Halloween, the spookiest time of the year, is almost upon us. Watching scary movies, carving faces into pumpkins, and dressing up in elaborate costumes are just some of Halloween’s most fun traditions. But there’s another tradition that tends to rear its ugly head almost every year, and that’s really bad Halloween costumes. There’s always at least one person (celebrities included) whose Halloween costume is insensitive, problematic, and downright offensive.
A quick rule of thumb: cultures are never costumes. Dressing up as someone from a specific culture, especially one that is marginalised, is a form of cultural appropriation and can even be considered racist. The same goes for dressing up as events like the Covid-19 pandemic, natural disasters, mass shootings, or movements such as #MeToo or Black Lives Matter. These costumes make light of serious events, and minimise the long-term effects many people still endure because of them.
