To Dress or Not To Dress Up As...

That's a whole mess of NO right there

It did not begin with this article from Indian Country Today entitled, 17 Redface Costumes You Can Buy, but it was the most recent article about culturally racist Halloween costumes to come across my news feed.  This article in particular, which I read earlier this month, Is Your Halloween Costume Racist?, actually led me to ask some questions, which nobody really answered.

I could assume that since no one bothered to accurately answer it (other than saying Ebola would be the most offensive costume this year - seriously, how is that an answer?), that I've been doing things right?  But, since I don't want to assume, I'll have to only half assume.

If you reference the second article and the questions it points, I am guilty... but am I?

I have made costumes of different cultures before.  They key word here being made.  I have never purchased a costume, nor has it ever been 'sexy'.  Any costume I have ever come up with was as historically and culturally accurate as I could make, without actually spending hundreds of dollars or having real historical pieces.

The Sexy Geisha; NEVER be this

One year I was a Maiko (basically Geisha in training).  I was not a super sexy Maiko who love you long time.  No, I made a very beautiful outfit; short of having real silk, I looked as much like Maiko as you might find if they had a historically accurate living museum featuring life in Feudal Japan complete with Maiko.  I learned how to poor tea properly, I held myself with grace and decorum, I walked as if floating through the clouds.  I did not drink, get up on tables and dance crazy.  If people said, "Oooh!  You're wanna them thar geesha girls!"  I would kindly correct and educate them.  They are not geesha, but Geisha.  They are not prostitutes but artists.  That is a misconception from when the American forces occupied Japan after WWII.  They are ladies and greatly respected.  Besides I am Maiko, which is what Geisha is before she actually becomes Geisha.  Memoirs of A Geisha might have had some bits of truth it in, but it is fiction.  If you are interested, might I suggest, instead Geisha; A Life.

To go further, of course I wouldn't show up in Japan dressed as Geisha.  Nor would I show up to dinner at a Japanese friends house dressed as Geisha.  Not because I would feel that my costume was offensive, but because any sane person would think you are crazy.  If, however, Japanese friends (or strangers) invited me to a fancy dress party, I would definitely wear it.  Would I wear it if it were sexy or I acted like a fool while wearing said costume?  Absolutely not.  That, to me, is where the offence lies.

But my question, with all of that explanation, was if I would still be considered along with the group that perpetrates racial stereotypes through horribly inappropriate and offensive costumes?  Even with all the thought and effort and historical accurateness and honour, is it still racist?  It is a legitimate question.  Any time I have dressed up as a person from a different culture for Halloween has someone of that culture told me that I was wrong.

Maiko; which this is how I looked

And to answer the point in the article about why; because I love history and cultures.  Because I love learning.  I will learn something and then want to present that at the only time it is acceptable for people to dress up, which is Halloween, in order to show what I love, why I love it and let people know all about it from a factual and historical standpoint.  

So, if we are assuming that I've been going about a costume the correct way, lets take a look at the first article from Indian Country Today.  An article which I find amusingly sad.  The kind of thing you read and you're laughing from the ignorance of it all, but are sad that this is actually real.  Yeah, that.  The descriptions might be more terrible than the actual costumes themselves; though the costumes are quite horrid and not at all accurate at all.

First things first.  If you were going to dress as an Indigenous person there are basic points to remember.  They are not Indians, those are the people that live in India.  Native peoples is an acceptable term if you are speaking sociologically or anthropologically.  Indigenous peoples is the preferred term, with Native American coming in second.

If you think you know what these people are like, but in fact do not, then you probably shouldn't be dressing as them.  If you want to wear a costume and 'whoop and hollar', want to partake of the 'fire whisky', or talk about your wigwam, teepee or squaw, then you should probably start right away in educating yourself on historical truths.  Also if you think that these peoples no longer exist, again educate yourself right now.

If you've gotten this far and are a go, then you would also know that to accurately represent a people, you would need to actually represent them.  As in wear what they actually wear or wore, not some romanticised, inaccurate depiction of the 'slutty squaw' or the 'brave savage'.  

