Halloween Costumes And The Specter Of Cultural Appropriation

First is the history of Halloween all according to a 2017 article from LiveScience by Benjamin Radford. Around 2,000 years ago in the United Kingdom Ireland, and the northern part of France the people called the Celts started this holiday. They called it Samhain back then instead of Halloween. November 1st marked their new year which resulted in them celebrating on October 31st. The New Year brought wintertime which to them meant death. On the night before winter which was October 31st, they believe that the spirits of the Dead came back. They wore costumes, put on bonfires, burned crops and sacrificed animals. When the Romans

Purpose: To inform the audience of how Halloween started and transformed to what it is now.

In recent years, Halloween costumes have created controversy because they touch on the issue of cultural appropriation. Children are simply not aware of how their costumes can unwittingly offend certain cultures or ethnic groups, and parents are also often unsure as to which costume ideas qualify as “culturally respectful”. In the LA Times opinion editorial, “On Halloween, parents have no choice but to wade into fraught cultural politics,” Oppenheimer argues that picking a Halloween costume is a challenging task with many grey areas as to what is considered offensive to various religious or ethnic groups who are often the inspiration behind Halloween costumes. He asserts that all individuals should take care to avoid culturally appropriating, but that there are also grey areas in costume choice where appropriation isn’t as clearly defined. In order to illustrate the nuanced challenge of picking costumes, Oppenheimer utilizes an anecdote to show how societal values have changed within his lifetime. He shares, “When I was 10, I was in love with a musical theater; if you’d forced me to dress up for Halloween, I might have been chosen a character from ‘Dreamgirls,’ a play about African Americans” (Oppenheimer 3). It is evident that he was not aware of what was socially acceptable in society being that he was merely 10 years old. Considering that much time has passed, by reflecting back to his past self, he is able to realize that dressing this way could have touched many sensitive areas of cultural appropriating a race. As there are no specific set of standards established in society, individuals follow and adhere to what is presented in front of them. It is utterly challenging for all individuals to identify what is permitted in society despite the diversity in ethnic groups and age. While the youths are struggling to find the perfect balance to avoid cultural appropriating a group, it is also difficult for adults to distinguish the difference. To advise the individuals in recognizing the difference in regards to the significance of certain Halloween costumes, Oppenheimer utilizes an appeal to authority with an Yale scholar and former preschool teacher, Erika Christakis. It is ideal that, “...when it comes to the

The fear of Halloween can stem from a dislike or fear of the holiday's history. The root word of samhainophobia is Samhain, which is a Celtic word meaning summer’s end. They celebrated Samhain with huge bonfires where crops and animals were sacrificed. The Celts believed that on Samhain the veil between the land of the living and dead was thin, which allowed for ghost, spirits, and the devil himself to pass through to the land of the living. It was also believed the Druids-the Celts priest-could predict the future on Samhain. The Celts wore costumes both as disguises and for performing the sacrifices at the bonfires. Eventually Rome conquered the

Halloween is believed to come from Celtic rituals. The Celts lived over 2000 years ago, and were found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France. The Celts celebrated

Cultural Appropriation is the adoption and adaptation of certain elements of a minority culture by a socially dominant group of people. This is becoming a large social issue because, people are refusing to acknowledge the true meanings of these elements. Malversation has occurred steadily throughout American and global history and it has been very prominent for the duration of the 20th and 21st centuries. For example, wearing a traditional Native American headdress for the sake of an international fashion show and not acknowledging that it is a piece of ancient, and even present day sacred and a religious sacrament. The headdresses are worn by highly respected tribal chiefs and symbolizes great strength and “god's messenger” and is reserved for the highest power in the tribe. To use it in a lingerie campaign is disrespectful

In countries that celebrate Halloween such as the United States and Canada, it is a tradition to dress up in various types of costume themes. Some people dress up in cultural costumes or religious costumes. Herman Bhupal and Judy Park from Harvard University have addressed that dressing in cultural or religious costumes for Halloween, “can serve as mechanisms for cultural appropriation” (This Halloween, Choose Respect). Cultural appropriation is the adoption of standards and aspects from another culture when the culture is a minority group. Some people may agree that wearing cultural clothing as Halloween costumes may be offensive to those of whose culture is being mocked as

