If your daughter is white and wants to be Disney princess Moana this Halloween, you had better put the kibosh on that idea quickly.

Who said that?

An article published in Cosmopolitan magazine is garnering criticism because it claims that white parents must prevent their white daughters from dressing up as Moana this Halloween. The reason? Because it’s racist.

What did the article claim?

• It’s your job as a parent to “teach your kids about the importance of cultural sensitivity” and allowing your white child to dress up as Moana is “racist."
• White girls have plenty of "princesses to choose from”: "If your Caucasian son or daughter doesn't get to be exactly what they wanted for Halloween, encourage them to take a step back and realize that they're awash in privileges that the real Moanas and Tianas of the world will likely never see, because the world is full of racist a**holes"
• It’s important to stand up for people of color and minorities, meaning “showing respect” for their cultures: "To pretend to be a racial, ethnic, or religious minority when you're not makes light of their history — and reinforces a deeply problematic power dynamic, wherein white people use, then discard, pieces of cultures they've subjugated for centuries just because they can."
• The time is now to teach your children: "There's no better time than when a kid is in their formative years to teach them that it's not OK to mock other people's cultures. That's the sort of attitude that will ultimately bleed into the way they behave and think as they get older — do they respect the personhood of those unlike themselves, or is their only concern doing whatever they think is fun?"
• It’s not about putting a “damper” on Halloween fun: "This isn't about putting a damper on your kid's creativity; it's about exercising sensitivity towards anyone who doesn't get to choose how the world at large sizes them up. Whether or not your kids get that is up to you."
• Oh, and President Donald Trump is a “racist a**hole: "Our President is a hate group apologist who tries to ban refugees from seeking asylum in our country, simply because of their faith."

How did people react?

The reaction was very strongly against the premise of the article — which some said is hypocritical coming from the left — while many claimed banning white kids from celebrating other cultures is counterintuitive to the point the author made:

Six year olds can be trusted to choose a gender, why not a Halloween costume?

— Doug Foster (@DougSaidWhat) October 24, 2017

What a great way to foster diversity in media - create lovable characters that only people of the right race can fully enjoy. Good idea. 👍

— Halloweeneon (@neontaster) October 24, 2017

So everyone in the world who has dressed up as a vampire and isn't Romanian are guilty according to you?

— Patrik Wilke (@Zeilon) October 24, 2017