Over the years, countless American children have worn costumes of other cultures to celebrate Halloween. For example, a young white girl may watch Disney’s “Pocahontas” and decide she wants to dress herself in a feathered headband and a fake buckskin dress. This is a common but extremely stereotypical depiction of native Americans. If her parents are uninformed, they will likely make no attempt to stop her.
This sort of cultural appropriation is extremely common during Halloween, and the groups being stereotyped often speak out against it. Over the years, online movements have arisen using the phrase: “My culture is not your costume.” People use this expression to criticize those who wear offensive cultural costumes as if they are a mask for their own entertainment.
These sorts of Halloween costumes aren’t just insensitive; they can also have very harmful effects. By reinforcing these stereotypes, cultural appropriation exacerbates the unconscious urge to assume one thing is true about an entire group of people.
For example, a “Mexican” costume that comes with a sombrero and a mustache teaches those who see it, especially young children, that this is a correct portrayal of the average Mexican person and that it’s tolerable to stereotype. This could not be farther from the truth, as there is not one kind of “average” Mexican individual.
This dehumanization on Halloween can unfortunately go beyond perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
Recently, Target faced backlash after adding a “circus clown” costume to their Halloween catalogue. Those who saw the costume immediately began to criticize its resemblance to costumes worn by performers in 19th-century minstrel shows.
Target quickly removed the costume from its assortment and put out a public apology on Facebook, but many individuals believed that it never should have been sold in the first place.
“A Jim Crow-era minstrel costume is not simply getting it wrong. It is a profoundly harmful symbol of racism that should never have been designed, approved or sold by Target. It shows that Target still lacks corporate diversity among decision-makers and needs concrete internal change,” said Jamal Bryant, a Georgia pastor who recently initiated a boycott against Target because of its elimination of DEI programs.
In the future, it’s important to have respect and awareness when it comes to Halloween costumes. Before posting or deciding on an outfit, consider if you might be accidentally misrepresenting and/or stereotyping a group of people.
