Halle Bailey recently went viral for all the wrong reasons. Bailey received backlash after she and her son dressed up as characters from the iconic Disney movie Lilo & Stitch for Halloween. Some Native Hawaiians took offense with Bailey’s sexualization of Lilo’s outfit and choice to dress up as a Hula dancer, which is considered a sacred cultural dance in Hawaiian culture. Fans quickly came to Bailey’s defense, claiming that she was just embodying a fictional TV character and therefore did not deserve such an extreme reaction. The costume has since opened up important discussions of the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.
Halle Bailey Backlash
Lilo & Stitch is a childhood favorite movie for many Americans; because of the nostalgia surrounding these characters we grew up with, it’s easy to have blind spots regarding how we engage with them. When it comes to Halle Bailey’s outfit choice, she wore a cultural Hawaiian outfit that was depicted by a fictional character, but Lilo’s character is inspired by Hawaiian culture. Native Hawaiians took issue with the specific outfit she wore, which was inspired by a closed sacred cultural practice named Hula. They also took issue with the fact that, though Lilo is depicted as a child in the movie Lilo & Stitch, Bailey chose to wear a more revealing version of her outfit.
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the act of exploiting another group’s cultural practices by engaging with them inappropriately or ignorantly. It is important to note that cultural appropriation has systemic consequences when a dominant group exploits the culture of a minority group. While Bailey’s intentions were likely not malicious, the impact was still harmful to the people from the cultural practice she depicted. People defending Bailey tried to absolve her by claiming Disney should be blamed for depicting Hawaiian culture in an exploitative way. Some Black women were dismissive of the cultural appropriation concerns due to other people’s constant dismissal of the appropriation of Black American Culture.
Due to anti-Blackness, Black American cultural practices are indeed constantly exploited without respect by other non-Black Americans. A great example is the global use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE), which some people claim as “Gen-Z Lingo.” Black Americans do not have the privilege of benefiting from their own culture in the same way non-Black Americans do, which explains the resentment some Black women used to justify defending Halle Bailey. However, fighting bigotry with more bigotry is a further perpetuation of cultural appropriation. Native Hawaiians were intentional in explaining how their sexualization has real-life consequences, such as the fetishization of their culture and the continuously high rates of missing Native Hawaiian girls. As a result, it is important to listen to the community members whose cultural practice is being exploited and find more intentional ways of engaging.
halle, i love you but this aint it. hula is a closed, sacred cultural practice, not a costume, the way sacred native american regalia isn't a costume. and the sexualization of native hawaiian girls is a real problem that kills us. https://t.co/DAd6a3zwZC pic.twitter.com/D1j1vhZSL1
— moongoddess 🇵🇸 (@yues_girlfriend) November 2, 2024
Cultural Appreciation
Cultural appreciation involves the intentional engagement of a group’s culture by doing meaningful research before participation, engaging with people from that culture, and working toward better material conditions for that group. A lot of mainstream media consumption is geared toward capitalizing on marginalized cultures, which waters down the proper representation of those cultures. This means that, before participating in any culture, it is beneficial to research what’s appropriate and inappropriate to avoid ignorance as an excuse for your intention. Another great way to learn about cultures you are participating in is intentionally connecting directly with the people from that particular culture. It is also disingenuous to say you appreciate a culture when you don’t care about the overall well-being of people from that culture.
The backlash Halle Bailey received from Native Hawaiians is a great example of how we can engage in cultures in good faith but may fall short due to a lack of awareness. It is our responsibility not to use other people’s cultures as a prop or a costume, as doing so contributes to the fetishization of said culture. Instead of resorting to defensiveness, we should listen to others when they call us out on the repercussions of disingenuously engaging with their culture. It is also our responsibility to debunk our limited understanding of cultures that are introduced to us or popularized through mainstream media due to potential underlying cultural depiction bias. Ultimately, if it is a closed practice or you have second doubts about participating in a specific culture, you should avoid participation.
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