After being accused of cultural appropriation and racism, Disney pulled a “Moana” costume from its online stores. The costume was only available for a few days, but it shouldn’t have been for sale in the first place.
The costume (pictured above) depicts a character named Maui and is primarily a suit of brown skin and tribal tattoos. People are outraged by the costume and are referring to it as “brownface.” Disney was also selling other apparel with similar designs, which was also pulled from all stores.
It is extremely offensive to wear another race/culture’s skin for any reason, and Halloween does not change this. When someone comes from a privileged race/culture (such as white Americans), he or she has not faced the same hardships as people who have been oppressed or marginalized. When privileged people wear different cultures as costumes, they still retain their privilege while appropriating the identities of others.
Some costumes might seem like they are paying homage to certain peoples, but that doesn’t stop them from being cultural appropriation. There are also a lot of costumes that are blatantly designed to mock individual races, which is extremely disrespectful as well.
Disney is not the only company guilty of using cultural appropriation in the costumes they sell. Retailers like Party City and Wal-Mart have costumes depicting Egyptians, Native Americans, Mexicans and more. In fact, Party City’s website has an entire category called “Native American Indians” on its list of themes. Most of the models wearing the costumes are white, and some of the dresses are sexualized. Marginalized cultures do not deserve to be reduced to silly Halloween costumes. All cultures are meaningful to the people who are part of them; don’t turn them into jokes. There are so many other costumes available, so there is no need to wear a costume that could be hurtful to other people. Halloween is meant to be fun for everyone, not just privileged people. Many stores sell a lot of really awesome costumes that anyone can wear and still have a good time. You can be a witch, a superhero, a flapper, a princess, a pirate and so much more. If you can’t find a costume you like in stores, you can always get creative and make your own! Homemade costumes can be much cheaper and are often so much more unique than store-bought costumes. Some of the best costumes I’ve ever worn were homemade. There was one year where my friends and I decided to dress up as reindeer and was one of the best Halloweens I’ve ever had! Even though Halloween is about a month away, it’s never too soon to start thinking about your costume! Make sure you’re respectful and considerate of others before you make or buy your costume. It’s very simple: if you think someone might be hurt or offended by your costume, it’s best to come up with a new idea.