer curiosity, does he paint his skin when he cosplays as a white character, or does he just rely on the rest of his costume?

 

[sailorstitch]

Out of sheer curiosity, does he paint his skin when he cosplays as a white character, or does he just rely on the rest of his costume?

The only time he painted his skin was when he cosplayed an ork from WOW... and then it was green.

sailorstitch

 

[wilkeliza]

Out of sheer curiosity, does he paint his skin when he cosplays as a white character, or does he just rely on the rest of his costume?

When it is a real ethnicity no people don't paint their skin. Now when it comes to made up things then yes people may use make up and prosthesis to change their skin color and/or features i.e. Na'vi from pandora you may use body paint or body suit to make yourself blue. Klingons are a big one where people may or may not darken their skin. There seems to be a great debate on that on if it is okay or not. However, Cosplayers I know who are people of color but cosplay as any of the Doctors from Doctor Who do not lighten their skin. You wouldn't go as Mace Windu and darken your skin (however it isn't a common one for a white cosplayer to take on yah know) and you wouldn't change your skin color to be Captain America or Black Panther.

 

[Merida DunBroch]

Which would be more offensive - the Maui costume, or Disney not releasing a Maui costume in the first place?

Doesn't matter. They would be saying it's inappropriate and offensive if Disney didn't release a Maui costume. There are some people that you just can't win with; you're going to find them complaining about everything and anything.

I feel as if I should be surprised that these costumes are out when the movie isn't released until almost a month after Halloween...but this is merchandise, after all, and Disney merch to boot.