'It's about respect': How students should avoid appropriating cultures on Halloween

Every year when Halloween comes around at the end of October, people get the chance to dress up as someone else for a night in a fun costume. Sometimes, people choose to dress up as a member of another group of people. Among those costumes listed on Amazon.com, you can find Halloween outfits that many find offensive, such as "Native Princess," "Tequila Bandito" or "Golden Geisha." 

But dressing up in one of these costumes can be more than just offensive to members of these groups. It's cultural appropriation, and many find it to be harmful — specifically to members of oppressed ethnic, racial and religious groups. 

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, cultural appropriation is the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not one's own, especially without showing that one understands or respects this culture. It can include the adoption of traditions, garb or customs of another culture. 

Elizabeth Silver, sophomore and culture co-chairperson of Carolina Indian Circle, said appropriation with costumes can keep certain groups oppressed because the groups usually appropriated have historically been oppressed. 

It is often done in a manner that enforces stereotypes of this culture and appears as mockery, Brooklyn Brown, a senior and culture co-chair for Carolina Indian Circle, said. This is highly offensive to those whose culture is used in disrespectful ways, Brown said. 

“Cultural appropriation perpetuates harmful stereotypes and cuts real people and real cultures out of the conversation,” Brown said. “Appropriation of Native cultures in particular aid in several issues, including the sexualization and fetishization of Native women, placing Native people in the past tense and disrespecting sacred, spiritual aspects of our culture.”

Silver added that many people are not aware of the significance behind many traditional Native American articles of clothing. 

“In Native American culture, everything has meaning,” Silver said. 

She explained that headdresses are made of eagle feathers, and that receiving an eagle feather is one of the highest honors in Native culture. She also said that many Native women costumes are revealing, which is not historically correct and results in false portrayals of Native women. 

“So I would try to educate them on what they’re doing, how it affects us and how it takes away from the significant meaning in our culture," Silver said. "I believe that trying to stop cultural appropriation starts with education.”

The line between appreciation and appropriation is very clear, Brown said. 

Recent examples in the news have pointed to the controversy stirred by instances of cultural appropriation: last spring, one Utah teen wore a traditional Chinese dress, known as a qipao, to her prom despite not identifying as Chinese, and received backlash on social media. Gucci, a luxury fashion line, was criticized for selling a $790 turban, included in its February 2018 lineup during Milan Fashion Week. 

Josmell Perez, the director of the UNC Latinx Center, said it is hard to tell what someone’s true intentions are when they appropriate a culture — whether it was accidental, ignorance or pure bigotry. Whenever he sees someone wearing an inappropriate Halloween costume, he tries to ask people what their intentions are and explain the negative impacts of such a costume. 

“It’s hard to tell what is in someone’s heart, but I would want to imagine that somebody doesn’t really wake up in the morning and say, 'How am I going to hurt somebody else intentionally?'" Perez said. “At the same time, it's naïve to think you don’t understand that putting on whatever that costume may be is wrong. Especially at a place like UNC, having the opportunity to have dialogue and talk about what those costumes mean and represent is important.”

There are many ways to appreciate a culture without appropriating it, Brown and Silver said. They suggest that if someone would like to support Native American culture, they can attend Carolina Indian Circle's annual Powwow, attend their meetings that are open to the student body and support Native artists by buying their art or products. This would allow someone to appreciate their culture without harming it. 

Silver suggests that if anyone is struggling with deciding on a Halloween costume, they should think about dressing as a career or occupation, such as a doctor, because that eliminates the chance for appropriation. 

“If you have any doubt in your mind about it appropriating a group of people then don’t do it,” Silver said. “There’s plenty of other costumes. We don’t go around dressing up as other groups of people, so I feel like people shouldn’t go around dressing up as us.”

Appropriation does not just come and go with Halloween each year, Silver said. Sports mascots, commercials and fashion trends are just a few examples of cultural appropriation. Silver said it is important to understand this as an issue minority cultures face perpetually. 

People appropriate for many reasons, Brown said, but respect should always lead actions when it comes to participating in another culture. 

“We appreciate cultures by celebrating them with the people in them,” Brown said. “It’s about community and connection. It’s about respect.” 

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