So, i was planning on doing this video a lot later on in the month, but I realized that a lot of people are probably planning their Halloween costumes right now and I just wanted to stop you now before you made a fool out of yourself.
So, every year around this time we always seem to have a rash of people who want to feel a little ethnic for the evening and think Halloween is the perfect time for that.
You can be a Spicy Senorita
A China Man
An Indian Princess
Or a brave African Warrior!
Or… you could not be an insensitive jerk and recognize that cultures are NOT costumes
Look, I get the point of Halloween is to dress up as something you’re not and role play all night. I get it, I do.
but when your costume is parodying or poking fun at a culture that is not your own, I’m sorry but you’re kind of a jerk and you’re certainly not invited to my Halloween party.
Now, I’m the sort of person that likes to assume the best of people, I don’t want to assume that people who wear these costumes are racists. I’d like to just assume that you don’t know any better so let me go down a list of problematic costumes and tell you why they are:
While dressing as a sensitive geisha for the night, might be fun for you,
Asian women have to live with the geisha stereotype that says that they are quiet, submissive and subservient.
While wearing an Indian headdress may make your Native American themed costume more extravagant,
you’re ignoring the fact that the Native American Headdress is a sign of achievement that is cherished in many native communities.
Wearing it as a joke or as part of a costume is hella disrespectful.
Dressing up as an “Arabian” Terrorist may be a hit with all of your racist friends,
but people of middle eastern descent have to live with people assuming that they’re terrorists because of their race and how they may choose to practice their religions
One of the main reasons I’m making this video is because of the response to my black face video.
A lot of people were asking me if it was ok for them to darken their skin when playing a black character, or a character with darker complexion.
Now, first and foremost I wanted to say this:
I have no idea WHY when you look at a black character the biggest thing you take away is their skin color. I’m sorry, but if you can’t convincingly dress like a black character without darkening your skin tone, your costume is really bad and you should probably just not do it all together.
To be completely honest, I feel like there are some people that are just dying to paint their skin black and act like a black stereotype. I always hear this argument about how darkening their skin somehow makes their portrayal more accurate and I think that’s a massive excuse.
Black face has a long history of pain and hurt behind it, as do these other stereotypes we’ve discussed here.
I was Velma last year for Halloween. Everyone knew who I was. No one was confused because my look and my outfit were on point. So NO you shouldn’t be darkening your skin tone to play a character that’s black.
Lightening my skin never once came to my mind, even though the character is white. Because Velma is so much more than a nerdy white girl.
When the biggest thing you take away from a character is their race, that’s probably a costume you should veer away from.
You wear the COSTUME, not the race.
Look at these great cosplayers. You know exactly who they are even though they aren’t the original race of the character.
These costumes are amazing and clearly tell you who they’re supposed to be.
Look at problematic as hell, Miley Cyrus doing it right with her lil kim Haloween costume. When Miley Cyrus is being less racist than you then it’s time to look at your life and look at your decisions.
Look at Ellen who FLAWLESSLY dressed as Nicki Minaj one year.
Look at this adorable Tiana Frog Princess cosplay
One of my favorite Marvel Characters is Storm and this girl did a bang on job
You know who these characters are and you don’t need black face to communicate that.
A lot of Halloween costumes are manifestations of harmful racial stereotypes. Stereotypes that I’m sure lack a lot of context at this point in society, but are still just as offensive to the people of color who have to deal with these stereotypes in their day to day lives.
If your costume says “tribe” or “ethnic” or “traditional” or “authentic” on it, then the chances are you’re grabbing a problematic costume. And again if you wear it, you’re not invited to my party.
If you’d be embarrassed to be seen by a person of the race that you’re parodying then that’s a costume you probably shouldn’t wear.
At the end of the day, Halloween is supposed to be about FUN. There are so many costumes that you can wear that aren’t racist that do not require you to try on the culture of another person’s culture for an evening.
If you’re having fun at someone’s expense, then you’re sort of a jerk and you should examine why you feel entitled to wear a costume that you know is offensive to people of the race you’re parodying.
Like I said, I prefer to air on the side of people just not knowing better. So I hope this video stopped you from buying that racist Halloween costume.
And on that note PLEASE share this video to all of your problematic friends. I really don’t want to see a slew of articles and posts about NEW racist costumes. It’s 2014 and we should really be over this by now.
So ghouls and girls, be sure to have fun this Halloween and always remember and never forget that you are beautiful and you are loved… bye!! <3
Halloween is coming up guys. Time to find a costume that doesn’t make you look like a racist prick.
To add on:
For Motor City Comic Con last year, I went as Snow White. Can I tell you how many precious little angel faces came up to me asking their parents and me if they could get a picture with me!?!?! 3-6 year olds!
THEY DIDN’T SEE RACE! THEY SAW A COSTUME! AND THE COSTUME IS ALL THAT MATTERED TO THEM!
All they saw was Snow White. Can we not teach these young impressionable minds that they have to change how they look to fit a costume, or that it’s cool to do so, or even teaching them that they have to be a certain race/size to be a particular character? It’s not!
