In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, Halloween is today! It’s the time of year when people can express their creativity by spending hours doing their hair and makeup, kids run up and down the streets on a sugar high competing to get the most candy, and everyone and anyone can dress however they wish for the evening and answer “YOLO, it’s Halloween!” when asked about their costume.
Although I fully support kids and adults alike dressing up and wandering the streets having some laughs, there are some costumes that are not funny and can be seen as wildly inappropriate. Many of these costumes involve culture appropriation and the mocking of another culture.
According to Wikipedia, cultural appropriation is “the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group”. This can mean anything from using a slang word from another culture, or wearing outfits traditionally worn by certain cultures (ie. Kimonos, headdresses etc).
Cultural appropriation ties into Halloween because people may dress up in costumes that resemble the traditional outfits wore by a specific ethnic group. For example, someone could dress up as a “Sexy Indian”, wearing a feather headdress and a much sexier version of a traditional Native American outfit, as shown here:
By wearing a sexier version of Native clothing, the person wearing the costume is making light of the traditional clothing because that is not how Native people wear their clothes and the wearer is sexualizing the Native American culture.
Another example of a culturally incorrect costume is a “Sexy Geisha”. Geishas are an important part of Japanese culture, so by dressing as one and not showing the outfit the proper respect, the wearer is using part of Japanese culture and making it a joke.
In addition to the cultures of ethnic groups, some costumes aim to poke fun at religious cultures. This “sexy nun” costume in particular includes a flask which has “Bad Habit” written on it, in addition to a mock bible featuring “The Book of Holy Hammered” on the cover. This costume is quite sacrilegious and could be seen as highly offensive towards the Christian community.
In essence, using another culture’s traditional dress as a costume for Halloween is a big no-no. It can be seen as highly offensive and creates a negative reputation for the culture being portrayed. Think about your costume for a few minutes before wearing it and take a step forward by being sensitive to other people’s cultural and religious beliefs.
Just play it safe and dress as a Sexy Pack of Gum! Or even a Sexy Loofah!
Credits
Cover Picture, 1, 2, 3