Last October, a sorority group at Penn State generated huge a controversy by celebrating Halloween with a Mexican-themed party wearing sombreros, ponchos, and fake mustaches. Two members held signs that wrote: “Will mow lawn for weed + beer” and “I don’t cut grass. I smoke it” The picture went viral and sparking debate over the line between fun and offensive.
Frankly, Halloween
was, well, possible still is, one of my favorite "festivities" in the
U.S. It is a fun night to dress up, get some candies, and maybe go out to a
Halloween party. Many people, including me, normally might not think about playing
dress up for a fun holiday could reduce a culture to a caricature, but sadly,
sometimes it does.
After circling around the Halloween store and seeing several inappropriate costumes– mental patient, terrorist (I just saw a Bin Laden costume at Walmart), indian, geisha, "white trash"– I started to think where is the line between an appropriate costume for a fun night, and an inappropriate costume that may offend others.
So what is wrong with dressing up as Mexicans with sombreros and offensive signs? What is wrong with dressing up as a geisha with sexual clothing? What’s wrong with dressing up as an African American with black face? Those are all caricatures of someone’s culture or ethnicity. The offensive stereotypes and insensitive acts are conveying a lack of awareness and sensitivity to one’s feeling, experience, heritage and histories.
Last winter in Margie's class, we had a class discussion on the Ohio University STARS campaign "We're a Culture, Not a Costume" -- an awareness campaign launched by the Ohio University with an aim to create a better sense of a respectful and inclusive community for all cultures. This year, several universities,
including University of Colorado Boulder, have suggested students to avoid
wearing "offensive" costumes, such as "over-sexualised"
costumes and themes including "ghetto" or "hillbilly".
So, to answer my own question, I believe the line falls into whether the costume portrays negative and derogatory stereotypes of an ostracized culture, as well as the intention. Stereotypes do not just happen in one specific incident. It appears in our daily life. The “We’re not a Costume” campaign may not stop racism, but it has certainly generated awareness of derogatory stereotypes used as costumes for Halloween, and how the inaccurate stereotypes really affect those who are victimized. If these incorrect prejudices are offensive to many and people get hurt from them, regardless of whether it is just some light-hearted fun or not, we should always respect how different ethnic groups want to be identified and act accordingly.
So, to answer my own question, I believe the line falls into whether the costume portrays negative and derogatory stereotypes of an ostracized culture, as well as the intention. Stereotypes do not just happen in one specific incident. It appears in our daily life. The “We’re not a Costume” campaign may not stop racism, but it has certainly generated awareness of derogatory stereotypes used as costumes for Halloween, and how the inaccurate stereotypes really affect those who are victimized. If these incorrect prejudices are offensive to many and people get hurt from them, regardless of whether it is just some light-hearted fun or not, we should always respect how different ethnic groups want to be identified and act accordingly.
As I was writing the blog, this Halloween picture popped on my Instagram... touché.
Eki, you are right. It is sad to see how many situations come up every year to the point you just made. It seems like every year there is a racist or culturally insensitive situation that comes up in the news, is made public knowledge, is criticized and then occurs again the following year in a similar form. For instance, this year in Riverside, Ca there is a house decorated with a human figure lynched from the tree in the front yard. Here is a video (http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Halloween-Decoration-Sparks-Racism-Allegations-229329731.html) showing the decoration. Unfortunately, this is just not a Halloween occurrence, this is something that tends to occur in the US culture often. For instance, back in 2010 a UC San Diego fraternity decided to theme one of their social events "Compton Cookout", which brought up many racial issues and conversations in Southern Cal. Here is the article (http://racerelations.about.com/b/2010/02/20/compton-cookout-party-at-ucsd-ignites-racial-firestorm.htm). Its unfortunate to see this constantly reoccurring. In my opinion, this just shows the lack of culturing experiences that parts of the US population has had, resulting in an inability to see their actions through the lens of someone else's life.
ReplyDeleteComing from a multicultural background, it has always been a constant argument whether culturally based costumes are offensive or not. it really depends on what perspective you're taking and what kind of message you are trying to put forward. In the case of the sorority group in Penn State, as a Mexican I am honestly offended by the signs of degrading Mexicans into manual laborers who smoke weed and mow lawns. If it were just them dressing up as "Mexicans" with sombreros, sarapes (what you call ponchos), and fake mustaches without the degrading stereotyping signs, I would have had no problem with that. In my younger years my siblings and I would always dress up in traditional clothing for Halloween or other events and we had no problem with it, in fact we felt proud in representing our culture. But yes, Halloween has taken a nasty twist on costumes that depict certain cultures in a negative way. Jokes can only go so far, and even if the costumes are just for fun and no one is really thinking about what kind of message they are giving off with a sombrero and a sign saying "will work for beer + weed" or a "slutty" geisha costume, it is always important to step back and consider your actions. Who knows, maybe you'll think of a even more creative costume that isn't degrading and you can save yourself a couple of bucks from buying those other demeaning costumes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you. It is sad that a joyful holiday can be ruined by the insensitivity of individuals. It is more surprising that people aren't shy or afraid to be culturally insensitive. I had a friend who dressed up a couple years ago as Christopher “Big Black” Boykin from the show Rob & Big. All my friends PRAISED his costume, without even considering the black face makeup. Photographs circulated on Facebook, creating more praise and discussion about the costume, leaving any mention of the offensiveness of the costume out. When I spoke to my friend, he was flabbergasted when asked if he thought the costume was offensive, and commented, “I like the show, what’s wrong with that?” Another costume that just made headlines was Julianne Hough, who dressed up as “crazy eyes” from Orange is the New Black. She had to publicly apologize for the insensitivity of her costume. Article here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/julianne-hough-crazy-eyes_n_4165972.html)
ReplyDeleteI think unless we constantly have a discussion, or attempt to see things through other people’s lenses, that we will continue to have questionably offensive costumes. Only through open dialogue can we start to plant the seed of cultural awareness in the American population.
Did anyone hear about the women in Britain who dressed up as the World Trade Towers? http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/06/sun-twin-towers-costumes/3451999/. Insensitive and politically incorrect costumes, certainly seemed to be the trend this year. However, I have a feeling that it's always been an issue and social media is bringing it to light. I found these 9/11 costumes to be completely repulsive. I can only imagine how anyone who was directly affected by the attacks would feel. Unfortunately, I think that this trend will continue. There will always be people attempting to push the limits at the risk of offending others, and many people don't look at things in a global or cultural perspective - nor will they ever. I do think your right though, Jessica...one of the only things that we can do is to discuss it openly, make those that do offend others aware that they are doing so, and hope that they are shaken to reality. Sadly, if it wasn't for the fact that these people were publicly scrutinized because of social media, and the media in general, and probably forced to apologize (celebs from their PR reps), I have a feeling that no remorse would be felt.
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