Wearing certain costumes disrespects cultures, customs
Whether it’s super scary, a wild pop culture reference, something sexy or outrageously hilarious, Halloween is a chance for students to get crazier than they usually do. Unfortunately, costumes can get controversial and by that I mean stereotypical and racist.
Danielle Wiley
We’ve all seen costumes of the “party Mexican,” with the sombrero, poncho and gross mustache holding a tequila bottle, or what about the “traditional Chinese woman” costume, with the long silk dress and the rice fan. The costume that hits closest to home in North Idaho is the stereotypical Native American costume — the one with the scanty brown leather clothes, plastic beads and fake headdress. These costumes should be avoided at all costs, because all they do is perpetuate horrible racial stereotypes while taking away the cultural importance of certain items.
The Native American headdress is a great example, since it’s become increasingly popular thanks to Coachella — a famous three-day music festival. What most people don’t know is that headdresses were only worn by the most powerful and influential members of a tribe. According to tribaldirectory.net, tribes used crow, hawk and eagle feathers in headdresses. A golden eagle feather was the mark of an honored warrior.
“An Indian warrior earned a feather for each courageous act he accomplished. The more brave acts he completed the more feathers he earned. Each feather had a special meaning to the warrior, and binding feathers to the headdress was particularly meaningful,” according to the site.
It’s inappropriate to don headdresses and other culturally significant items of clothing just for fun. Unless you are part of that culture and have earned the right to wear those items, don’t wear them. Even if it’s for one night, stealing from a culture to look cute or funny mocks a whole group of people.
That’s not to say you can’t ever dress as a person from another race. There are a few circumstances where one can dress up as another race and it is socially acceptable. One case is cosplaying a character who is a different race than you.
For example, last Halloween, famous actress Julianne Hough — known for her role in “Rock of Ages” and the most recent “Footloose” movie — dressed up with a group of friends as the cast from “Orange is the New Black,” and she played Crazy Eyes.
Crazy Eyes, in case you have yet to enjoy “Orange is the New Black,” is an African-American character known for her tight pigtails and crazy facial expressions. Hough wore an orange jumpsuit, did her hair just like the character’s and painted her face dark (it was not black makeup in the likings of a minstrel show). Hough faced instant criticism from her peers, because they thought she was inappropriately dressed.
Hough was not mocking another race, she was sticking true to a character. Crazy Eyes’ race is a major part of her backstory and is a part of who she is. By dressing up and wearing dark makeup, Hough was only representing the character, not African Americans as a whole.
Dressing up to represent a character is not cultural appropriation. For instance, if someone who is not Chinese or Japanese decided to dress up as O-Ren Ishii, the Japanese-Chinese American crime boss from “Kill Bill,” and wore a silk black wig and pale makeup in the fashion of Ishii, that’s okay. To say Ishii is anything but Chinese and Japanese is offensive to her awesome character.
If you want to dress up as Sacagawea and wear the clothes she would have worn and accurately represent her, that’s respectful. It’s the same story if someone wanted to dress as Emiliano Zapata or Pancho Villa — two famous Mexican Revolutionaries.
The goal is to not perpetuate a stereotype, but to give tribute to a character.
Halloween is a night of fantasy and anyone can be whomever they want, so let’s keep it fun for everyone. Think twice before buying a costume and ask, “Would I be embarrassed to wear this costume around certain groups of people?” If the answer is yes, put it back on the rack and pick something else.
Danielle Wiley can be reached at [email protected]