Have you ever dressed up for Halloween or college party in a racially sensitive costume?

[Anonymous]

And if so, are you afraid it might come back to “cancel” you? Not blackface, but maybe like an Indian or sumo wrestler Or geisha? My good friend from college mentioned to me she has pictures of a sorority party from way back in 80s ( a southern university) and we were all dressed like southern belles and Scarlett O’Hara themed dresses and some guys dressed like confederate soldiers, Robert E Lee. Etc. I don’t even remember really why but anyhow, not that she’d share it up publicly but it worries me that they are there. She was just mentioning it because of the times and how we’d been playing dress up back then and wouldn’t do that now.

[Anonymous]

Never. I don't know how you make it to adulthood, and can be such an ignorant idiot, honestly.

When I was a kid, my cousins made up a derogatory song about East Asians. Which was weird, because we're South Asian ourselves. But we were in Elementary school - I was probably 5-6 the last time we "sang" it. I was horrified about it by the time I was in upper elementary school, and I would be hugely embarrassed if I were "outed" about it - but at the same time, Kindergartners just don't know any better. If you're an adult and you don't know any better... I don't think you can excuse it on "well it was ok back then." I figure they must have led a severely sheltered, privileged life to be so insensitive.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone name a Halloween costume that is not offensive to some group somewhere? ? (I can’t).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone name a Halloween costume that is not offensive to some group somewhere? ? (I can’t).

My 3 year old was a dinosaur last year. The year before that she was Winnie the Pooh.

I can’t think of how those could be offensive?

[Anonymous]

I was the Statue of Liberty when i was 10, is that offensive?

[Anonymous]

I went as Stevie Nicks one year but a lot of people thought I was a gypsy. Does that count?

[Anonymous]

My daughter was a geisha one year. She was little and just wanted to look pretty. We didnt make her up to look different, she just wore them gown which was actually really pretty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone name a Halloween costume that is not offensive to some group somewhere? ? (I can’t).

Casper the ghost once when I was very young. The un-dead wanted to speak with my mom but she was cool about it.

[Anonymous]

My brother and I were Indians one year, my mom even made a papoose for my doll baby. I give 0 f*** I was like 4 and cowboys and indians were totally a thing in the 70's,

[Anonymous]

Nope.

Holly Hobbie
an art teacher
a Parisian (I had a beret and french braids)
a baby
a Russian babushka

[Anonymous]

In college we dressed up as cowboys and Indians for a Greek mixer. Also pilgrims and Indians another year.

We had theme parties often, not sure these would count as offensive:
Barbie and Ken
Nerds revenge
Stepford wives and business men
Great Gatsby

For what it’s worth I’m now 35.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone name a Halloween costume that is not offensive to some group somewhere? ? (I can’t).

I got a cardboard box and made a die/dice out of it one year. Another year, I was a baby. Another year, I was a hippie (tie die, groovy sunglasses, long hair parted in the middle) but my parents were actual hippies so I don't think it was offensive. Another year, I was a palm tree. There are infinite possibilities to non-offensive costumes.

[Anonymous]

I had an Afro wig for a seventies party. I wore it a few times. I’m white. No one called me out, and it took a bit for it to sink in as to why a random stranger wanted a selfie with me. He was Black and definitely using my costume to make a point. I think I threw it away or gave it to someone the next day. I realize there were white combed out curls in the 70s, but it’s a Black identified style. It could have been worse, but I still need to own the mistake. It was over a decade ago and I was utterly clueless.

[Anonymous]

I have a rasta wig and wore a tie die.

No. I'm not worried about it.

[Anonymous]

I had a generic Indian dress that I think I wore for a Halloween costume one year. I think I was about 7 or 8?

Also had a kimono that a Japanese friend brought back from Japan for me. It was beautiful and I loved it, but I never really knew what to do with it. I was learning Japanese at school, and we'd occasionally have 'culture days' where the teacher would bring in her favorite foods and we'd practice Japanese forms of calligraphy, painting, etc. I think I wore it for a couple of those days, the teacher loved it. Used me as a model to demonstrate to everyone how to wrap and tie the obi.

Then, of course, there was theater. Some of the historical costumes made perfect sense in the context of a play, but a picture taken out of context could look wrong.