It wouldn’t be Halloween without backlash against controversial costumes.
In 2016, sexy Donald Trump, Caitlyn Jenner, and various Cecil the Lion costumes made headlines. There were also multiple people taken to task on social media for wearing blackface when dressing up like African-American musicians like Nicki Minaj and Kanye West.
Let’s look at some of the top controversial costumes of the past years and how exactly they’ve created a divide in society.
Caitlyn Jenner
A “Call Me Caitlyn” costume that recreates Jenner’s iconic Vanity Fair cover was called “transphobic,” especially when it was sold under some websites’ “Humorous” costume category.
A costume of such creates a divide in society when it suggests a mockery behind the transition of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner. This not only affects the individual directly but also affects all members of the LGBTQ community. If members are openly being ridiculed on social media, Halloween gatherings or in person, they will feel afraid to be their true selves in which can cause a sense of isolation from society.
Cecil the Lion Killer Dentist
Not only is there a Cecil the lion costume, but there is a “Lion Killer Dentist” costume modeled after Walter Palmer, the hunter who killed the beloved Zimbabwe lion. This costume comes with a severed lion’s head mask, bloody gloves and a bloody smock.
After an uproar ensued about the “tasteless” costume, PETA responded with a costume of its own called “Cecil’s Revenge.” The costume features a dentist being attacked from behind by a plush lion.
As for costumes about animal insensitivity, PETA’s response to this arrogance was only one of many. These replies not only create a discomfort between costume distributing companies and PETA but makes PETA and other non profit organizations feel as if their hard work is having no impact in society. There was a massive uproar in society and social media on the death about the Zimbabwe lion and to laugh at the death of others pain is just sad.
Nicki Minaj and Kanye West
Since as long as anyone can remember children have been dressing up like characters and figures they look up to such as Superman, Batman, Elvis etc.
However, this has been taken to a new extreme. Multiple posts have emerged on social media of people dressing up as Kanye West, Nicki Minaj etc, which would not be offensive if they had not painted themselves in black paint. Many people have received a great deal of criticism on social media as a result of this arrogant behavior.
An uproar of this sort attacks a certain race group in society which isolates them in comparison to the rest of the world. This sort of isolation and mockery results in a drift in society in which race and ethnicity become a problem instead of the belief in equality of all.
It is so so important that ignorance and arrogance be put aside when celebrating holidays. Everyone wishes to enjoy Halloween the same as the next person but when a few individuals choose to ignore others wishes and beliefs and ridicule them, it creates a change in society that instead of taking us two steps towards the future, brings us five steps back to history.