The Student News Site of Central Oregon Community College

The Broadside

The Student News Site of Central Oregon Community College

The Broadside

The Student News Site of Central Oregon Community College

The Broadside

Culturally Sensitive Halloween Costumes

Culturally Sensitive Halloween Costumes

With many costumes to choose from in today’s market, selecting one that is culturally sensitive is often far from people’s minds, according to Jon Bouknight.

A costume that is “culturally sensitive” would avoid targeting a specific demographic of people with the intent of ridicule, according to Bouknight, communications professor at Central Oregon Community College.

A culturally sensitive and appropriate costume is “going to be funny or scary, in an enjoyable way, to most of the people who see it,”according to Jon Bouknight, a communications professor at Central Oregon Community College.

“We like to take the ‘Gremlin’ of our current time, and turn it into a costume,” Bouknight explained.

In recent years this has often come in the form of terrorist costumes. Bouknight explained that while the costume itself might not be offensive, associating it with a specifically Middle Eastern or Islamic look would be.

This does not mean that is inappropriate to dress up as something or someone different, according to Ami Zepnewski, a Japanese teacher at Summit High School. Every year, Zepnewski dresses up as a Sumo Wrestler. Zepnewski believes that offence typically comes when people mix a variety of cultures in their costumes.

Mixing and matching cultural costumes often “promotes” or “inspires” ignorance of a specific culture, according to Zepnewski.

“At least take the time to do the research,” Zepnewski said.

Juli Wright |
The Broadside
(Contact: [email protected])

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