Sajila Nudrat | Health Editor
Featured image courtesy of Pexels
Halloween—that time of year when a person is actively encouraged to be anybody but themselves, and people dress up to their heart’s content. Some do it for sheer enjoyment, others may have more political, or ideologically motivated intentions. Whatever reason it may be, there’s always something to look forward to, because people let their imaginations run wild. However, it’s when people take it too far and land a themselves in hot water, that they stop to think, ‘maybe this wasn’t the best idea.’
Superheroes (and some anti-heroes) seem to be all the rage this year. With Harley Quinn taking the reins amongst girls, comic book characters still seem to be at the forefront of many people’s minds. Spider-man and Black Panther are costumes which won’t be feeling a lack of love this Halloween. Dressing up as either seems to be harmless fun, yet one of these costumes worn a certain way can cause an uproar.
The conversation surrounding the practice of ‘blackface’ is at the zeitgeist’s forefront right now. ‘Blackface’ is when an individual dons makeup and deliberately darkens their skin. Lauren St. Bernard, a first-year health management student, doesn’t see the appeal. “If you’re painting your skin to be a different colour as a costume, that’s definitely not right. I mean dressing up as Barack Obama or Donald Trump, I don’t think that’d be quite of an issue, as long as you’re respectful with it because people have their different political views, but if you’re painting your skin to be a different colour, race or ethnicity for the character of the costume, that’s not okay.”
Some are not so quick to condemn it. Brijender Bommala, a second-year Seneca student says people should have more of an open mind and not judge others. “They can wear what they want if they’re comfortable with what they’re wearing”.
If coming from a sense of cultural appreciation, people should be allowed to dress as they please. In regards to ‘blackface’ Bommala says, “it depends on individuality and how they see themselves and how they like it, so if they paint their face black, it’s totally up to them and if they’re okay with it then we shouldn’t judge, or question it.”
It’s a normal response for someone to question why something such as ‘blackface’ should be off limits when it looks as if the person is just very committed to their art. However, there’s a historical context that is less known, which showcases why ‘blackface’ is not as harmless as people may think. It goes back to a time where performers would darken their faces, and portray unflattering representations of African-Americans.
In the post-Me-Too era, we live in a much more politically-conscious world. That begs the question, where is the line that decides what is appropriate and what is not? If dressing up as Kim Kardashian is ‘hot,’ then why isn’t cultural appropriation? Some may even say that is her everyday look.
Yandy, an online retail company recently pulled a sexy ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ costume from their shelves after backlash. The show is about female oppression and women who are forced into sexual servitude. This isn’t the only Halloween costume that has faced backlash. There are always people who tend to dress as something, that to some, can be offensive.
When asked if he believes certain costumes should be off limits, Father Marc Syrenne of Catholic Chaplaincy at York University said: “Personally—yes. Those would be the more occult and violent costumes. Someone with an axe stuck in their head for example.” When asked what he thinks would make an appropriate costume, he replied, “Coming from a Catholic perspective, dressing up as people we admire should be okay. I don’t have a problem with people dressing up as Tinkerbell or anything like that because not everyone is Catholic. The line is violence and the occult, and when their outfits are sexualized. Anything sexual—doesn’t have to be faith or church related—it’s just not an appropriate way of looking. To me, it promotes the issues of sexual revolution. It can’t promote sexual promiscuity.”
Allison Durzi, a second-year kinesiology student, says she wouldn’t do anything she feel is disrespectful—she would rather stick to animal costumes. “I don’t think people should dress as other people’s religions because I feel it’s disrespectful. You should go more towards basic costumes. The line that shouldn’t be crossed is if you’re dressing as a certain religion, but also making fun of it at the same time.”
There are a number of costumes that may seem harmless, but it’s because the underlying historical significance is overlooked. What is harmful, and what is seen as obscene; is it because people are ignorant or they just don’t care? Remember Prince Harry’s infamous Nazi costume (has Meghan seen it)? It seems as if dressing up as a Native American Chief or a terrorist is blown out of proportion by left-wing media and deemed racist, but it’s just another costume.
In fact some costumes are seen as appreciating a culture and bringing awareness to it. That’s a solid argument, but here’s the thing—how can you dress up as a terrorist when technically speaking, terrorism has no face? It’s when a person puts a specific face to terrorism that the problem begins. Putting on a fake beard, and strapping an AK-47 to their chest and calling themselves a terrorist is racist because it is being modelled by people who look a specific way.
An anonymous first-year education student says that mocking people’s culture is not right and that is where the line should be drawn. “I think dressing up as a character that’s a person of colour such as Black Panther is fine, that’s fun for Halloween. There’s certain lines you can’t cross, like painting yourself black or doing obviously offensive things. I see people wearing Native American headdresses and stuff like that, and I think that’s not right.”
Nathan Allen, a first-year French studies student echoed these sentiments. “Respect people’s cultures and the significance of the garments that they wear and don’t just wear them randomly if you don’t appreciate, or at least understand what it’s about.”
Michael Millman a first-year political science student summed up the debate surrounding cultural appropriation and appreciation. “I think it’s a pretty fine line between what is okay and isn’t. Some costumes are inappropriate in the sense that it’s representation of some cultures are unfair or in a harsh light. So using norms in those cultures in a comedic way isn’t really appropriate for Halloween or any kind of costume.” Millman also believes common sense plays a factor into determining where the line is and when not to cross it. “Knowing it’s going to offend someone or not, you likely know what you’re doing when you’re creating a costume. It’s not appropriate to use other cultures in a comedic sense or just as a costume.”
This Halloween, take caution, and don’t let your choices come back to haunt you.
With files from Jessica Sripaskaran.
