Editorial: Racism in Halloween costumes?

A man stands before you with an old straw hat and cheap plastic lei. He drowns in a fat suit and ratty old “aloha” shirt, while sporting a beer in one hand and a shaka in the other. A woman stands beside him, barely clothed. A purple grass skirt hangs low on her hips and a coconut bra protrudes out of her chest. She’s flailing her arms around like a rabid animal and calls it “hula.”

This is how society portrays our beloved Hawaiian culture. And because of this inaccurate portrayal, this is how people perceive our culture. So is this how people should perceive you?

Racism seems to be so imbedded into our society that it becomes almost ideological. Public figures like Prince Harry of Wales nonchalantly walk into parties donning a Nazi outfit, failing to consider the offensive statement his costume conjures up. Although you may wear the costume for one night, others wear the stigma for life.

Stereotyping inflicts many negative responses within a person such as aggression, over-eating, inability to focus, and difficulty making rational decisions. According to a study conducted at the University of Toronto Scarborough, people perform poorly in situations where they feel they are being stereotyped.

One portion of the study involved two groups of women who were tasked with completing a math test. One group was told that this test would determine whether or not they were capable and smart in math, subtly injecting stereotypes about women and math skills. The other group was given support and helpful coping strategies to deal with the stress they’d face when writing the test.

The group that felt discriminated against ate more than their peers, exhibited more hostility, and performed more poorly on the tests that measured their cognitive skills.

How do we put a stop to this discrimination? It’s simple. Be aware about what you wear and avoid culturally and racially offensive costumes this Halloween, meaning any costume that mocks a group of people like Geishas, Muslims, Native Americans, African Americans, Mexicans, Hawaiians and so on. Help to eliminate the racism in our society during this year’s Halloween by not giving in to stereotypes.