Where Do We Draw The Line Between Costumes & Cultural Appropriation?

Flashback to 2016, when the movie Moana was all the rave. In response to its popularity, Disney did what it always does: release costumes of the main characters just in time for Halloween. Except, the Maui costume did not include just his clothes or accessories, but his brown, tattooed skin. Yeah. Let’s talk about it. 

According to The Washington Post, the costume received mixed reviews. While many Pacific Islanders were appalled that their identity was being commercialized and appropriated so flippantly, others shrugged it off as “not a big deal,” considering it was representing a specific character and not an entire culture. 

With all these different opinions, how do we decide which costumes are permissible and which ones aren’t?

Cultural appropriation takes place when a group or person ignorantly adopts the traditions, customs and beliefs of another, particularly when it is someone historically privileged taking from someone historically oppressed. Compared to appreciation, which occurs when a person learns about another culture and honors its beliefs, appropriation is guided by self-interest only. We can see cultural appropriation unfolding in almost every facet of modern society, including fashion, beauty, music and art, but some of the most hotly debated examples come out on Halloween.

Trends like blackface and Native American headdresses have been widely denounced, but less obvious costumes are also being called into question. Ninja, gypsy, geisha and Día de Muertos costumes used to be Halloween go-to’s, but recently, people have condemned them for perpetuating harmful clichés and contributing to the erasure of their cultural significance. In 2004, a school district in Washington State went as far as to completely abstain from celebrating Halloween, claiming that stereotypical depictions of the holiday were offensive to those practicing Wiccan and Pagan religions. 

The conversation becomes even more complex when we consider movie and pop culture characters. Prior to the Maui debate, costumes of Aladdin, Pocahontas and Mulan were also facing the same criticism of cultural insensitivity. Is it therefore only acceptable to dress up as people of the same race as ourselves? Or are we trying to be too politically correct?

Even for social justice warriors, it may seem extreme to restrict Halloween costumes to this extent. The United States is a multiracial nation and is constantly being shaped by different ethnic influences, so it’s reasonable for people to glean inspiration from various cultures. However, while the distinction between culturally appropriative and appreciative attitudes can be fairly clear in conversation, it’s less easy to discern just from someone’s costume. You never know who you might come across on Halloween, so when deciding what you’re going to dress up as, it might be best to avoid anything that even has you questioning whether it’s okay or not. 

Critics of these limitations claim, “It’s only a Halloween costume,” but the thing is, it’s not. We don’t get to decide what is insensitive to a culture or group if we are not a part of it. Reducing a moment of ignorance to “just a joke” or “a bit of fun” contributes to the issue of appropriation. Some Pacific Islanders take no offense to the Maui costume, but some do, and that’s where we need to direct our focus. We can still have fun without supporting disrespectful stereotypes of cultures we don’t fully understand. This Halloween, and every day thereafter, be mindful of how your actions are exacerbating or mitigating the problem and remember that someone’s culture is never a costume.

• costumes
• cultural appropriation
• culture
• fall
• halloween
• holidays