Cultural appropriation takes a front seat on Halloween

Rin Ryu, Staff Reporter

Halloween is Sunday with stores stocked with offensive costumes. Shelves can be seen with sexualized traditional Asian clothing, stereotypical “Native American” costumes often seen with fringe, suede, and feathers, or “Mexican” costumes with sombreros, mustaches, and ponchos. Examples of culturally appropriative Halloween costumes are everywhere.

Cultural appropriation is the act of taking elements from a culture with the purpose of exploiting the culture for economic or social gain. Appropriation adopts certain parts of an oppressed culture without crediting or respecting the meaning.

According to Elizabeth Scarbrough, Florida International University philosophy professor, cultural appropriation is about power and is a result of the imbalance of power between minority groups.

Dressing up as any racial group reduces their culture and customs to an aesthetic. Unlike clothing, the identities of oppressed groups do not have the privilege of “taking off” the oppression they face.

The easiest way to prevent cultural appropriation is to avoid costumes that are part of a certain culture. This is not to say that other groups cannot explore different cultures. There is a big difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation, seeking to understand and learn about another culture.

Through self-reflection and listening, cultural appropriation can easily be avoided. Listen to those of marginalized groups to understand the effects of harmful stereotypes to broaden your perspective.