Our View: A little forethought — and a healthy sense of humor — can help students draw the line between acceptable costumes and offensive racial stereotypes.
This year, in preparation for Halloween, a group of students from Ohio University designed a poster campaign with the title, “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume.” The posters show students of different ethnicities holding up pictures of Halloween costumes designed to represent their culture, with the tagline, “This is not who I am, and this is not okay.”
Halloween costumes have long been targeted as too risque or as degrading to women, but complaints about cultural insensitivity are just now starting to share that spotlight. And some of these costumes do seem to be blatantly offensive. But not all costumes themed after a certain culture should automatically be lumped together into the “culturally insensitive” category.
It’s about the difference between appreciating and engaging in another culture, and openly mocking it. A beautifully put together and accurate costume depicting a Japanese kimono does not carry the same message as a greasy-haired “Guido” or pants-sagging “Cholo.”
One represents a recognition of the beautiful and intriguing aspects of a different culture — in some cases, even a genuine understanding of and interest in that culture — and the other is a cheap joke based on exaggerated and insensitive racial stereotypes.
But the poster campaign suggests an interesting argument against even a respectful representation of any culture: that these representations foster the boiling down of all the history, diversity and varied facets of these cultures into a few simplified and easily recognizable symbols, a caricature.
And the point has been made that this cultural appropriation can in itself be harmful, as it perpetuates the ability of a more privileged group to co-opt the traditions, appearance or practices of a group without considering, acknowledging or experiencing that group’s history of suffering and abuse.
The U.S. committed genocide against Native American peoples, the black population and even immigrant groups that we no longer discriminate against — Italian Americans, for example — have faced from serious societal disadvantages. In most cases, wearing a costume that represents these cultures, even respectfully, is simply playing dress-up without any thought to the actual people who make up that culture, which makes light of the very real problems of privilege and inequality in our country.
Still, we shouldn’t go too far in reading sociopolitical messages into popular institutions, particularly light-hearted holidays such as Halloween.
Halloween is about representing and then mocking the things that offend or scare people — a way to make light of the fear inherent in our lives and the darkness inherent in humanity. But mostly, it’s about eating candy until you feel sick, dressing like a sexy Bud Light and having a good time with friends.
So during the Halloween festivities today, just take a moment to look around you and think about where the line lies between a fun appreciation for another culture and an unthinking, even mocking, appropriation of a culture. It doesn’t need to be specific, just a general idea: Face painting representing Dia de los Muertos skulls is probably OK; a sexy Native American costume is definitely not.
A little consideration this year will help make sure future Halloweens are more about scary movies and too much candy, and less about a few people’s ignorant and offensive decisions.
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braceyourself 6 months, 4 weeks ago
"The U.S. committed genocide against Native American peoples, the black population and even immigrant groups that we no longer discriminate against — Italian Americans, for example"
This article was ridiculous, honestly...you really don't think Italian Americans don't face discrimination when "guido" is a culturally accepted term? Where do you get off deciding what costumes are and are not appropriate? You can deem Native American costumes as inappropriate and then (in the very same breath) say that costumes "co-opt"-ing Mexican cultural traditions is alright.
And the distinction between a beautifully put-together costume? Really? So you're basically saying that only people with the financial capacity to recreate masterful costumes deserve to "appropriate cultures?" That spits in the face of "privilege" discourse.
oudaily99 6 months, 4 weeks ago
No one has the right not to be offended, and you are not anyone's moral compass. This would be better presented from the angle of someone who feels mocked and offended. It is then up to the reader to decide how he/she will react, if it all. In my opinion, no one should be offended by a thoughtless costume worn with no harmful intentions. By making this an issue, you and the other alarmists are actually contributing to its offensiveness, as if to tell not only the people wearing costumes that they are offensive, but to also tell the cultures their costumes represent that they SHOULD be offended. Though your intentions may not be negative, and for that I don't blame you, this is a selfish, counter-productive attempt at nobility.
ohyou9033 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Any way you approach the idea of Halloween in the 21st century, it's offensive.
Like most holidays contemporary culture celebrates in America today, Halloween is driven by consumerism. If someone can make money by selling a "sexy indian" Halloween costume, he or she will do it.
I'm sure beer companies show a greater yield of profit for the month of October.
Whether one chooses to dress in what is essentially a speedo or a bra and panties is not your problem. Don't go to the party and don't subject yourself to the image. I don't agree with it, but I'm not trying to talk people out of it.
The world is offensive and as long as we have all of these great rights in the United States of America, our country will never be completely PC. Even so, I think that's a better alternative to oppressing laws so I don't offend someone who MIGHT now agree with me.