This campaign actually really pisses me off, not because I think they’re necessarily wrong, but because I think they’ve done a piss poor job of stating their case as to why they might be right. They didn’t do any explaining, they went the “bumper sticker” route. They had this wonderful chance to examine all these questions, and they didn’t. For example:
Are costumes, by nature, mocking and derogatory?
If so, then are any costumes ok?
How does these particular costumes imply that they are representative of that culture? Couldn’t the Islamic terrorist be going not as an Arab, not as a Muslim, but as an Islamic extremist terrorist? And is it ok to go as an Islamic extremist terrorist? Why is the geisha costume apparently of all Asian culture, and not just of geisha? If someone who spent their dissertation learning all about a specific Native American tribe goes in a historically accurate costume, is that ok? When kids dress up in cowboy outfits, do I get to be offended because I live in the southwest, and even though no one here ever dresses like that, they’re somehow stereotyping the culture that once was here? And the African American woman with the vampire – I’m confused, because it would seem that the costume was for being a vampire, not a black woman, so is she objecting to a black woman being on the cover, or to having her blood sucked by a vampire (and isn’t objecting to being turned undead by a vampire an objection all people have, not just black people?), or to the representation of vampires? What if I go as a medieval knight – is that “my” culture, so it’s ok (and why is it ok to go as my culture, but not someone else’s? Does that not defeat the entire point of Halloween?), or are the Middle Ages so far removed from today’s culture that it no longer is my culture (and that’s why people feel so comfortable criticizing it, because they don’t see it as a criticism of themselves)?
Does the existence of a specific culture indicate that there are costumes to be had? If you dress a certain way every day, or perhaps only on Saturday evenings, or once a month on Fridays at that one club, to identify yourself as part of a specific culture, aren’t you in fact creating a costume?
Why stop where it does? Why not include witches – for Wiccans, who can claim “this is my culture, not a costume; this is not who I am”, and those who do not identify as witches but will be identified by others (like Santeria)? Why not include sci-fi alien races – a huge chunk of sci-fi seems to be saying “don’t be so quick to hold up humans over other species; it’s racist”, so maybe Klingons aren’t ok? If I dress up as a cat, can my cats not claim “We’re a species, not a costume”? Could not ghosts (whom many believe in) be offended by their representation in costumes? I’m not being facetious or satiric or hyperbolic, I’m actually totally and 100% dead serious. If the entire basis for this campaign (and I don’t know that it is, because like I said, my objection is that they haven’t made an actual argument) is that these costumes “Other” these races and ethnic groups, then why is it ok to Other these other groups; is the problem with Othering that it’s Othering or that it’s being done to you, personally?
I think there’s a HUGE discussion there. I would love to have this discussion. I would love to know how to be more sensitive to other cultures while still acknowledging the existence of distinct cultures, I would love to know how to thoughtfully critique other cultures in a manner that is not considered arrogant or imperialistic or privileged or ignorant. I would love to know how my Privilege fits into all this, and how other privilege fits into this (how would this conversation be different in Thailand? South Africa? Argentina?). But they haven’t helped me at all with that, they are only preaching to the choir; there is no way for anyone who doesn’t already think this way and see this way and have the same exact thought process to come on board with this campaign.