#NotYourPrincess

Another one of my recent non-fic picks. #NotYourPrincess is a collection of poems, recollections, photos  and artwork created by Native American women.

The content within touches upon a range of issues that impact women from these communities. Facing stereotypes, speaking out (or not) about domestic abuse, learning about heritage, and reconciling one's own self with how the outside world perceives you, or perceives how you should be.

The artwork inside is beautiful, and the words provide talking points for discussions surrounding Native American culture, how our history classes and texts treat indigenous people, and portrayals of Native Americans in the media.

While many other stereotypes and offensive tropes have disappeared from popular media (bucktoothed Asians, blackface minstrels, etc.), it's clear that our perception of Native Americans is still suffering.

The title of the book includes a hashtag, which refers to activism on social media. Similar hashtags such as #NotYourMascot and #NotYour Pocahontas have also trended on Twitter.

I think most people understand that wearing these costumes promotes stereotypes, so we frown on their use for Halloween. This is especially true of the costumes which are sexualized:

But sometimes it's difficult to find the line. For example, I was in middle school when the Disney film Pocahontas was released, and I remember how  popular the soundtrack was. I had it. My friends had it. And since I grew up taking dance lessons, I saw firsthand how many dance teachers used those songs for performances. I remember looking through costume catalogs and seeing all the Pocahontas-inspired outfits, and thinking how lucky those dancers were to wear them, and to get to perform to the songs.

These costumes are intended for the wearer to play a character, and perform as that character, so it makes sense that the costume should resemble something the character wears/would wear. However, they are still costumes. They are not authentic. They are made of lycra and spandex, with sequins and faux feather details. They are a pale shadow of traditional Native American costumes, but they are dance costumes, so they're not intended to represent historical accuracy.

I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about dance costumes that are meant to portray characters based on indigenous people, or those from other cultures. (A similar  trend occurred when the next big Disney movie Mulan was released.)

The dance costumes are a tiny bit of a tangent, but since the book is clearly referencing Pocahontas, the daughter of a chief who has become a Disney Princess, I think it's only fair that we interrogate all the merchandise and trends that are derived from that image.

Also, note that all three women from the 'PocaHottie' costume are light-haired, and two of the girls modeling the dance costumes are light-haired. It frequently happens when a Western culture hijacks another, there is a "white washing" of that culture. We're looking at you, Tiger Lily.