Halloween week has arrived and with it comes copious amounts of candy and the pressure to find just the perfect costume. However, all one has to do is walk into any give party store to find that the Halloween costumes are becoming more and more offensive. When did we as a society start losing sight of what Halloween is supposed to be all about? When did we start turning it from a holiday all about fun and creativity to a holiday in which we mimic and mock others? The eve of All Saints’ Day, Halloween, as it has become known was when witches, goblins, black cats, and ghosts were said to roam around at night, hence the traditional Halloween costumes that many of us have donned at some point in our lives. However, there has been a growing trend in Halloween costumes that tend to stray far from this tradition and become offensive. Costumes that enforce stereotypes or mock religious, racial, and ethnic customs have become increasingly popular through the ages. In response to this, there is a growing movement among colleges and the nation to address and begin conversations regarding the offensiveness of Halloween costumes. One such movement is the Dress With Respect Campaign that began right here at Boston College last year. The campaign has since gained popularity not only on campus but nationwide as well, as it was featured on USA TODAY.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Natali Soto, creator of the Dress with Respect Campaign, to talk more about the amazing impact this campaign has had.
How did the campaign begin? What inspired it?
The campaign started last year in response to a conversation I had with other members in ALC regarding costumes that had appeared on BC’s campus during Halloween 2011 and in previous years as well. We saw a growing concern for this among students and we wanted to advocate for the student body by being proactive rather than reactive. In council, we started to talk about what makes an offensive costume and decided that we should open up the discussion to the rest of the BC community.
How does the campaign work? What are the different components?
We wanted to find creative ways in which to spread this message and start this conversation without telling students what is and what is not offensive. At the proxy stations in O’Neill Plaza we have pictures of popular Halloween costumes and ask people to mark “yes” if they personally find the costumes offensive,“no” if they do not, or “unsure”. Some of the pictures are split 50/50 which sparks a discussion among the students at the stations. Students are able to see that even if they don’t fine the costumes personally offensive, some of our peers might, so it’s important to be cognizant of how our costumes might be perceived by others. In addition, we asked student leaders and administrators to pledge to dress respectfully and feature them on a banner and fliers across campus. This helps spread our message to a wider audience across campus. The majority of the campaign’s attention comes from our Facebook page. We post our student leaders’ pledges and fun updates like our Halloween Costume contest!
What response have you seen to the campaign?
Some students didn’t understand the message at first and asked us why we were trying to take the fun out of Halloween, which is not what we are trying to do at all. Halloween is supposed to be fun weekend, but there has been an increase in some insensitive costumes in the past several years. Sometimes students feel that their religion, identity, race, or sexual identity is being made fun of in some manner. I love Halloween and I want it to be a fun holiday for everyone to celebrate and not have people be offended by the costumes of others.
How have you seen the campaign grow?
The campaign has been featured on USA TODAY and was also written about in several student publications. Other colleges have also reached out to us and asked us if they can use our logo for their campaigns. It’s great to see that this is spreading and that people are having these conversations.
There are many ways to get involved with this amazing campaign and the first is to like the Facebook page and pledge to dress with respect this Halloween. The proxy stations will take place Tuesday through Thursday from 12pm to 2pm at O’Neil Plaza. They are also having a Halloween costume contest and more details about that can also be found on the Facebook page. Before you put on that costume(s) this Halloween just take a few seconds to think about how others would feel if they saw the costume. Keep the fun in Halloween and leave the offensiveness behind.
Photo Sources:
Natali Soto