Introduktion
Is it acceptable for someone to dress up for Halloween using a Mexican stereotype, an American citizen adopting cornrows, or a high school girl donning a Chinese dress for prom?

These scenarios spark various opinions and discussions on the appropriateness of borrowing elements from other cultures.

The articles titled "It’s just a dress: Teen’s Chinese prom attire stirs cultural appropriation debate," "Nonsensical critics are accusing an 18-year-old girl of cultural appropriation and racism – and they’re missing something much bigger," and "This is why a white woman wearing a traditional Chinese dress is cultural appropriation" delve into the controversy, particularly focusing on Kenziah Daun's choice to wear a traditional Chinese dress to prom.

Utdrag
“Cultural appropriation has everything to do with who has power and who is powerless, who is dominant and who is marginalized.

That’s why Daum was able to wear the dress she did without mockery – because of the power and privilege that her whiteness affords her.” (text 3, line 96)

Similar to Eliza's perspective on the debate, Nian Hu also contends that white individuals enjoy certain levels of power and privileges that other racial groups are often denied.

Like Eliza, Nian asserts that white people possess a sense of entitlement, which they exercise due to their "white privileges."

In the article "This is why a white woman wearing a traditional Chinese dress is cultural appropriation," Nian Hu passionately argues her viewpoint, employing a strong emotional appeal through pathos. She draws from her real-life experiences to establish credibility and elicit empathy from the reader.

Nian Hu, as an Asian-American teenage girl, candidly discusses her experiences of discrimination and feeling out of place in society, effectively tapping into the reader's emotions to bolster her argument.

In addition to employing pathos, Nian Hu also utilizes logos when highlighting the disparities in representation of white individuals in companies, politics, and other areas compared to other racial groups.

These persuasive techniques converge to support her central claim: that a white woman wearing a traditional Chinese dress constitutes cultural appropriation.

The foundation for her argument lies in the concept of white privilege, which allows individuals like Daun to avoid the daily injustices and inconveniences faced by people of color.

This, in turn, leads to the assertion that power is the crucial factor distinguishing between acts of cultural appropriation and those that are not.