Navajo

Instead of sexy Indian girl, why not choose the traditional rug dress of the Navajo peoples.  It's way more gorgeous than anything you could ever buy in a Halloween store, not to mention the fact that it is authentic.  

Mohawk

Or how about the insanely awesome dress of the Mohawk peoples, one of five tribes that make of the Iroquois Nation.  The eastern woodlands sport some epic cloth regalia with silver armbands and half disk necklaces.  

Roach

But, then if you do not know that the item worn on the men's heads is called a roach, then you should probably steer clear of portrayal and instead head to the library, or better yet a Pow Wow.

Traditional clothing of Jalisco

If you adore styles of Mexican dress, instead of reaching for 'El Bandito', why wouldn't you want to go authentic and traditional, like this style from Jalisco, Mexico (as well as that of Zacatecas, Durango, Chihuahua, Auguascalientes, and Sinaloa).  They are traditional horsemen and women.  They wear this beautiful clothing and compete in the coleadero y charreada, a specific type of Mexican Rodeo.  That's really bad ass.  Of course there are a multitude of traditional clothing styles from various regions in Mexico, but you'd still want to have your cultural accuracies and manners in check before even deciding on this.

Traditional clothing of Oman

Instead of dressing as the sexy 'harem girl' or the 'ali baba', you could choose the authentic traditional dress from any Middle Eastern country, such as the traditional clothing of Oman.  Remember your manners, use your authentic research, and never under any circumstances ever imitate the kneeling of prayer, discuss jihad or all those virgins and never ululate.  The peoples of the Middle East may face towards Mecca on a prayer rug to pray and ululate when exited or happy, but it's tacky if you do this.  You are only to be a basic museum piece with knowledge, you are not meant to take their culture.

Cliff Huxtable and Georgia Byrd

If I were a guy would I dress up as Bill Cosby's character, Cliff Huxtable, from The Cosby Show?  Or perhaps dress very Cosby-ish while promoting Jello? Absolutely.  As a woman would I dress as Queen Latifah's character, Georgia Byrd, from Last Holiday?  Of course, those international looks were fierce and Queen Latifah is pretty awesome.  Would I wear black face?  Absolutely not.  

There are a lot of things that are absolutely not OK.  Skin tones, for one, are not OK.  Some people would say that no one will know who they are if they don't do skin tone.  That is simply an excuse.  If I wore a great evening gown and painted my face 'black' people STILL would not know that I was dressing up as the character Georgia Byrd.  If you're sweater is crazy enough or you have enough Jello, people will know that you are Bill Cosby/Cliff Huxtable and you do not need black face to pull that off.  'War paint' is another no, whether you are going to portray peoples from Africa, North America, South America, South Pacific Islands or elsewhere that symbolic body or facial painting is implemented.  Why?  Because it is symbolic.  It is something sacred.  

While one can accurately represent a culture in their dress and manners; which is basically to say that you do not buy a cheap, inaccurate, or sexy costume and you do not act a fool, there are still certain things that are best left alone in order to adhere to good taste.  Native Americans revere eagle feathers as sacred, so you'd better not use that in your regalia.  Most Middle Eastern peoples are Muslim but that does not mean that you get to tote around a sajada or the Koran as part of your costume.  There is decorum to be followed.  You would act exactly as that culture would act when they dress in their traditional clothing.  If this is not something you could see yourself doing or you do not even know what that means, then you should never attempt to dress as another culture.  Ever.  It would be beyond insulting.  The only reason that I could ever think to dress as a different culture is because know about that culture, you appreciate that culture, and you would never think of acting in anyway less than with the utmost civility or grace.  You do not decide to dress as a culture because you think it is funny, amusing, that they are less than you, that they are something to be ridiculed or mocked.  Ever.  

Now, you have an entire year to think about this and plan for next Halloween.  You can choose to start educating yourself in cultures, if that is something that interests you.  If it's not, try going as a Freudian Slip or a Hamburger, or Uncle Sam or a Couch Potato next year.  Because if you can't do it correctly, please stop degrading someones culture with what you think you know or because you find it all so amusing.