Despite concerns that dressing up children as Moana for Halloween may be racially insensitive, a study by Wikibuy has found the Disney character is the studio’s most popular Halloween costume this year.
The study concluded Moana is twice as popular as Beauty and the Beast, and even twice as popular than Star Wars.
In an editorial published by Redbook, not exactly a bastion of political correctness, the magazine’s editors wrote “there’s no better time than when a kid is in their formative years to teach them that it’s not OK to mock other people’s cultures. That’s the sort of attitude that will ultimately bleed into the way they behave and think as they get older — do they respect the personhood of those unlike themselves, or is their only concern doing whatever they think is fun?”
Does this mean parents have rejected concerns about cultural insensitivity?
Wikibuy’s study is based on tens of thousands of product views on Amazon over an eight-month period. It likely reflects children’s high interest in the movie despite being released a year ago and the desire of parents to treat their children to what they think will be something special.
AsAmNews posted the Redbook editorial on its Facebook page and reaction to it by its readers appeared mixed.
The post received just four likes and six comments. Most the comments were negative ranging from “this is ridiculous” to “little Japanese girls can’t be Disney princesses? Rethink your position.”
Redbook editorial staff expected this push back. They countered:
At this point, you might be saying something like: “But, I dressed up as Jasmine as a child, and I’m not a racist!”, or, “It’s just a Halloween costume, please chill the f*ck out.” But one of the best things about time is that it moves forward. You should too. You can (and should) strive to be better than you were 10, 20, or 30 years ago. If you missed the mark when you were younger, maybe think about using this Halloween as an opportunity to teach your kids about the importance of cultural sensitivity. If your child’s dream costume feels questionable, don’t just throw up your hands and hand over your credit card. You’re the parent here, and the onus of what your child wears falls on you. If your kid wears a racist costume … you’re kind of wearing it too.
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