Halloween is a holiday we all look forward to, and in the correct setting, provides us with many opportunities to express our unique identities. However, it is also a minefield for those of us who have the threat of cultural appropriation looming over us like Harvey Weinstein leering at a casting couch. If you are devoid of progressive sensibilities, you might very well end up stepping on an unseen hazard (because of the minefield metaphor), hearing a brief yet sinister tutting sound, before the devastating explosion of offense erupts around you.
DON’T:
Assume that fantasy monsters are an acceptable costume. Your friend has told you they plan to attend the campus Halloween Ball as a zombie from The Walking Dead, hey what a cool idea! WRONG. Do you think leprosy is cool? Well is it? Also, dressing up as someone who is technically dead is a huge trigger for anyone who has lost a beloved relative. Tell your friend to rethink this horrendously insensitive notion and encourage them to create a more appropriate monster costume, for instance ‘Bad Orange Man’, ‘Bad Orange Man Supporter’ or ‘Pro-lifer’.
DON’T:
Dress as an animal…unless you are a member of the noble Furry community. Don’t dress as Freddy Krueger unless you’ve been convicted of child molestation. Don’t dress as a demonic nun unless you’ve attended at least one satanic black mass in which you gave your body and soul to the Dark Lord. Don’t dress as a vampire if you have no experience of being afflicted with anaemia and/or immortality. I could go on, but surely by now, you get the general idea.
All of this is pretty straight-forward, but unfortunately it stills needs to be repeated. Almost any costume has a risk of causing offense. To anyone who is still unsure, I would suggest simply dressing up as yourself. However, to play it completely safe this year, I’m going as ‘Blackface Justin Trudeau’.
The easily-triggered should be encouraging people to get it all out of their systems on Halloween. Then they won't have to be scared the other 364 days of the year.
Halloween is a holiday we all look forward to, and in the correct setting, provides us with many opportunities to express our unique identities. However, it is also a minefield for those of us who have the threat of cultural appropriation looming over us like Harvey Weinstein leering at a casting couch. If you are devoid of progressive sensibilities, you might very well end up stepping on an unseen hazard (because of the minefield metaphor), hearing a brief yet sinister tutting sound, before the devastating explosion of offense erupts around you.
DON’T:
Assume that fantasy monsters are an acceptable costume. Your friend has told you they plan to attend the campus Halloween Ball as a zombie from The Walking Dead, hey what a cool idea! WRONG. Do you think leprosy is cool? Well is it? Also, dressing up as someone who is technically dead is a huge trigger for anyone who has lost a beloved relative. Tell your friend to rethink this horrendously insensitive notion and encourage them to create a more appropriate monster costume, for instance ‘Bad Orange Man’, ‘Bad Orange Man Supporter’ or ‘Pro-lifer’.
DON’T:
Dress as an animal…unless you are a member of the noble Furry community. Don’t dress as Freddy Krueger unless you’ve been convicted of child molestation. Don’t dress as a demonic nun unless you’ve attended at least one satanic black mass in which you gave your body and soul to the Dark Lord. Don’t dress as a vampire if you have no experience of being afflicted with anaemia and/or immortality. I could go on, but surely by now, you get the general idea.
All of this is pretty straight-forward, but unfortunately it stills needs to be repeated. Almost any costume has a risk of causing offense. To anyone who is still unsure, I would suggest simply dressing up as yourself. However, to play it completely safe this year, I’m going as ‘Blackface Justin Trudeau’.