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A very interesting and thought-provoking article, made all the more relevant to my perspective due to its Asian authorship. It does resurrect some issues that have been points of discussion previously here, such as the question of whether or not attiring oneself in the mode of another culture implies that one embraces all aspects of said culture.
Personally, I agree with the author of the article in thinking that the Steampunk movement/subculture/aesthetic is one of possibilities and historical revisionism. As such, I do not feel that it should necessarily be perceived as buying into the more unsavory aspects of the Victorian culture upon which it is based. On a related note, I find the author's noting the romanticization of the Medieval-Renaissance period creates a parallel with the similar treatment afforded the Victorian Era, which suggests that aficionados of the latter are not exclusive in their 'whitewashing' of history.
So long as individuals have an awareness of and rejection for past cultural transgressions I see no reason why they should feel prohibited from creatively indulging in the more harmless venues of art, fashion, and liturature inspired by these time periods. And, as in all cultures and subcultures, there will a plethora of mediocre if not downright awful works produced that demonstrate a tenuous and/or commercialized knowledge of what the culture represents (I am thinking in this case of all those terrible teenage vampire and werewolf novels in relation to goth, alas!). However, there will always be a select number of works that stand out as superior examples.
It was quite enlightening to read about the evolution of the author's interest in Steampunk, including her questioning of whether or not her involvement in the movement would somehow violate her ethnic history. In the end, it is a personal decision about the extent to which you allow your feelings about the past to interfere with your self-expression and aesthetic preferences.
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