American actress-dancer-singer Julianne Hough recently received a lot of negative press concerning her Halloween costume.
Hough dressed as Crazy Eyes from the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black"-- complete with blackface.
Hough apologized via Twitter stating, "It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way."
While she and her cohorts claimed that her intention was not to offend anyone, the consequences of her decision say otherwise. Much of the 2013 American population associates blackface with the long history of institutionalized racism.
Hough resurrected a 19th-century practice that was used to mock black people in the spirit of entertainment.
Unfortunately, Hough isn't the only costume culprit making headlines. Two white men from Florida, William Filene and Greg Cimeno, impersonated Trayvon Martin (in black face and dressed in a hoodie with a bullet hole) and George Zimmerman. A picture of the two costumes was posted on Facebook, but several of the Facebook followers were not amused. The Smoking Gun shared Cimeno's defensive comments, which include: "It's f*cking hilarious!" and "Anything for a laugh!"
While the aforementioned costumes may be viewed as overtly offensive, the potential offensive aspects of other costumes may not be so obvious.
Using specific cultural customs, icons, or behaviors from a culture for the sake of a costume is considered cultural appropriation. Furthermore, culture-appropriated Halloween costumes perpetuate untrue and negative stereotypes.
For example, wearing a feather headdress, using face paint, and deeming oneself "Native American" is problematic for many, including us, because this costume assumes that all Native Americans wear headdresses and face paint.
Members of Students Teaching Against Racism in Society (STARS) at Ohio University started a campaign against such Halloween costumes three years ago. The students made posters depicting a person of an ethnic minority holding a photo of a costume emulating that student's ethnicity in stereotypical fashion. The text printed alongside the photo reads, "We're a culture not a costume," as well as "This is not who I am, and this is not okay."
We urge the DePauw campus to adopt cultural sensitivity and think twice before dressing up in what may be considered offensive garb to get a laugh this Halloween. We may use the holiday to push boundaries and be witty with culturally relevant costumes, but we must draw the line somewhere. As educated individuals, it is our duty to be forward thinking and dispel of the ignorance surrounding racial and cultural issues still present in our country today.