These traditions were connected with the lower class at the time and so they were also connected with crime, rowdy behavior and other stereotypes the upper class believed about the poor. Of course people who were part of the upper class did not like this and by the 1870s they had turned Halloween into a holiday to make children into “good American citizens.” Halloween was now targeted towards children and because of that families were encouraged to celebrate it at home where food, games and other entertainment would have adult supervision. By doing this children were expected to understand the values society holds, while also learning about their proper gender roles. At this point we are able to start to see how Halloween became so heavily influenced by gender roles/stereotypes and how that led to the over-sexualized holiday it is now. Trick or treating and wearing Halloween costumes became popular in America around the 1920s and by the 1950s children’s costumes were extremely reflective of their sex. (Bannatyne.) Girls were dressed as princesses and angels while boys were army men, hobos and so on. However, as cute and adorable as this is or may have been, this creates a very thick line between genders. When that line is present it is alluding to children that

Anyone who knows me, knows me knows that I love to watch reruns of “What not to wear” on TLC, As it teaches me something I clearly know nothing about, fashion. However anyone who is in my Spanish class known that I not only care about my culture but others as well. This school year has been interesting both fashion-wise and politically, from the Kylie Jenner Lip challenge, to Donald Trump running for president. It has been such a weird school year however, that it has pointed out a sad fact about the current fashion world, that is prevalent through the politics we discuss in our everyday lives, and that is cultural appropriation. As cultural appropriation according to the Oxford Dictionary is “A term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another. It is in general used to describe Western appropriations of non‐Western or non‐white forms, and carries connotations of exploitation and dominance.” And despite how much we would like to believe that this issue doesn’t exist in our present day society, if one looks In clothing stores, fashion magazines, and even Halloween parties, cultural theft is occurring. This can be seen especially with indigenous cultures as: elements of indigenous cultures are morphed into fashion trends and costumes for those who will never understand their significance. “Navajo print” leggings, “tribal” jewelry, and “Indian princess” Halloween costumes are examples of gross

Another example of this kind of cultural appropriation is exemplified in a more contemporary example: Lana Del Rey’s music video for her song entitled “Ride.” This music video features Del Rey riding through what is presumable the expansive West while being with men, burning fires in the western desert, and sporting a traditional Native American headdress. While this example also conflates the same issues as the above example, it also brings on a new problem: taking a sacred cultural emblem and using it for stylistic

C. Thesis Statement: Going from what the meaning of Halloween is in America today and looking back at it’s roots, it has evolved dramatically. And just recently we have been seeing a comeback from one of those roots, but do we know it’s real cultural significance?

In the article, “I was That Girl On Halloween –Here’s How I Learned My Lesson” by Alden Wicker, discusses how she was influenced to change her perspective when buying or creating a Halloween costume and how it has a hostile response in peoples cultures. Wicker

Halloween is not only one of the most popular holidays, but is also one of the oldest, and can be dated back to about 2,000 years ago. It is also known to have started

Halloween costumes at this time also reflected people's interest in other cultures. Scottish and Irish immigrants in the U.S. during the 18th and 19th centuries brought their Halloween folklore and traditions with them, which mixed in with the folklore, traditions and superstitions of other immigrants from Germany, Haiti and the Netherlands (“The History”).

Furthermore, there are many traditional rituals and superstitions associated with Halloween. Since the ancient Celts thought the nonliving roamed the earth, they created costumes out of animal pelts to ward off evil spirits. Fortunetelling and the utilization of large bonfires for sacrifices and purification were also early customs. After the Christianization of the holiday to commemorate saints and martyrs, the same festivities, bonfires, and guising remained, but October 31st was renamed All-Hallows Eve. This inevitably turned into Halloween. Similar to European traditions, America’s Halloween has also evolved throughout the years. Halloween’s recognition was originally restricted in colonial America due to its non-Christian beliefs and practices, and it was practiced at a more local level. According to an online source, “The first celebrations included ‘play parties,’ public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead and tell each other’s fortunes, dance, and sing” (“History of Halloween”). Festivities were akin to European traditions, but also included ghost stories and pranking. Beginning in the twentieth century, Halloween