It’s spooky season again, which means that many children, teenagers and even adults are preparing and coordinating their Halloween costumes. But every year like clockwork, there’s always one too many people who show up as a “Pow Wow Princess” or a “Sexy Geisha.” Cultural appropriation has become a hot topic in the past few years as the general awareness of racial insensitivity has continued to increase. Cultural appropriation is also not always easy to define, and many people have gotten into heated debates over whether an accessory or behavior is actually offensive. But why do these conversations even matter in the first place?
Cultural appropriation, to put it simply, occurs when a person adopts elements of another culture without respecting the original culture. This act almost always involves a power imbalance, as it is typically the dominant culture that is taking advantage of a minority culture (that being said, minorities can still appropriate other minority cultures). Some widely agreed upon examples of cultural appropriation are box braids, bindis and Native American headdresses. Not only do all of these things have significant meanings to their respective cultures, but they have also been weaponized by people in power to oppress these minority groups. When the same people in power then use these cultural elements for their personal aesthetic, they are essentially mocking the original culture.
For those who are not Native American, it can be easy to just throw on a “tribal outfit” and feathers for one night of the year. But Native Americans cannot take off their identity. They will continue to suffer from the systems of oppression that have been erasing their history and their people for the past four centuries. The same principles apply to the Black community, the Asian community, the Latinx community, etc. When these cultures are appropriated (mostly by white people), it adds further insult to injury and can also perpetuate harmful stereotypes about the original culture. This further dehumanizes and others the people of that culture, contributing to their overall oppression.
Of course, not everyone is going to agree on what counts as cultural appropriation and what doesn’t. This is because no culture is a monolith, and individuals will have their own opinions. If you’re wondering whether or not your Halloween costume is offensive, the best thing to do is to listen to the voices of the culture in question. In recent years, online campaigns such as #notyourcostume and #mycultureisnotyourcostume have helped to spread awareness on what culturally insensitive tropes to avoid when choosing your spooky season gear. It is always important to uplift marginalized voices when discussing these issues, because at the end of the day, they are the ones who are affected the most.