美国女高中生在推特上成为众矢之的，竟是因为......一件旗袍？

来自美国犹他州的18岁高中女生Keziah Daum可能怎么也想不到，仅仅因为自己出席毕业舞会时选择了一袭中式旗袍而非传统西式礼服，便在推特上引发了一场轩然大波，招致了众多网友的口诛笔伐……

Keziah Daum, a high school graduate from Salt Lake City, the United States, never expected that her wearing a traditional Chinese dress to her prom would provoke such controversy.

4月22日，Keziah Daum在推特上po出了一组自己在毕业舞会上与同学的合影，并配文“Prom”（毕业舞会）。照片中，Daum身着一条暗金印花的大红色高叉旗袍，在一众身穿长款晚礼服的妹子中显得极为抢眼。

帖文发出后，网友们却在评论区炸开了锅......

The 18-year-old, who picked her Chinese-style dress in a bid to "be more unique and bold" at the highly anticipated prom, came under fire in late April after photos of her posing with her friends wearing a red cheongsam went viral on Twitter.

有人赞她妆容精致，衣品出挑，也有网友对Daum进行炮轰，称她在不了解旗袍文化内涵的情况下选择身着该服饰是对中国文化的不尊重，有“文化挪用”（cultural appropriation）之嫌。

While some netizens admired Daum’s courage while rocking the dress, some others have defined her choice of the Chinese traditional prom attire as disrespectful to Chinese culture. 

一位名为Jeremy Lam的亚裔网友更是连发数条推文怒斥Daum在毕业舞会上着旗袍的做法，表示“中式旗袍不应作为美国消费主义的对象用以迎合白人群体的口味”（“For it to simply be subject to American consumerism and cater to a white audience, is parallel to colonial ideology.”）

Lam写道，“我的文化不应该被你穿在身上。”这一言论得到大批网友支持，截止5月3日上午，该条帖文已被转发4万余次，点赞超10万次。

Lam在随后的帖文中解释称，旗袍是由最初的宽松设计逐步演化为修身剪裁。从极端父权主义压迫时期女性被禁止穿着凸显身材曲线的旗袍，到全亚洲各阶层女性群体都掀起旗袍热，这一服饰映刻了时代变革和女性解放的大背景，象征着性别平等，展现了女性独有的气质和自信，因而不应仅仅作为在西方场合博取眼球的异域文化符号。

“My culture is not your prom dress,” Jeremy Lam tweeted, adding cheongsam, as a Chinese symbol of “activism, femininity, confidence and gender equality,” cannot be simply taken as a “subject to American consumerism” that caters to a white audience. The comment has then spurred an onslaught of similar criticism over her introduction of exotic cultural elements, or "cultural appropriation."

另一位名为Jeannie的网友也表达了类似的看法：“（这种做法）很不妥。即便我是亚洲人，都不会穿韩服或者日本和服，更不会穿爱尔兰、瑞典或者希腊的传统服饰，因为这些服装背后都有着深厚的历史背景。”

面对日益发酵的舆论风暴，当事人Keziah Daum在推特上发声回应称自己并没有不尊重中国文化，相反，选择旗袍是出于自己对中国文化的欣赏。

Daum responded that she meant no offense to Chinese culture by simply wearing Chinese traditional dress.

Daum在接受《华盛顿邮报》（The Washington Post）采访时表示，自己在盐湖城的一家服装店一眼就看中了这条旗袍，喜欢它高领的设计和修身的腰线剪裁。她还称这件旗袍“让她领略到了异域文化之美”（“really gave me a sense of appreciation and admiration for other cultures and their beauty”）。

In an interview with the Washington Post, Daum said she picked the high-collared, form-fitting dress as it gives her “a sense of appreciation and admiration for other cultures and their beauty.”  

Daum的妈妈也站出来发声说自己的女儿出身多元文化家庭，并一直接受多元文化教育，选择穿旗袍的做法并无任何不妥（”I’m proud of her for standing her ground because she didn’t do anything wrong.”）。

推特上也有众多网友对Daum表示支持，称只不过是一条毕业舞会的裙子，和“种族主义”或“文化歧视”完全不搭边，大家不应对其进行过度解读。还有很多中国网友称，很乐于看到外国女生在出席重要场合时选择身着中国传统服饰，因为这代表着对中国文化的喜爱和认同。

The Twitter backlash, however, has also prompted a wave of support for the teenager, with some netizens praising her choice of cultural fashion while some Chinese rooted users claiming to be proud that the American youngster had chosen a prom outfit of their culture. 

在微博等中国社交媒体平台，Daum亦获得了大量网友的声援。很多网友表示，西方人出席重要场合时身着旗袍，就如同东方人选择在婚礼中穿西服和婚纱，都是文化交流传播的正常现象，不应被打上“文化挪用”的标签。

Daum has also won overwhelming support on China’s Twitter-like Weibo. Comparing Daum’s wearing of cheongsam at prom to Asian brides in western wedding dress, many Chinese have described the move as part of culture exchange rather than cultural appropriation.

其实，这并不是“文化挪用”一词首次在社交媒体上引发热议。

This is not the first time that “cultural appropriation” has incurred a media ruckus.

早在2013年，美国歌手凯蒂•佩里（Katy Perry）就曾因为自己在某音乐颁奖礼上的日本艺妓扮相而被指涉嫌“种族歧视”和“文化挪用”。

American pop star Kate Perry was bombarded with criticism over “culture-appropriating offenses” for her geisha-inspired performance at the 2013 American Music Awards.

近年来，包含古驰（Gucci），维多利亚的秘密（Victoria’s Secret）和马克•雅可布（Marc Jacobs）在内的众多时尚品牌，也都曾因在秀场中使用外来文化元素（如黑人脏辫、印第安原住民的羽毛头饰）而饱受诟病。

Fashion brands including Gucci, Victoria’s Secret and Marc Jacobs were also once under fire for introducing fashion genes from claimed “marginalized culture” such as dreadlocks as well as Native American’s plumage headdress to white models in their collection shows.

 “文化挪用”（cultural appropriation）一词在剑桥英文词典中的释义为：

The act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.

翻译过来就是：挪用外文化元素，尤其是在不理解或不尊重该文化的情况下。

维基百科称 “文化挪用”不同于平等的文化交流，因为其中往往带有殖民主义的色彩：

Cultural appropriation is a concept in sociology dealing with the adoption of the elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture. It is distinguished from equal cultural exchange due to the presence of a colonial element and imbalance of power.

也有学者表示“文化挪用”不同于文化吸纳或交流的原因在于，“当社会主流文化成员挪用少数派文化元素时，常使之脱离原文化背景而导致原内涵丢失或被曲解。”

但因为文化挪用本身就是相对复杂的文化现象，该如何界定某事件是否属于“文化挪用”，至今仍未有定论。

对于外国人穿戴中国传统服饰，你怎么看？你认为这算是一种“文化挪用”吗？