Understanding cultural appropriation versus appreciation this Halloween

In recent years, conversations surrounding cultural appropriation and what it means have gained traction. This is, in part, due to the rise in social media and various public figures being criticised for wearing fancy dress costumes (or adopting trends) which fetishise or trivialise minority cultures. 

As Halloween approaches, the issue of cultural appropriation becomes more relevant, as the holiday provides us with plenty of opportunities for fancy dress. But, before we dive into how to avoid appropriating different cultures through our chosen costumes this Halloween, Esteban Touma, Teacher and Content Producer at Babbel Live (www.babbel.com/live) is here to help us understand what cultural appropriation is, and what to consider when choosing your costume for this year’s Halloween festivities. 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, cultural appropriation is the inappropriate adoption of the practices, customs or aesthetics of one social or ethnic group, by members of another. How can you distinguish between showing appreciation of a culture which differs from your own, and appropriation? The difference lies in knowledge and recognition. Do you know the meaning and context of the piece you would like to wear? Do you have an understanding of that culture’s symbols, and if using them, are you honouring that meaning?

When wearing clothes from another culture, ensure you are doing so in a context of respect and understanding

For instance, the implications around wearing a sari whilst attending an Indian wedding alongside friends and family from this culture differs significantly from dressing up as an Indian person for a fancy dress party. The latter fails to recognize the cultural importance of the dress in Indian culture, effectively reducing the symbolic weight of a tradition into a stereotype. The former falls under appreciation as wearing traditional clothing to attend a ceremonial event is acting within cultural bounds and in an environment which not only credits a specific minority’s customs, but celebrates them. It is worth noting that a different culture’s clothing should be worn without changing the colour of your skin, your hair or your features. 

It’s also worth noting that historically, people in power have appropriated the symbols of those they have oppressed in order to ridicule and humiliate them, in order to perpetuate their oppression beyond the use of force. So when you use someone else’s dress, you may unwillingly be a participant in the history of cultural oppression, even when your intentions might be the best. This is why cultural appropriation might be most offensive when taking on the culture and style of people who have been dealt a great deal of injustice or oppression. 

There is a lot of nuance around the concept of dressing up as a specific character from a culture outside your own, and it’s one that varies by context and situation. Several things need to be considered when choosing a character to dress up as, including:

It’s important to examine the wider context of a costume before committing, and learn about the culture and people associated with it beforehand, no matter how good of an idea it may seem. Often, if you can respectfully, knowingly and appropriately pay tribute to a culture—whether that be through a family-wide Encanto costume, or through dressing up as a specific Disney princess—you’re doing your part in pursuing appreciation, over appropriation. 

While conversations around cultural appropriation often crop up in everyday life, they tend to become more prominent around Halloween. This is because stereotypical costumes depicting specific cultures are often worn with ignorance, and neglect the culture from which the costume comes from.

Many times, costumes pull from traditions that are taken out of context and warped by popular culture, typically becoming fetishised rather than respected or understood. Naturally, this can be offensive to a wide range of people, especially those who are closely linked or come from the culture being taken out of context.

There are loads of costume ideas that don't play on negative cultural stereotypes to choose from

Wearing a headdress to be a Native American or Indigenous Chieftain, or dressing as a "gypsy" or a fortune teller and therefore representing Romani culture, are examples of common ways people trivialise, glamorise and generally benefit from a culture, and rarely involve showing respect and long-term attention to those belonging to that culture.

Reducing an entire group to a "costume" that is taken off at the end of the night is insensitive to the history, struggles and gravity of marginalised groups. It often shows the privilege the wearer has in being able to pick the most convenient parts of a culture, and neglect the rest.

Read more: What is Samhain and how is it celebrated?

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