Let’s just cancel Halloween because face it – you’re going to offend some one, some way, some how.
Cosmopolitan: And a guide to ones you shouldn’t wear in general: Are you the type of human who trolls people with no regard for how anyone else feels? Hopefully not. If you’d rather not make a bad costume choice in poor taste, read on for a not-comprehensive list of offensive costumes to avoid if you’re not terrible.
Number 1 Caitlyn Jenner: You might wonder why it’s fine to dress up as some celebrities and not as Caitlyn Jenner. Halloween can be confusing that way. If the day is pretty much a free-for-all, why shouldn’t you get a free pass? (Because it doesn’t work like that.)
Here’s a summary of why going as Caitlyn Jenner for Halloween is a no-no, according to the Change.org petition demanding that Spirit Halloween no longer sell the costume pictured: “To make a costume out of a marginalized identity reduces that person and community to a stereotype for privileged people to abuse. In this case, if you follow through with production of a Caitlyn Jenner costume, cisgender people will purchase it to make fun of her and our community.”
Number 2 Decathlete: See number 1. On top of that, making reference to Caitlyn Jenner’s past only further subjects her to mockery.
Number 3 Cecil the Lion: “Show your support for all wildlife” by buying this costume, encourages lingerie vendor Yandy.com, but even with 20 percent of the proceeds going to the World Wildlife Fund, dressing as Cecil the Lion — and a sexy one, at that — just makes you look tacky.
Number 4 Lion Killer Dentist: Yeah, Halloween’s supposed to be ghoulish, but this is unnecessary. Just steer clear of this Dr. Walter Palmer (aka the most reviled American of the year) getup, complete with a Cecil head, and indulge in your sense of macabre by going to the haunted house instead.
Number 6 Joking References to Police Brutality/Black Lives Matter: Rebel Wilson made this mistake so you don’t have to. Like so many have already said, police violence and victims of police brutality shouldn’t be rendered humorous.
Number 8 Racist Stereotypes: Nope, you can’t go out wearing a sombrero with a fake mustache and a serape. Neither can you be a “dragon lady geisha,” an “Arab,” or any other super-racist depiction of an ethnic group.
See the rest here.
I guess we should all just stay home and eat the candy ourselves!
DCG