• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Outrage over Halloween costumes

Rolfe said:
I remember once, as a child, being somewhere and a fancy dress event caught me unprepared so I put on my kilt (which I had with me) and dressed it up with as many ethnic Scottish accessories as I could scrape together.

All the while feeling like a bit of a fraud because this wasn't "fancy dress" for me. It was my clothes. (OK, arguably I was in drag as a kilt is male apparel but it's pretty common for females to wear them too.)

They're kind of missing the point. Dressing up by definition is about dressing as someone you are not. If we can only dress as who we are, it's not going to be a lot of fun.
Click to expand...

Basically a good point. But I guess some people don't like others to dress up as them.

Hans
 
As part of the lads culture I'll be dressing as a drunken lout. This will require me to fondle any females within reach while making lewd comments. Don't blame me, it's all just part of the costume.
 
I'm a white guy and this year I'm dressing up in Whiteface and acting like the stereotypical white guy.
 
Foolmewunz said:
So who's winning? Thus far, but it's early yet, we seem to have nothing but votes from the "I'll Be Outraged by Your Outrage All the While Complaining About People Who are Easily Outraged" team.

Me, I'm thinking about going as a Dead Gay Person From the Orlando Shootings.

What? Too soon? Too specific? Well, I've always got my fallback choice, of Random Lynched Black Person Hanging From a Poplar Tree.
Click to expand...

Robin Williams, dressed as Bill Cosby, doing Mrs. Doubtfire...as a zombie.
 
Delphic Oracle said:
It started with a post about how "cis men" should not dress in "drag" for Halloween because it is apparently offensive to the trans community and is an insult to femininity. Nevermind that drag, trans, and femininity are all totally different things!

Now I'm seeing dozens of examples of the same thinking applied to every possible ethnic/cultural/identity label imaginable.

All the while, nobody seems even remotely aware of the Celtic/Gaelic festival of Samhain ("Summer's End") or its equivalents. So here we are, complaining about the erasure of cultural identities and disrespect for sacred traditions...while totally disregarding the day's origins as being centered around ancestral worship and offerings of a portion of the bounty of your harvest to secure good fortune through the dark months of winter.

Apparently it is ok to turn reverence for the dead into a giant peackock semi-anonymous hook-up mating ritual, but wearing a sombrero or dressing up as a geisha is off-limits.

DISLCAIMER: There is such a thing as "too far" such as Arabic suicide bomber costumes or black face. Also, while I do have Irish ancestry (and seem to have inherited almost all of the superficial traits of such), I'm not actually upset about Halloween. I just despise selective outrage and tribalistic declarations of one's own identity as sacrosanct while totally silent about the same offenses against others.
Click to expand...

Ok then I hereby declare that non-whites cannot wear T-shirts and Polo shirts. That would be cultural appropriation.
 
Rolfe said:
I remember once, as a child, being somewhere and a fancy dress event caught me unprepared so I put on my kilt (which I had with me) and dressed it up with as many ethnic Scottish accessories as I could scrape together.

All the while feeling like a bit of a fraud because this wasn't "fancy dress" for me. It was my clothes. (OK, arguably I was in drag as a kilt is male apparel but it's pretty common for females to wear them too.)

They're kind of missing the point. Dressing up by definition is about dressing as someone you are not. If we can only dress as who we are, it's not going to be a lot of fun.
Click to expand...

Hey, Rolfe. I don't see you much on threads these days. Good to see you.
 
Not anymore. Apparently it's now about reinforcing echo chambers. Socialisation can lead to being exposed to things you disagree with, and we certainly wouldn't want that!
 
Argumemnon said:
Ok then I hereby declare that non-whites cannot wear T-shirts and Polo shirts. That would be cultural appropriation.
Click to expand...

I've been told on several occasions (sometimes at very high decibel levels) that things like racism or cultural appropriation cannot happen to the "dominant culture." I'm having trouble reconciling that with other statements about how whites "don't have a culture" except for that which was appropriated/stolen from others.

I've not had much luck explaining that "white" is not an ethnic or cultural group, but a social construct that isn't even consistent about who is or is not included in that designation.

ETA: I acknowledge that institutional/structural bias is far more destructive than individual acts. However, I don't like "sins of the father" or "two wrongs make a right" rationalizations.
 
Last edited:
To my shame, given the usual nature of US Halloween costumes, I thought this was going to be an entirely different sort of thread.
 
Aepervius said:
Usually when people get offended at something I do, then I ignore them, and leave them at their infuriated ranting. Maybe this year i will go out as a blackface drag queen just for kickers.
Click to expand...

That should certainly get attention!!!!!:):):)
 
MostlyDead said:
I hear 'Trampy Trump' and 'Hooker Hillary' will be all the rage in costumes this year.
Click to expand...

I know someone who's going as Cersei Clinton. Her boyfriend is going to be Ser Jaime Trump, complete with a very tiny golden hand.

Back when she was in her anime phase she went as Sailor Palin.
 
MRC_Hans said:
Basically a good point. But I guess some people don't like others to dress up as them.

Hans
Click to expand...

We live in a world were icp handles things with more maturity than people who claim to be paragons of virtue.

(The song "every Halloween " to be less cryptic about it)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom