From Jeffrey Dahmer to Queen Elizabeth II, here’s a list of 10 Halloween costumes you should probably avoid this year.
Jeffrey Dahmer
After the release of Netflix’s Dahmer, people have been dressing up as the serial killer, sporting his signature specs and hairstyle. However, the mother of one of Dahmer’s victims recently asked people not to dress up as the murderer because it exploits his victims and makes their families relive the tragedies.
The Queen
It’s just a bit too soon isn’t it?
COVID-19
A pandemic that has killed over six million people isn’t really something to make light of. Avoid dressing up in a hazard suit, anything resembling the virus, or a victim of COVID-19 itself. Your regular doctor and nurse costumes are of course fine, just no get-ups with specific reference to the pandemic.
Blackface
If you haven’t heard of blackface it’s a deeply offensive practice that involves painting your face a darker shade than your natural skin tone. White people have done this on Halloween when dressing up as people like Obama and Nicki Minaj. Blackface is never okay, even if you intend to pay homage to a specific person.
Transphobic costumes
Unfortunately, transphobic Halloween costumes are more common than you might realise. Get-ups like the “Tranny Granny” costume that recently got pulled from Walmart’s shelves in America use transphobic slurs and mock the transgender community.
Homeless person
Thousands of people are without safe and accessible shelter. Homelessness is a lived reality for many people, not a quirky outfit idea.
Cultural appropriation
Dressing up as a member of a culture that isn’t your own, particularly in an exaggerated or mocking way, is known as cultural appropriation. If you want to dress up as your favourite Disney character like Moana or Pocahontas, make sure to dress with sensitivity. Instead of generalising looks that have special meaning to marginalised groups of people, focus on costuming linked to the specific character.
Anything that’s fat shaming or body shaming
Wearing a fat suit for Halloween suggests you think being plus-size is a joke. Body shaming is not okay under any circumstances.
A mentally ill person
Halloween costumes that make light of mental illness can be incredibly harmful to those who live with such difficulties. Wearing a straitjacket, or any other equipment associated with the institutionalisation of people with mental illness, minimises that experience.
Holocaust victim
Shockingly, several retailers have been called out for selling “Anne Frank” costumes for young girls. The Holocaust is an extremely upsetting historical event, not a chance to dress up.
