Ghosts, Ghouls and Cultural Sensitivity

Buckskin Beauty.

Rising Sun Princess.

Mystifying Gypsy.

Native Princess.

Cleo De Nile.

Dream Catcher Cutie.

Tribal Spirit.

Egyptian.

One of these eight costumes, available at the Party City in Frandor, is bound to ring your doorbell this Halloween. The smiling, painted faces will eagerly accept your candy, scamper off to the next home and never question whether their costume was well-received, or offensive.

East Lansing resident Lance Enderle’s response will fall in the latter category. Enderle identifies as Ojibwa, and holds Native American culture close to his heart.

“To dress up like an Indian for Halloween, that’s a racist move,” he said. “That’s a disrespect to a nation and their culture.”

Dressing up as a Native American for Halloween is considered cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is the adoption of certain aspects of another culture into one’s own lifestyle and, because adopters often don’t know the history of minority cultures, it usually is considered a negative phenomenon.

“If you can define why Natives wear war paint, maybe you can get away with it, but mostly, people can’t.”

Enderle compared Native American costumes, which usually feature face paint, headdresses, and other sacred elements, to going trick-or-treating in Blackface. A seemingly extreme comparison, but maybe not.

“If Natives are wearing regalia, it’s in remembrance and respect for their ancestors. And they wear it for ceremonies, not for gaudy, drunken festivities,” he said. “That’s a sacrilege. And if someone was a Native, they would know better than to wear sacred items for dress up purposes. That’s not what it’s about.”

Lansing resident Jennifer Worthington said as her three-year-old son grows older, she will keep him from problematic costumes.

“I want to avoid encouraging him to dress any way that portrays a human character. As he gets older, I would hopefully raise him so that he’ll understand why I would encourage him not to,” she said. “Just avoid anything that accentuates something in another culture that detracts from the authenticity of that culture.”

What should parents do when their children want to wear a certain costume that might be considered offensive to their neighbors?

Enderle said “racism is taught and perpetuated.” Likewise, educating children early on about why a costume shouldn’t be worn is a conversation parents should consider having with their children.

Worthington agreed parents should take every opportunity to teach their children about other cultures and peaceful coexistence.

“Our experience in life is limited,” she said. “Why not have the conversation and say ‘we want to respect other people because they’re unique and special and dressing up in this way is maybe not the way to express that’?’”

East Lansing resident Tonya May said Halloween costumes for her nine-year-old daughter seem to be more problematic than they ever were for her teenaged son and daughter.

“My son always looked for the scary, mask types.”

Sarah*, former employee of Party City, confirmed many of the more controversial costumes are designed for women.

“The girl’s section was filled with costumes that parents weren't pleased about. A lot of the dresses hit about mid-thigh and the tops were low cut.” She said young girls weren’t the only females with limited costume options.

“The ‘Egyptian’ costume was really popular, but mostly older women bought it because it was one of the only costumes available with a long skirt.”

May’s daughter found her costume at Party City, but opted for a conservative vampire witch.

Like Worthington, May said she wouldn’t hesitate to have a conversation with her children if necessary.

“I always have made sure to tell my kids to be whatever, whoever they want. Your gender isn’t stopping you,” she said. “I would talk to (my daughter) about why (she) wants to be that, and who an Indian is.”

Enderle said he hasn’t seen many children trick-or-treating in offensive or inappropriate costumes, but Sarah* said the Native American costumes are very popular.

“The ‘Native Cutie’ costume was very popular for both older and younger women,” she said.

Worthington said all cultures can fall victim to negative appropriation. The shelves at Party City justify her sentiment. Along with the likes of “Buckskin Beauty,” customers at Party City are able to purchase a costume named “Egyptian”, “Fiesta Serape,” and “Gypsy,” among others.

“I’m not going to dress up as a normal person because that’s not dressing up,” Worthington said. “Just like African American girl, or a White boy — they’re just normal people.”

Whether cultural appropriation is perceived as negative or not is a matter of sensitivity and awareness. Some in society might argue people have grown too sensitive in general. When it comes to Halloween costumes, May disagrees.

“We’re touchy, but the costume thing is another level. Yes, we’re sensitive, but for a good reason,” she said.

And for parents concerned that their child’s costume, or even their own costume, might be pushing the boundaries a little too far, Enderle said the costume is better off left on the shelf.

“Do what you’re doing as long as you’re not hurting anybody. What happened to witches, ghosts, goblins and ghouls?”

*”Sarah” is not her real name; the employee spoke with our reporter on the condition that she could remain anonymous.