AS Halloween is around the corner many are preparing for the holiday, planning costumes tricks and treats.
Halloween is a time for those who celebrate it to get excited over the seasonal activities; Pumpkin carving, sweets shopping trick or treating are the main agendas during this holiday, oh and of course, what costume to wear.
Many people of all ages take part and dress up for the holiday and that’s what makes Halloween so fun, the excitement of being somebody else.
However, some people have taken this out of context and have been distastefully offence with their costumes.
Halloween is not a time nor free pass to be racist, ignorant, offensive or a misogynist.
We live in a culturally diverse society with people from different backgrounds come together, so why in 2016 are some people failing to see that culture is not a costume? Why do year after year do people choose costumes that exploit other cultures or seek to alienate an entire gender?
In 2013 actress Julianne Hough sparked outrage when she was photographed wearing black face as part of a Halloween costume of Suzanne ‘crazy eyes’ from Orange Is the New Black.
Earlier this month Asda supermarket has been accused of cultural appropriation after selling a Halloween costume for the Mexican celebrated holiday Day of the Dead.
Critics have expressed that Halloween and Day of the Dead are completely different holidays and share no similarities.
The Mexican celebrated holiday Dia De Los Muertos is a holiday used to send love to lost friends or relatives who have passed away.
It has decorations filled with flowers, candles and food in memories of their loved ones. So unless you celebrate Day of the Dead and were raised in a Mexican culture, this costume is not appropriate as it may offend people.
Supermarkets Asda and Tesco were also criticised in 2013 after they sold ‘Mental Patient Halloween costume’ and a ‘Pyscho Ward’ adult costume.
The amount of backlash they got from people who were offended led to them having to withdraw this costume as it demonised mental illness.
Accessories like a knife filled with blood on it reinforced stereotypes of mentally ill patients as being these dangerous lunatics.
This Halloween, let’s try to be more conscious and considerate of our costume choices.
This can be done by analysing historical and cultural significance tied to certain clothing. This conscious decision will be less insensitive to peoples mental state, cultures or historic pain.
So before you make that order, ask yourself is my Halloween costume offensive?
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