Black character for World Book Day?

[WorldBookDayChoice]

My almost four year old is white with wavy/curly hair. She has a story book whose main character is black with curly hair, and DD has always said this character looks like her. She now wants to dress as this girl for WBD. In practice this will just mean wearing specific coloured clothes and holding the book up, but she's also mentioned making her hair even curlier to match the character's hair.

Basically is this okay? Or disrespectful?

YANBU it's okay
YABU it's not okay

She's 4 it seems ok. It's not like your planning to black her face.

I think it’s lovely that she is

1. enjoying books with black characters
2. identifying with that character and wanting to celebrate her on World Book Day

As above, no issue at all if she’s not in blackface.

Of course there would absolutely be no blackface

My white, fair and curly haired daughter went as Rocket from Look Up last year. Didn't even entertain the thought that it could be seen as racist, my daughter just identified they were similar because of their love of space.

I put her in a space suit, gave her some fake glasses and stuck gems on her ears. I did her hair in a bun on top of her head but didn't do any braids.

Whilst it’s difficult to verbalise explicitly exactly what would be wrong with it, I would discourage her tbh. It isn’t blackface, but people/characters of colour are more than just their hairstyle, and whilst most people wouldn’t take offence to a child dressed up, you aren’t going to be there to explain the reasoning behind the costume all day to anyone who does find it a bit off.

This is ridiculous. I'm black although you wouldn't think it looking at me as I'm very light (not mixed and I have western hair), and I see no problem with this. Nor do I see how it's disrespectful. Let her dress like the character

Respectfully, I disagree with this. I think that we would have reached a very sad place if children can’t dress up as as a character they admire if they’re not of the same ethnicity.

Also, “people/characters of colour are more than just their hairstyle”- I don’t understand what is meant by this? Anyone is more than just their hairstyle.

My white DD went as Ada Twist from Ada Twist, Scientist for WBD a few years ago. It's fine.

It's the people who think like this that ruin it for everyone. I feel that this way of thinking encourages a segregated society. Why can't people just enjoy the stories and inspiration of other people rather than focusing on the colour of their skin?

So long as it's in a positive way then I think go for it! Do most people of a different colour / ethnicity background really get offended if someone of another colour / ethnicity is wearing the clothing of the other?
I actually feel like the majority of people causing a fuss over this are white people emphasising their worry about offending.

I am white. I was invited to an Indian friends wedding and wore a saree to the wedding. It was not viewed as cultural appropriation. I got many compliments from Indian guests telling me how lovely it was that I made the effort to dress traditionally and like them for the wedding.

My child is white and their school is currently focusing about teaching the children about the various countries in the world. Her class is learning about the countries in Africa, and were told they can dress up on the last day to represent the countries. I had no shame in purchasing a traditional African dress from Vinted and sending her into school wearing it.

They are learning about culture and inclusivity. Learning how to appreciate and understand the differences in cultures and what makes them unique and special. She had gone in with the dress understanding the country it originated form and about the pattern and will be able to pass that knowledge onto the rest of the class through discussion and take that information with her as she grows up.

I don't see anything wrong with that at all.

I just wouldn't even go there. If the character has blue trousers and a red jumper and curly hair, her wearing those clothes and curling her hair is not remotely offensive. But that won't stop some rando taking offence. So therefore I wouldn't even take the chance.

Wearing a sari or traditional dress to a celebration when the hosts have encouraged you to do so is different to making your hair more curly to dress up as a black person as if the defining feature of a black person is their hair. Saying “well, I wouldn’t be bothered by this so screw anybody who would be, they’re thinking wrong” is how people have traditionally been silenced.

You wouldn’t (I hope) let your child wear a false nose to emphasise that they were Anne Frank for WBD, so why would OP’s DD curling her hair to “be more black” be acceptable?

What the hell is wrong with you?

So a child relates to and feels an affinity for a character of a different ethnicity and there are people who think this is a bad thing and should be discouraged? Weird.

Of course it's fine, OP

Your thinking is messed up!
Would you say the same to me if you saw me? I find it hard to identify as black because I'm not dark and don't have the same struggles as other black women, but then I don't also identify as white because I'm not white although I look like it.

Sounds fine to me.

I wouldn't do the hair as it's a bit carricatury (afro wigs anyone 😬). But absolutely wear the outfit and be the character.

This is utter rubbish.

No, you should not allow this. If you permit her to indulge in racist behaviour at such a young age what kind of message are you sending her? Tell her she's not black therefore cannot identify with a black character in the same way she can with a white one, it's her white privilege that makes her think she can do what she wants and she needs to change her thought patterns else she's going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble as she gets older.

Ffs 🤦‍♀️

Of course it's fine OP. What kind of message would we be sending to children if they aren't allowed to be a character they love and admire?

The actor playing Dorothy -in the West End this year is black. Nothing wrong with that either. They are fictional characters for goodness sake. Making your little one's curly hair a bit curlier isn't putting her in an afro wig!

The actor playing Dorothy -in the West End this year is black. Nothing wrong with that either. They are fictional characters for goodness sake. Making your little one's curly hair a bit curlier isn't putting her in an afro wig! Suggesting you can't in anyway identify with a character, or person, because you have different skin /hair or anything else, is very damaging to society.

😂😂😂

Forbidding a child from dressing up as a favourite character because they're black seems racist to me. It feels divisive, as if you are saying 'you are one of US, not THEM'. Children aren't naturally racist, they learn it from us, so, obviously without 'blacking-up', dressing as a black character should not be discouraged. I'm happy to be corrected by any black people who find it offensive.

Troll?

That sounds great, I dk why you would think it disrespectful. As people say, she's not donning blackface. There would be nothing wrong with curling her hair a bit more. When I was growing up there weren't many black characters in kids books, so I always used to include them in my childhood stories and drawings as it represented the children I saw. It's great and definitely go for it.