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Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

Well that's what I mean too; there needs to be common sense applied at both ends of the scale. It's NOT all or nothing, or it shouldn't have to be, and it's perfectly acceptable to just say that each situation can be considered separately and broad strokes aren't necessary. And I guess the easy way to find that line is just to look at the reasons and whether or not they're respectful. If a kid wants to dress as Moana because Moana is their hero then obviously that is a positive and respectful reason. If someone blacks up their face and feigns an accent because they just think it's "funny" then that isn't positive or respectful and therefore is inappropriate.

I guess I would add to that, that ignorance isn't really an excuse and if, say, someone does want to dress as a Zulu warrior then it's important that they actually bother to learn about the culture and era properly, instead of just going with stereotypes for impact.

With specific regard to the Zulu costume, though, I would GUESS that a concern might be for black people of all backgrounds (which are obviously mostly non-Zulu) that the costume might reinforce stereotypes of black people being "primitive" or "tribal". But it is quite true that it's only a guess, and remains only a guess until comment is heard from affected people.

I would agree with all that, TS, apart from the last paragraph. I think it would be a stretch for black people to think anyone was making fun of them by dressing in Zulu costume for a festival. It's a hell of a long time since the majority of black people were primitive or tribal....and white people were once primitive and tribal too...so no dressing as a caveman....