Halloween. A time of free sugar, new tricks, and a time to wear a mask. Costumes are a staple in Halloween culture. How can you resist a chance to big the hero of your own story? Or scare your friends out of your skin? It's all in good fun, but that's what we need to talk about. It's cool to dress up, but we should also remember that some of these characters are very real. In fact, you may see them every day.

This piece sparked after I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a quiz from CNN. The quiz is Should You Wear Your Halloween Costume? A helpful guide. Now I can appreciate a funny gag as much as the next person. And while it was funny, it also sheds a light on a bigger problem:

The mass production and popularity of offensive costumes.

From blackface to other forms of cultural appropriation, to inaccurate and demeaning representations of various demographics. It's marketing off of stereotypes.

Over the years, costumes have seen new levels of creativity. I love seeing how creative people can get with their hair and makeup, but sometimes we really need to question what we spend our money on. For example, a flasher. I'm not kidding, there is a costume in which some is portrayed as a sexual offender. This was for sale and people bought it. There are even more costumes that range from a 9/11 costume to a holocaust victim. The true horror story is that these were sold and bought.

I see a lot of stories in the news about Halloween costumes, but many of them tend to focus on people who wear sexy cute costumes instead of ones that make it hard to have fun. There is a difference between ignorance and cruelty. If we don't buy these costumes, then the market won't sell them. In seeing that quiz, I wanted to make a note that it's supposed to be fun, but trying to be risky, is too much of a risk. Coming from a woman of color, it's like saying this is how you should be. So when picking a costume, remember that it says more about you than you think.