Is it offensive or am I being silly?

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Just a quick one but NC for this as I guess its outing.

My childrens school are doing world book day and the “theme” is peter pan, its given some suggestions of characters you can dress up as and one is tigerlilly. I was thinking of chosing that one for DD as I hate all of the tinkerbell dresses but ive heard its offensive to dress up as certain things. Native americans being on of them. Is it offensive or am I being silly? Why oh why do they have to do themes and not just let people pick their favourite book characters 😩

No I wouldn't dress up as a Native American. It's very inappropriate.

Not sure why it would be offensive??

I am with you on themed dressing up days at school though. So glad mine are all older now. This sort of thing was a total pain in the arse at primary school.

It is a character in a book. I doubt very much that anyone would think it was offensive. You are over thinking it IMO.

The day my DC school starts putting such prescriptive parameters on place for dressing up days, will be the end of any fancy dress for mine.

WBD is hassle enough, without narrowing it down to a single book!!!

Hmm mixed opinions then.

If you’re dressing as a character in a book it’s fine. Dressing up as a ‘generic idea of Native American woman’ is not fine.

www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/07/tiger-lily-peter-pan-native-american-stereotype First article I could find about the issues with dressing as a Native American person and Tiger Lily in particular but I've no doubt that there are numerous others. I understand why we don't have the awareness of Native Americans, their history and issues in the UK that Americans may have but dressing as a Native American is still wrong.

I agree that the school are being ridiculous by restricting you to characters in just one book.

If you aren't happy with it, go with the safer pirate option. Or a Lost "boy".

Nana the dog if you have a dog costume?

I see the eternally offended have pipped to the post with their outrage.

There is no problem with your DD going as Tigerlily. Just like there's no problem with a black/Asian girl going as little red riding hood, Mary Poppins, etc.

Will probably go with it then as they really havent let us have much choice!

My dd wouldnt be happy dressing up as a boy.

Absolutely fine!

God this new offended era is exhausting

I'd do it. My daughter often dresses as Moana and sometimes a Spanish dancer. Is that wrong? She enjoys it and we are not being rude.

Yes, but the character is a stereotype in itself. The costumes I can see mostly seem to be take offs of actual regalia still held as having sacred meaning by an oppressed people whose remnants are still alive today.

When I attended a powwow, there were signs everywhere about not touching the regalia, not even if something fell from it. Take the headdresses, they're not just pretty feathers, they are symbols of honour and achievement bestowed by the tribe.

That dressing as Native Americans is inappropriate isn't that new a concept. There's still a lot of work to be done but not dressing as a stereotype of a Native American person is a good start.

All of the content in Peter Pan about Tiger Lily and the “Indians” is offensive but wasn’t seen as particularly controversial in those less enlightened times (over a century ago now).

www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/racist-history-peter-pan-indian-tribe-180953500/

Dress her as Wendy or Mrs Darling

Also I'm not the biggest Buzzfeed fan but there's a short video here where young Native Americans review Halloween 'Indian' costumes and share their thoughts.

I'm not sure why anyone would find a child dressing up as a character from a book offensive.

Everything is offensive these days, it doesn't matter what you do.

It's a character from a book, it's ridiculous if people find it offensive.

Dress your DD however you feel comfortable with

Peter Pan is the theme for one of my DS’s year group! Although our school haven’t gone as far as character suggestions.

I’m planning on sending DS into school wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown and saying he’s either John or Michael Darling. The Darling children go to Neverland in their pyjamas after all

We have some button up pyjamas that look reasonably old fashioned.

I’m a bit on the fence about Tiger Lily. On the one hand, I agree it’s generally inappropriate to dress up as a Native American, but on the other hand, it’s a specific character rather than generic Native American.

Are we including Little Black Sambo or The Golliwogs from Noddy in that, Drogosnextwife?

Let’s get kids to dress up as Fagin for world book day too, because a character in a book could never be offensive.

I used to hate all this dressing up stuff as I am crap at this sort of stuff. If I couldn’t buy a pre made thing then it was a melt down from me.

I would be sending mine in dressed in an average everyday out fit snd holding a Peter Pan book as The Narrator

I'm not sure why anyone would find a child dressing up as a character from a book offensive.

So you can't see that Enid Blyton's more infamous characters might just be a little bit offensive? This is the same issue, negative stereotypes were used by the author to depict a certain character.

If DD’s school was this prescriptive about WBD, she’d be taking the day off.