So. Are you planning on dressing up for Halloween this year? Worried about accidentally offending someone with your costume? Everyone knows that race is a sensitive topic these days. Which is a good thing because racism is NOT okay! I, as a white person, have been trying my hardest to avoid being racist in every way possible. So here I am to tell you a few costumes NOT to wear this Halloween. White person to white person.
1. American Indians
Okay. Everybody knows the Trail of Tears story. But American Indians have gone through waaaaay more than just that since the English have taken over North America. Their struggles are terrible, just do a little research on it. You also shouldn’t wear anything that even resembles their cultural dress. That stuff is sacred. Don’t be a jerk.
2. Geishas
Yeah. This is another big one. This is traditional dress. Using this as a costume, whether it’s the clothes or the face makeup, is probably not the best idea in the world.
3. Gypsies
Man, I’m not even going to get into this one. People have argued with me over this in so many ways it’s astounding. Not to mention exhausting. Just don’t dress as a gypsy.
4. Mariachi Band
Dude, dressing as Hispanics and Latinas is just not cool. Get your crap together. Sorry not sorry. Their culture and them as people are not costumes. Also, sugar skull makeup is a no.
5. Eskimos
Yeahhhhhhh. This one usually wouldn’t be thought of, but it actually falls into the cultural appropriation costume section. There are many different tribes of people that live in/near the Arctic. None of them are a costume.
There are way more than five costumes that play into cultural appropriation, but these are the ones I have seen most often in the past eighteen years of my Halloween experiences. Other costumes you should avoid are ones that can be: transphobic, sexist, xenophobic, etc… To sum it up, use your common sense and respect other people, no matter who or what they are.
*All images courtesy of Pinterest