Twitter's Anti-Bullying Stance Apparently Doesn't Stop Them From Targeting a Teenage Girl

Twitter is super concerned about bullying, y’all. Really. They really, really are. Well…except when those delightful social justice warriors want to score a few points. The latest example of manufactured outrage comes from a high school senior in Utah, Keziah Daum, who bought a dress from a thrift store for her prom and posted photos of it on Twitter.

Advertisement

The controversy comes from the type of dress Daum wore: a cheongsam, or qipao, a type of traditional Chinese dress characterized by a slim fit and high collar.

Daum is not Chinese and a handful of Twitter users expressed concern and criticism about her choice of dress as
“cultural appropriation,” most notably by one person who tweeted at her, “My culture is NOT your godd**n prom dress.”

This is where it should have ended. But Susanna Heller at Insider ran a story about how Daum was being “accused of cultural misappropriation” and created a Twitter Moment about it — which Twitter itself promoted. I personally saw the Moment among those curated by Twitter to be highlighted in the Moments tab yesterday.

As several people observed, by promoting this Moment, Twitter was shining a spotlight on Daum and undoubtedly directing more harassment her way. Daum is not a public figure by any stretch of the imagination; she’s just a high school girl who got a bargain on a dress she thought was pretty. But the combination of the Insider story and Twitter’s promotion of it has attracted numerous people to direct hate and harassment her way.

Advertisement

As for Daum, she’s not backing down, tweeting that she meant “no disrespect to the Chinese culture.”

“I’m not deleting my post because I’ve done nothing but show my love for the culture,” she added. “It’s a f***ing dress. And it’s beautiful.”

Advertisement

Insider, however, apparently remains concerned, even going so far as to contact Daum’s high school. “It’s unclear if Wood Cross High School has addressed the situation,” wrote Heller. “Representatives for the school didn’t immediately return INSIDER’s request for comment.”

They want to know if her high school has “addressed the situation”? What situation? That a student wore a dress to prom that she liked and wasn’t too revealing, and some people on Twitter were cranky about it? I sincerely hope Wood Cross High School has better things to worry about.

Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter: @rumpfshaker.

Recommended

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on RedState Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement