Is the Met Gala distasteful?

The themes of the Met Gala are inappropriate and reinforce stereotypes

Question: Is the Met Gala distasteful?
Position1 of 2›: Yes, the Met Gala is distasteful
Argument1 of 2›: The themes of the Met Gala are inappropriate and reinforce stereotypes

In past years the Met Gala has come under fire for having themes that encourage cultural appropriation and sacrilegious costumes. Such themes and ensuing designs often reinforce negative and inaccurate stereotypes about cultures, people, or religions.

The argument

The themes of the Met Gala are sometimes inappropriate and enforce erroneous and damaging stereotypes about the race, nation, or religion they are attempting to celebrate. In allowing open interpretations on others’ culture, the Met Gala opens the door to a plethora of distasteful appropriations that are broadcasted to the eager world-wide spectators. The first theme to come to mind for many with respect to cultural appropriation is likely 2015’s “China: Through the Looking Glass”. The theme was intended to celebrate how China has influenced Western fashion, but many critics argue that many outfits enforced incorrect and offensive stereotypes such as that of the “dragon lady”. Others were concerned with several Gala attendees’ choice to wear kimono-inspired gowns, which are traditionally Japanese. Another theme to come under fire recently is 2018’s theme, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”. Similar to 2015’s theme, “Heavenly Bodies” was intended to celebrate the rich Catholic history and culture of art and its interaction with fashion. However, many Catholics took issue with the theme and declared that their religion was not merely someone’s "costume". It is clear that some of the themes are problematic and wholly distasteful. The blatant appropriation of races and cultures without regard for its implications is ultimately harmful to society as historic and outdated stereotypes are upheld and reinforced.

Premises

[P1]The Met Gala's open-to-interpretation cultural themes invite attendees to appropriate races, nations, and religions, broadcast to a worldwide audience. [P2] Themes like 2015's "China: Through the Looking Glass" and 2018's "Heavenly Bodies" reinforced offensive stereotypes such as the "dragon lady" and reduced others' faith to costume, drawing widespread criticism. [C] Therefore, because its themes are inappropriate and reinforce damaging stereotypes, the Met Gala is distasteful.

Counter-arguments

While some themes for the Met Gala may be occasionally questionable, this is somewhat of a rarity and certainly not the norm. The theme of the Met Gala itself is not inherently distasteful. It is the job and challenge of the various designers to create ensembles that reflect the theme, while avoiding entrapping themselves in stereotypes or cliches. The themes are also not chosen without thought for cultural or societal implications. For example, for the Heavenly Bodies theme, the Met Gala board worked first to gain the Vatican's approval for the theme. In addition to giving approval, the Vatican also donated upwards of forty artifacts for the Costume Institute's exhibition.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Open interpretation makes poor outcomes possible rather than likely, and the premise moves straight from possibility to verdict. Responsibility for a costume also lies with the person wearing it and their designer, so the inference from individual choices to the event as a whole needs an argument that is never made. [Rejecting P2] Two contested themes across many years is a thin base for a claim about the institution, and criticism is criticism rather than a finding. The counter supplies what the premise omits: the accompanying exhibition was mounted with the cooperation of the institution concerned, including loans of religious objects — consistent with a curatorial project that individual guests handled badly rather than with a distasteful premise.