With reference to our Spring 2011 event at the statement published here we would like to summarise some of the arguments made against the theme that was originally suggested.
Please note that we are not directly quoting from anyone and instead the lines below paraphrase arguments that were stated in alternative terms by those who presented objections.
Objections include:
- That putting on a jungle-themed party is inherently racist and cannot be staged without inevitably drawing upon racial stereotypes, even if they are not specifically mentioned.
- That putting on a jungle-themed party shows racial naivety and a lack of consideration to the jungle’s historical connections to racism and imperialism.
- That we had not sufficiently addressed the way white supremacy is often tied to our ideas about sexuality. see: http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/jezebel/
- That the connection of a party that pertains to be sex-positive to tribal costumes, apes and so on, carries with it a subtext of racism and imperialism, and therefore fails to be sex-positive for everyone.
- That the way we presented this particular jungle-themed party, with a title parodying The Jungle Book, drew upon a text that is often interpreted as imperialist and racist. See: http://movies.dowse.com/junglebook_article.html
- That the dress-up suggestions, referencing books/films like Heart of Darkness, The African Queen, and Tarzan drew upon texts containing narratives that are often interpreted as racist – see Wikipedia.
- That the notion of a party at which some white guests might choose to wear costumes that reference empire or colonialism demonstrates considerable insensitivity to Britain’s history of racism and imperialism.
- That the notion of a party in which some guests regardless of race might choose to wear costumes that draw upon pop culture tropes of ethnic minorities represents cultural appropriation.
- That parody, when it references dominant, historical narratives that stereotype race, often alienates and marginalises people of colour.
- That some individuals have experienced racial slurs connected to the tropes we made use of in our event text, and found our use of them insensitive and hurtful.
- That Kinky Salon is an inclusive space and we had failed, on this occasion, to give full consideration to our commitment to inclusivity.
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