My Culture isn't a Costume - Beutiful Magazine

A couple of weeks ago Selena Gomez performed her new song “Come and Get It” at the MTV Movie Awards. She came under fire for her performance, but not because of the sexually-themed song but because of the costume she chose. Selina wore a red Bollywood-inspired costume complete with a bindi on her forehead. A bindi is a jewel or powder-based ornament placed between the eyebrows of women in India. The bindi represents a spiritual or religious symbol that is deeply important to the culture in India. After wearing her costume at the MTV awards, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed complained about how Selina used a sacred Indian symbol as part of her costume and that she should apologize and learn about the culture before using it as a fashion accessory. Fans also called Selena out over twitter for her insensitivity. Gomez hasn’t issued a statement and continues to wear the bindi and plans to incorporate it into her upcoming tour. I have to say that I think it is completely in poor taste to use someone’s cultural beliefs as a part of a costume. It has been done over and over again as of lately and it is just embarrassing. Recently there have been tons of models wearing Native American-inspired costumes and even a runway show based around African American imagery done in a tasteless way. People need to stop thinking this behavior is acceptable and understand that they are offending others. There was a great campaign done not too long ago that points out just how insensitive it is to dress up in a costume of someones culture. I wish this ad would make people rethink their choices.