Breaking Down the Ethics of Historical Costuming and Reenactments

Summer holidays in the U.S. largely focus on the country’s past, and with Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and the 4th of July behind us for this year, many might have found ourselves recently grappling with our nation’s history. While plenty of people find the practice peculiar, historical reenactment and costuming remain popular ways to explore, teach, and also rewrite American history.

When historical reenactment is used for good

From Tombstone, Arizona to Colonial Williamsburg, it seems that almost every state in the union has some historical town built around the history of the area—and they don’t just exist for entertainment.

Historical reenactment and costuming are an incredible form of teaching. Many former slave plantations (or at least the ones that aren’t hosting weddings) have been making efforts to represent the slaves who literally built the plantation and large swaths of the country as a whole.

Historical reenactors like Cheyney McKnight from Not Your Momma’s History and Azie Dungey from Ask A Slave use reenactment to explore the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of history.

Some historical scholars and reenactors also seek to bridge the gap between modern and past peoples by bringing. Cheyney McKnight has shifted toward making historical garments with colorful African-inspired fabrics to show how the descendants of enslaved Africans “can engage with the past on their terms” and to challenge the idea that accuracy is the most important part of historical costuming. Max Miller of Tasting History uses food as his medium of choice and has revived hundred-year-old recipes to teach history in a way that can be easily digested by general audiences.

Many of these scholars and actors show that history is not dry paper but is tangible and living and able to be explored in many ways. Reenactments can be an incredible way to teach people about history in a way that they can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.

Historical reenactment controversies

Of course, there are still many ways in which historical reenactment continues to perpetuate harmful trends. World War II reenactment is banned in Germany and Austria due to a ban on Nazi imagery and general concerns that doing so could glorify that time in German history.

Cheyney McKnight has noted how some Black reenactors can face racism or misinformation while reenacting and that can put them through unnecessary mental/emotional challenges.

Key & Peele had a wonderful sketch pointing out how many Civil War reenactments erase the real reason why Southern men were fighting and dying;—not for “states’ rights” or to preserve the “Southern” way of life, but to continue slavery.

The Mary Sue alum Princess Weekes has previously noted that our media has a longstanding obsession with the Confederacy and the myth of the Confederate Southern Gentleman, which lives on in the trope of the Confederate Vampire and in TV shows like Firefly.

Cos-tubers (costume YouTubers) have actually done an analysis comparing reactions to Sewstine (Asian American) with Abby Cox (White) for their pronunciation of Robe a la Francaise. Despite Abby’s videos getting three times as many comments as Sewstine’s, Sewstine had three times as many comments nitpicking her pronunciation, some of which she had to delete due to their harsh or racist language.

Even the simple act of creating or wearing historical garments can contribute to the perpetuation of racist history. Cathy Hay is a controversial historical costumer who has been trying to recreate the “Worth Peacock Dress” for the past few years. However, that dress is directly linked to the British Colonization of India and was made as a symbol of the British Empire’s domination of the country. Despite having a video where she acknowledged the implications of the dress, Hay has continued to work on the dress, except now she is also using Indian embroiderers to do the work for her, just as was done with the Worth Peacock dress.

Where to draw the line

In some cases, it can be difficult to tell what is and is not controversial depending on the communities being discussed (and those doing the discussing). Disagreements over issues like cultural appropriation can frequently divide immigrants/diaspora peoples from the people in their parent countries.

However, there’s one refrain that has been carried by many Cos-tubers that I feel best encapsulates the balance: “Vintage style, not vintage values.”

Historical costuming and reenactments can and should appreciate the best parts of history … but they also can’t glorify or bury the bad parts.

(featured image: capecodphoto/Getty Images)