by Maria Ashe

In just a couple of days, we’ll be celebrating one of the most exciting holidays of the fall season, Halloween! For many people, one of the most exciting parts of Halloween is getting to dress up. However, sometimes a seemingly harmless costume can actually end up being quite offensive, even if it’s not your intention to offend someone. When picking out a costume this year, try and avoid the following costumes. 

This one might be a no-brainer to some, but Native American Costumes are quite problematic for a lot of reasons.  Costumes like these are often inaccurate to the true traditional wear of Native American cultures, and in addition they perpetuate the idea that all Native American cultures are the same, which is actually false. Native Americans are a variety of cultural groups all over North America, from present day Canada and the United States. In the United States alone, there are 573 federally recognized tribal governments. And in the 2020 census, 3.7 million people, or 1.1 percent, reported American Indian or Alaskan Native ancestry. Unfortunately, there is a perception that Native culture is a “thing of the past” and nobody will be offended because of this; however, many Native Americans have expressed a desire to keep their cultures alive and still engage in cultural practices today. Each tribe has their own unique cultural customs and ways of life. Wearing something like this costume dismisses that long standing history and plays on negative stereotypes that mock a real culture. Someone else’s culture should not be worn as a costume. 

Another infamous costume is the sombrero and poncho combo. This costume is harmful because it portrays the Mexican community in a negative way and yet again pushes stereotypes about the Mexican community that fuels prejudice and discrimination, and reduces Mexicans to a caricature. Just like other cultures, Mexicans are not a monolith. Their culture is rich with a variety of diverse people and experiences. Costumes like these are intended to be “funny” however ask yourself, what exactly makes a sombrero and poncho so funny? If your joke hinges on the mockery of another culture, then it’s  probably not very funny.  You’ll also want to steer clear of the Rastafari costumes this year. The costumes are a distasteful misrepresentation of Rastafari, a widespread political and religious movement that came out of Jamaica. Oftentimes, these costumes will promote negative stereotypes about Jamaicans as well, as they push the idea that they are unmotivated and not to be taken seriously, contributing to a misunderstanding about what Jamaican culture truly is. 

If you’re wondering, can I still dress up as a character who is from another culture? The answer is most certainly yes. Everyone should be allowed to dress up as a character who they like, even if that character isn’t of their own ethnicity. However, what you’ll want to be careful with is how you approach it. Say you want to dress up as Jasmine from Aladdin. That’s great! But do you need to paint your skin brown and wear traditional Indian clothing that is in no way similar to Jasmine’s clothing to get the point across? No, definitely not. By doing this, you are instead appropriating something of cultural significance, and passing it off as a costume when it in fact is not. Instead, simply purchase or create a costume that is accurate to Jasmine’s actual look from the movie, and skip the face paint. Halloween should be a fun, comfortable experience for everyone. By being mindful about what kind of costume you choose, everyone can be a part of the fun. 

(At this time, The HHS 2023-2024 Halloween Costume policies have not yet been shared. Please keep an eye on the school announcements and wait for administrators to confirm whether or not costumes can be worn inside of school.)