Halloween Costume Etiquette this Year

“Indian Zombies – 2014 Zombie Walk” by Peter Kudlacz is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Halloween costumes can be fun, creative, meaningful, and/or festive. Halloween costumes also come with some caveats and the notion that what we wear and what others wear is a two-way street. 

Appropriation let’s get this one out of the way starting with blatant appropriation. Are you Native, Black, Asian, or anything other than your ethnicity/culture portrays? No? Then DON’T do it! Simple as that, it’s 2023 and people still think “Indian”, blackface, and the like are acceptable – you’re wrong! It’s disrespectful and dangerous. There’s also the not-so-blatant appropriation and that just means do your due diligence about the person/character. Is that person LGBTQ+ or your ethnic passing but may have roots outside of what they look like? Once you’ve learned it – respect that! If you’re portraying a Queer icon or Mexican deity don’t be acting outside of your and their realm of characteristics. Is the artist or actor of the character you’re portraying a convicted rapist, pedophile, abuser, etc? Time to put down the Hyde from That 70s Show, Marilyn Manson, or R. Kelly and rethink your life choices. 

“Indian Costume” by mbrochh is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Respect! If the skirt is short, the pants are tight, the pasties showing, or the persona of the costume is suggestive (which is subjective) – it doesn’t matter! We suggest you keep your hands, comments, and camera to yourself. Halloween (amongst the other 364 days of the year) should be a time when anyone can be whatever (respectfully) they want to be seen so keep your hands off the Girl Scouts cookies, stop making seashell jokes to the Little Mermaid, and not KEN’t take a photos of Barbie without their permission. 

“Halloween on Sixth Street 2008” by MarkScottAustinTX is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Cognizance, conscientiousness, and transportability all make for a reciprocally enjoyable Halloween. Is your costume hella intricate and super dope? Hell yeah! Is it constantly smacking someone in the face every time you turn around at the bar or hogging up three seats on the BART? Might want to tuck in those tentacles, Ursula! Sometimes conscientiousness might not be spatial but emotional. 

“Nemo in Anemone” by tr.robinson is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

You may be comfortable in your costume but it may make others uncomfortable and we’re not taking it because they are afraid of Jason Voorhees. More along the lines of any ideas that may have a trauma trigger to a mass majority of the population e.g. victims of atrocities (school shootings or the holocaust), the 3 Ps (predators, pedophiles, or priests), body shaming/mental illness (even “jokingly”), etc. If you think that your costume won’t placate such emotions but may align adjacently and you do decide to go that route, be ready for uncomfortable discussions or to back up why you chose Hugh Hefner/Playboy Bunny, JFK, or Oppenheimer as your costume (the costume may be fine but there will be some naysayers or inappropriate interpreters). 

“JFK” by Goldrunt is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Should animals be a part of your costume? Most of the time not! If it’s in your own home or for a photo op that doesn’t anger, scare, or endanger the animal then by all means hit up your local pet store and turn your pup into a dragon from GoT. In many cases, they’ll let us know if they hate it (and listen to those signs) but in some cases they love us so much they will tolerate it for the affection and attention. So just make sure you choose their costume for THEM not you. 

“Dog martini costume for Halloween” by Petful.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

If you can, keep it environmentally friendly AND support small businesses. Not only is Halloween becoming a multi-billion dollar industry it causes millions of pounds of waste each year. You can combat a little bit of this by making your own costumes from ethically sourced materials or buying the pieces from a local hobby shop, Etsy creator, or vintage store. Yes, it’s okay to keep it hippie and hip on Halloween and still bring the horror (that isn’t fully funding capitalism and climate change – Spirit Halloween and Amazon will be fine without you). 

“Happy Halloween everyone!” by jelene is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The first thing about Halloween is to have a scary good time and we can do that in SO MANY ways without ruining it for others. Always put yourselves in others’ shoes before you put yourself in the shoes of whomever you may be portraying. Just because it’s the spookiest of holidays doesn’t mean you have to be an actual monster. Treat Halloween as a way to enjoy this time of year with and FOR others and try not to get tricked into taking the fun a little too far. Slainte Samhain!

Support the author’s Halloween Costume fund here.