It’s that time of the year again! The temperature is beginning to lower, the leaves are changing, fashion is at its peak, a.k.a the best season– fall! (Or autumn if you are little more pretentious.) In addition, fall has one of the best holidays–Halloween. Halloween is the perfect time to unapologetically eat loads of candy and treats without thinking about the consequences for at least 24 hours, watch spooky movies, and to dress up in a cool costume. However, before you pick something that you hope will dazzle the crowd, let’s keep some things in mind.
First off, someone else’s culture is not your costume. Taking elements of dress from other cultures as a way to costume yourself on Halloween for laughs and giggles is not okay. This is commonly called cultural appropriation. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, cultural appropriation is “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture1. For example, you may want to think twice before wearing a Native American headdress for Halloween and you are not Native American. However, if you are looking to dress up as someone that looks insensitive, then congratulations you have succeeded!
Now you may be wondering, why is this insensitive? This is insensitive because there are elements from other people’s cultures, such as clothing, tattoos, etc. that may have symbolic or even religious meanings, so wearing them as a costume for fun is disrespectful. In addition, most of these types of costumes are plainly stereotypical and offensive. If you have time, why don’t you Google search “Native American Halloween Costume”, “Mexican Halloween Costume” or even “Black Face Halloween Costume”? Just a quick search can show how terrible these costumes can be. There is a long history of minority groups being treated unjustly based on stereotypes, racial fetishism, or simply the color of their skin, so while you may think that a costume is innocent, it can actually contribute further to stereotypes that have actual real life consequences for minorities.
However, I do believe that there is a difference between cultural appropriation and culture appreciation. Culture appreciation is a good thing! We should be able to share our cultures with others because it allows for our worldviews to be expanded and is a nice way to recognize and honor diversity. A part of appreciating another culture is learning about what different symbols, clothing, etc. mean and taking part in them in a respectful and appropriate manner. Therefore, in order to be respectful and appropriate towards a different culture you should refrain from wearing it as a costume.
That being said, go out and have fun this Halloween! Eat so much candy that you are walking the line between pure euphoria and being sick to your stomach, watch nightmare inducing films, and wear a silly costume! Just be conscious of what you are wearing so you don’t cause offense. Happy fall, everyone!