As I write this article, I sit at my desk that is adorned with a Ukrainian flag, the flag that is one of many symbols of my heritage and way of life -- the way I was raised by my mother, the heirlooms that I will give to my kids someday, the meals I eat for dinner, the way we celebrate an Eastern European Christmas. Even though I was born and raised in America, I’m proud of my ethnicity and the customs I’ve grown to love. It’s a part of me that will never be taken or changed (go ahead and put in a joke about Russia eating up Ukraine here, I won’t be offended though I have my opinions).
Here’s the thing: even though I obviously care about my cultural identity, if a kid showed up to my door on Halloween wearing traditional Ukrainian attire, I would feel inclined to dump my entire bowl of candy into their plastic jack-O-lantern out of excitement. I’d probably ask to take a picture with the kid because of the fact that someone actually knew the culture existed, even if they just dressed that way because they thought the costume looked cool. In absolutely no way whatsoever would offense come to mind.
First, we have to realize that quite a few cultures have their own costumes. If you don’t live under a rock, you’ve seen images of Queen’s Guards in England or Japanese women wearing kimonos or German people wearing Lederhosen. When children see these costumes and want to dress in them for Halloween they’re saying, “that’s cool, I want to wear it, too.” They’re fascinated, and they think that their costume of choice is special enough to wear for the one day out of the year they can be whatever they want: Halloween.
Herein lies the question: when are costumes offensive? In my opinion, it’s when the intention is to offend. Though everyone has his or her own ideals, personally I am not easily offended and can see humor in a situation if humor is intended. One thing I will not do (and will discourage other people to do) is be offended on behalf of another culture, ethnicity or heritage that I don’t claim as my own – I don’t expect people to say, “Hey, thanks for being offended for me, I really appreciate it.” To stand up for people when they feel insulted is one thing but to completely be offended on behalf of other people is another, though that’s exactly what our society is turning into: land of the free, and home of the offended.
In college we are not children anymore. We look at costumes from a different perspective than a child’s, and choose our costumes differently than children. As college students, we wear costumes for reasons other than Halloween – parties, mixers and formals. Now that we’re adults we think like adults, and while this means understanding the depth of a costume at a deeper level than a child, it also means using judgment to understand that not every costume pertaining to a culture is offensive. For a second, let’s pretend I went to Germany, bought an Oktoberfest costume in a gift shop, and wore it on Halloween. How would that be offensive if such costumes are sold to tourists? In almost every tourist-filled country, you can find some form of costume being sold in gift shops that represent the country’s culture.
Instead of automatically being offended that someone is wearing your culture’s clothes, realize that the reason behind people wearing costumes of other cultures is most likely that they like them. Stop looking for reasons to be offended, and take it as a compliment that someone is actually acknowledging your culture. I sure would.
