There are so many different Halloween costumes in the world. You can dress up as any kind of animal, a magical creature, or even an object for one night of fun. But there are some costumes that are not okay to dress up as. Some of these costumes have been talked about a lot in the media, like costumes that portray different cultures, but these are some of the costumes that I feel are not talked about as much and should be.

Trigger warning: eating disorder, anorexia

Costumes portraying eating disorders

Pictured above is a costume titled, "Anna Rexia" which is meant to be a play on the word "anorexia." These types of costumes are not okay to wear because they make fun of eating disorders, and thereby show people with those disorders that their illness is funny, or something that is okay, rather than something that is very dangerous to a person's health and well-being.

This costume makes it so that people who have eating disorders don't feel safe telling the people that they care for about their problems because they'll worry that it will seem like a joke, rather than a serious illness.

Costumes that portray gender or sexual identity

Costumes that portray gender or sexual identity, like the one above, made specifically for men, are made to be funny. But these are things that are not supposed to be funny. Struggling with gender and sexual identity is a very difficult process, and the people who do struggle with it do not deserve to be made fun of. If someone they know wears a costume like this, it makes it harder for them to feel safe and comfortable in their surroundings and with themselves. And if someone isn't comfortable with themselves, that leads to depression, self-harm, or even suicide.

Trigger warning: self-harm, suicide

Costumes that portray mental illness

Halloween has a history of portraying mental illness as something that is scary. There are many haunted houses that use the title of asylum and have characters that portray illnesses like schizophrenia (seeing/hearing things that aren't actually there) and bipolar disorder. These houses use mental illnesses to scare others for amusement.

The makeup/costume pictured above shows scars and a razor blade, which means that it's portraying self-harm. These kinds of things are, again, making light of something that is actually a serious issue, and shows people who have these illnesses that their problems are only going to be a joke.

In conclusion, if you see any of these costumes this Halloween season, be sure to mention to the person exactly why that costume is not something that they should be wearing.