The only thing spooky about these costumes is racism. Keep it cute this Halloween.
It’s Halloween weekend and around the world people are going to be dressing up for trick or treating, costume parties and nights out. And whilst the goal is to look scary, silly, or spooky, let’s make sure we leave the cultural appropriation and racism out of our get ready with me’s this year.
Culture is not a cute costume.
You’ve probably heard this said, but what does it look like, and why can’t you wear it? Let’s get into it.
Not that these are in any way good representations of Arabs or Persians, Native American’s, or Egyptians, but that is what they are supposed to be. The costume is simply being Persian, being Native, being Egyptian. Why do you dress up on Halloween? Usually it’s some sort of laugh - to look silly, to look scary. If it’s not for that, it’s to sexualise something - sexy nurse, sexy teacher. But let’s question it - why is a Native American funny to you? Because that’s why you’re dressed like that, to make your friends laugh, so why? Why do you reduce Middle Eastern women to sexualised caricatures? None of it is rooted in respect. And that’s fine, when you’re trying to look silly riding a dinosaur, or scary as a vampire, or sexy as an an angel. It’s not fine when we’re talking about real people with real lived experiences. Whilst you’re dressed as a sexy Middle Eastern stereotype, actual women in Iran are being gunned down for wanting to be treated with basic respect.
Racial stereotypes aren’t the scary you’re going for.
There’s cross over here. The cultural appropriation above is also a big no no because it’s a racial stereotype. But there’s other examples too.
To be brief: this is dehumanising. You have taken a whole group of people and reduced them to a stereotype to be laughed at. It’s also disrespectful - Rastafari is a globally recognised religious movement, the wearing of locs has religious significance to the followers. Costumes like this reduce all of that to a stereotype rooted in ridicule. Again, the question is - why is being Chinese, Mexican, or Jamaican funny? Why are their customs funny?
Blackface is racist. Yellowface is racist. Wearing a skin colour as a costume is racist.
I have no witty tagline for this one. If you’re planning a look and the plan is “wouldn’t it be funny if I showed up to this party and I’m just painted brown” - that is out and out racism. Our skin colour gets us killed, get’s us adultified and sexualised as children, negatively impacts our access to education and increases the likelihood we’ll see prison. Our skin colour has us laughed at and ridiculed, our features mocked, seen as lesser. Our skin colour isn’t a costume for you to put on and wash off at the end of the night. Again ask yourself, why do you think it is funny? Why is Black existence funny to you? Or silly? Or scary?
And some of you might think - well what if I’m dressing as a character? Julianne Hough was dressed as a character, does it not add to the look? The answer is simple, and apply it to all of the above:
If the look doesn’t work without a racial component, you’re making racism the joke.
And it’s not just racism to apply this thought to. If your costume is simply that you’re wearing a fat suit - why is dehumanising fat people funny to you? If your costume mocks disability - why is that funny to you? The general response is “it’s just a joke” but jokes have to be rooted in something, and all of these are rooted in disrespect. And that disrespect has real life consequences bigger than just hurt feelings.
So let’s keep it cute this Halloween!