Halloween is meant to be fun and spooky. It is a time for friends, trick-or-treating, candy, jack-o’-lanterns, haunted houses, and dressing up as something you’re not.
Dressing up in costumes and spending time getting ready with friends is the best part about Halloween, but remember to be considerate of others when choosing a costume.
Some costumes can be offen- sive to others because they portray racial-cultural-religious, or gender- based stereotypes.
BuzzFeed recently did a video series of culturally offensive cos- tumes that included “Japanese women try on Geisha Halloween costumes,” “Mexican people try ‘Mexican’ costumes” and “Native Americans try on ‘Indian’ cos- tumes.” In each of the videos, the people trying on the costumes said, not only are the costumes inaccurate, but they felt guilty or embar- rassed about wearing them because the costumes were so offensive. Let’s just be honest, racially- charged costumes never are a good idea.
Other costumes can be completely inappropriate. Ladies, just because it’s Halloween, you do not have to show more skin or dress more provocatively than normal. And no one should dress in per- verted costumes because you think it’s funny.
OCU and the surrounding areas are diverse communities. No matter what costume you decide on, it is unfair not to consider how others may feel before dressing up. Also, we all know OCU is close-knit. Whatever costume you wear, a photo of you at a party or at the Bricktown Haunted Warehouse probably will end up somewhere on social media, so be careful.
Go out and have fun, enjoy spooktacular activities and dress up, but stop and think before you do.
If you’re questioning if a costume is okay to wear, it probably isn’t. Be smart about it and be conscience of what people might think if the entire university found out….because they most likely will.
As students of OCU, we all represent the university so remember to be smart, be responsible, and, most importantly, have fun.
Happy Halloween!
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