Many colleges issued lists for Halloween costumes that were not culturally offensive to avoid cultural appropriation. The definition of cultural appropriation is "pretending for fun or profit to be a member of an ethnic, racial, or gender group to which you do not belong." Trying to portray an ethnic group or people of various sexual orientations can be hurtful to members of those groups. Examples of offensive costumes are blackface, dressing as a suicide bomber, dressing in drag, or wearing a stereotypical outfit of any ethnicity. Pictures of people dressed like that are circulating social media with the hashtag, #OurCulturesAreNotCostumes. The North American Inter-Faternity Conference sent a message to all of its members that reminded them to by conscious of their party themes and costumes to avoid mocking or offending anybody.
I think its great that colleges are trying to ensure that there are no offensive costumes on their campus. Cultural appropriation is a large problem in this country and I believe that more people need to be educated on how their actions, such as what they are for halloween, are offending entire ethnicities and cultural groups. Dressing up as a minority for a night, such as a Native American, when members of that group have put up with discrimination, violence, and exploitation for hundreds of years is obviously not acceptable. Knowing the history behind Native American tribes, such as the Cherokees who had to travel the Trail of Tears, really puts these offensive costumes into a new perspective for me.
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It's very inspiring that so many colleges are addressing social problems that our government and people like to ignore. It's not okay at all to dress up as another culture, race, ethnicity, or gender (etc.) with the intentions of insulting them (I'm not sure where we got this outrageous idea anyway). It's pretty sad that we even have this problem to begin with. Although you might not mean to insult them, you may end up doing so and if someone confronts you about it you should be respectful about their feelings and think about how you would feel.
ReplyDeleteShelby Linker, 8th period
That's great that people are realizing that cultural apropriation isn't a joke and I'm glad they are trying to teach this to their students
ReplyDeleteIt's fantastic that people are realizing that dressing up like another ethnicity or race could be offensive. -Mattie Whisler 9th period Flex
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