Here are two articles from BUST magazine that I think are great for this occasion. The first is 10 feminist costume ideas that you can always look into if you are planning to dress up but do not have a costume yet or just to go through as most are very awesome! My halloween plans are not very extravagant...just going to hang our with a bunch of friends, make pizza, and scare children. Last night I was trying to come up with something I could wear without leaving the house. I decided I am going as: the woman that gets killed at the beginning of horror movies (usually after having sex). I find it very interesting/degrading that any women that are sexually expressive or the "independent friend" in these movies are the usually the first or sooner or later the ones to be murdered. All I need for this look is an oversized dress shirt, dishevelled hairdo, one house slipper (the other one got ripped off as she tries to escape through the cat door), and maybe a little red paint for some blood. You are welcome to use this idea as long as you agree to explain your costume when people ask. I do not want to make this costume a joke about gender violence but rather a critique of patriarchal mainstream movies that share similar ideologies of women's sexuality as the ones we have been hearing from many Republican representatives.
10 feminist Costume Ideas
The second article is about NOT having a racist Halloween. This is so important as so many people dress up in stereotypical costumes of other cultures that are extremely racist and further "other" anyone we refuse to understand because of differences. I had an experience...not on Halloween but at a "Saints & Sinners" party (I went as Eve...the original sinner....or rather the beginning of sexism within religion). A group of guys showed up as "Dirty Mexicans" and wore ponchos, sombreros, moustaches, and dirtied their faces. People gasped when they saw this and criticized the guys who then apologized to me. I asked them if they would still be apologizing and feel bad had they not known I was Mexican....they just looked embarrassed and walked away. We have all probably seen many costumes that are very offensive: from painting bodies to look like a different skin colour, to stereotypical orientalist views about cultures that are so far from understood in the media, and once again sexist costumes. Maybe this Halloween we can try to challenge these costumes and ask someone why they decided to dress like this and express to them why it is offensive, ignorant, and hateful.
"We're A Culture, Not A Costume": Don't Be Racist on Halloween
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