Halloween comes with the immense freedom to personify whatever alter ego you’ve been reigning in the whole year. However, this opportunity to dress up comes with certain responsibilities. We’ve all heard about celebrities’ embarrassing costume scandals in the past, and chances are we’ll hear about more this year. Who could forget Heidi Klum’s rendition of a Hindu deity in 2008, or, most recently, Julianne Hough’s blackface last year? This Halloween, learn from the mistakes of said celebrities by steering clear of these costumes and makeup to avoid offending others.
1. Costumes that caricaturize an ethnic group As the amazing campaign from The Ohio State University explains, “We’re a culture, not a costume.” For example, “Mexican,” “Native American” or “Arab,” are definitely not costumes to wear this Halloween. Dressing up as a particular ethnic group often involves combining multiple offensive, racist stereotypes about a group of people – people who have to deal with those stigmas on a daily basis. Although you can wear the costume and laugh it off for only one night, it trivializes the real struggles of people who don’t have that luxury. This also includes avoiding vague costume names that include “tribal,” “ethnic” or “exotic.”
2. Costumes that sexualize an ethnic group If it has the prefix of “sexy” followed by the name of an ethnic group or a stereotype, you should probably stay away. Examples of this include “sexy geisha” or “sexy harem girl.” This is offensive on so many levels, and you risk the danger of misinterpreting or misrepresenting something of cultural or religious significance. Stop the fetish-ization and objectification of ethnic groups by not dressing up in these costumes for Halloween. There are plenty of other ways to play up the seductive vibe without offending people.
3. Costumes that trigger historical significance We hope this goes without saying, but everyone needs a little reminding: no swastikas or pointy white headdresses please. Keep Halloween fun for everyone by not bringing up painful memories or ethnic tensions with your costume. There are a plethora of options for costumes that aren’t associated with mass genocide or racism.
4. Costumes that portray mental illnesses “Mental patient,” “psych ward patient” or “Anna Rexia” are not funny, clever or cute. Mental illnesses are stigmatized enough in our society, and we don’t need offensive Halloween costumes to further that struggle. These costumes can also be especially triggering for people who are currently facing or have previously faced mental illnesses.
5. Costumes or makeup that changes your skin color “Blackface” and “yellowface” have a very problematic and controversial past in our country’s history. Please don’t be a part of the problem by dressing like these this Halloween. There are much more clever ways to express your costume choices without changing your skin color. You can dress up and accessorize all you want if you’re going for the look of a certain character or celebrity, but stay away from the body spray.
6. Costumes that portray acts of violence, assault or abuse that aren’t from works of fiction This one is super iffy because Halloween is supposed to be a night of frights and gore. But if you’re thinking of portraying an act of violence or assault that has been in the news recently, you should probably play it safe and steer clear. As a general rule of thumb, if you can think of a specific person – celebrity or otherwise – who has dealt with or committed the acts of violence that you’re considering, it probably won’t be an appropriate costume and you should look for another. A bruised Rihanna, a pedophilic priest, a prominent murder victim – just don’t do it out of respect for the victims. Pick another costume.
Keep your Halloween costume within good taste this year! You can avoid offensive costumes but still be as creatively seductive, demure, creative, cliché, scary or cute as you want. Have fun, collegiettes™!
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