Why It’s Not Okay to Dress Up as a Black Person for Halloween

Lady Gaga, the Jersey Shore cast and the gang from Avatar are expected to be this year’s most popular Halloween costumes. But some folks aren’t interested in dressing up as a pop culture icon or even a traditional ghost or goblin. Instead, they use Halloween as a time to flaunt racial stereotypes by dressing up as a black person, a Geisha girl, a sexy Pocahontas or an Islamic terrorist. Yes, all of these costumes exist and, yes, they’re all offensive. Why?

Let’s start with the black person costume. In Halloween world, “African American” is synonymous with “ghetto.”  Kohl’s Corp. demonstrated this when it featured a “Ghetto fab” wig in its online Halloween store. Because the wig consisted of a short curly Afro, there was public pressure for Kohl’s to pull the item from its stock because the name suggested that African-American hair is “ghetto” hair.  Due to the controversy, Kohl’s eventually removed the “Ghetto fab” wig from its collection.

“We are both embarrassed and apologize for the offensive nature of the merchandise description,” said Vicki Shamion, Kohl’s senior vice president of public relations, in a statement.

Kohl’s may be embarrassed by the gaffe, but the hordes of revelers who dress up as other ethnic groups on Halloween don’t seem to get why racial drag is offensive. The main reason such costumes prove insensitive is because they’re deeply rooted in stereotypes. When people choose to dress as “African American” on Halloween, they don’t don business suits or ball gowns, they wear lots of gaudy jewelry and outfits that look like a cross between a pimp and a gangster rapper. These costumes speak volumes about how the wearers view black people. The same goes for when someone chooses to go as a Muslim for Halloween. In Halloween word, Muslim equals suicide bomber.

Other Halloween costumes have a way of erasing history, such as the sexy Indian maiden costumes that have become staples in costume stores. When the Americas were settled by European colonists, scores of Native American women were sexually victimized. The flirty Indian maiden costumes, however, paint these women as sexually seductive types who lured white men into their traps. In Halloween world, these women were aggressors and not victims. And the related cowboy and Indian costumes make light of how the arrival of European colonists in the New World initiated the decimation of America’s indigenous peoples.

So, is it ever appropriate to dress as a person of another race for Halloween? It depends. The more specific you are the better. It’s perfectly fine to go as Bruce Lee for Halloween, but it’s not okay to go as a generic Asian guy, especially if the latter involves taping your eyes back and donning buck teeth a la Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. If you’re unsure about whether or not your costume is racially offensive, ask yourself if it promotes racial stereotypes. If it does, opt for a different costume.

Photo Credit: Charlotte Marillet