Dress up for the party as a ...
 

Just some thoughts that went by while driving on the subject of theme parties where dressing up as a specific group might be proposed.

1) A specific race: This *never* ends well.
2) A specific group on the GLBTQ (etc.) spectrum: Ditto
3) A specific job, generally OK if it is a job that you'd admit that you had to your HS principal. Accountants OK, Pimp/Whore, nope.
4) A specific nationality/ethnic group: Generally OK if there haven't been any for at least 400 years like Vikings, Romans, Aztecs and bad if they are still around like French, German and Korean, but a few exceptions.
Greeks: The Greek system in the US annoys people from Greece enough that Athenian or Spartan themed parties aren't going to make a difference
Mayans: Yes there are still Mayans, but if you can pull of a dress as a Mayan for the December 2012 party, that's impressive.
Egypt of the Pharoahs: An odd one on a couple of levels, you've got the entire question of whether those of African descent are inheritors of that culture and then you've got the Alpha Phi Alphas having a particular tie in their traditions to it. So a white Fraternity might have the Black Student Union and the Alpha Phi Alpha brothers objecting, but might have the brothers of the other NPHC (Historically black) fraternities passing around popcorn.
"Southern US": Some fraternities founded in the southern US have parties based on Ante-bellum Southern themes. If yours does, you know the issues already, if you don't, find another theme, you don't want the headache.

Comments?

I never liked themed parties. Thank goodness they aren't too popular with your average NPHC chapter.

How about "white trash"? I thought it was funny back in college, but now...um, I've rethought that position.

One of my daughters is Maya and looks classically so. I think she'd be embarrassed by such a party.

If we do general theme we usually stick to Pirates/Vikings/Middle ages/Wild West etc.

But more often we pick more creative themes that are open to the imagination of the invitees, always fun to see how everyone interprets the theme in a different way.

Anything "and hoes."

I also dislike theme parties in general.

My husband is also indigenous Mexican (Zapotec), and I've met full blood Aztecs and Incans. They haven't been gone for 400 years, naraht. Also, they might not throw Christians to the lions, but I'm pretty sure you could find a Roman or two. As to whether he would be insulted or embarrassed...I think his exact words would be something along the lines of "Gringos pendejos".

People - JUST SAY NO.

Now that's a theme!

Temo que los gringos no les gusten el tema.

THIS
The first party I was invited to at college was 'Gold Bros and Tennis Hoes'. I was mentally going between :eek: and pearl clutching.

Add: CEOs and secretaries.
w. t. f.

ETA: meaning, this is something that should NEVER be done.

Apparently I'm in the minority (ha ha ha), but I like theme parties. There's totally a way to do it and not be offensive about it. Some of the more successful ones I've attended include:

1. Wild West/Cowboy
2. Toga Party
3. 1920s: flapper/gangster
4. Moulin Rouge
5. Superheroes

Frankly, I don't understand the brouhaha over an Egyptian/Pharoah party, being as neither black people nor Alpha Phi Alpha own the rights to Egyptian iconography.

Decade parties, 'why are you wearing that', 'when i grow up' (dress up as a doctor, firefighter, etc), if it isn't neon it shouldn't be on, etc. tend to have the fun and creativity of themed parties without being offensive

I also knew of a greek themed mixer that was "golf pros and tiger woods' hoes" and the girls dressed up specifically as one of the 50 mistresses. It was funny/creative, but offensive I know.

Anything Goes But Clothes is another theme that sounds fun, but in reality is a complete and total hot mess. Not offensive, per se, but not a good look for anyone.

LOVE this theme.

I had a ton of fun with theme parties, but that's because me and my friends always got creative... and any time there was a theme that included "Ho" somewhere in it, I always dressed the male part.

For a Pimps and Hos party, my friend and I went as pimps… we wore black pants and shirts, heels, hats, colored glasses, she had a cane, and we both made our own “bling”.. we bought big wooden letters (each of our first initials) at A.C. Moore, painted them a shiny silver/gold, and tied them around our necks with equally flashy ribbon. Everyone loved our outfits.

GI Joes and Barbie Hos… we went dressed like Rambo (except we had shirts on) :p

For a Christmas party, everyone had to dress up like something… Christmasy. My friend and I went as presents. We had just plain white t-shirts and we ran ribbon around the middle, then down the front from the shoulder to near the hip.. and we put a bow where the two pieces of ribbon met. We had Christmas earrings and necklaces. The best part of the whole thing… we bought big cardboard gift tags at Wal-Mart (about 3”x5”), tied them around our necks and wrote on them:

To: Men
From: God

When people asked us what it meant, we said, “We’re God’s gift to men!” :D

Back in the 90s, Hurricane Parties were, maybe not a big thing, but they went on to from time to time - "boarded up" windows, come looking wind-blown, and of course drink Hurricanes. I would assume (and hope) that in a post-Katrina world, those aren't happening.

I never liked the "I'm glad I'm not..." parties. They could get mean-spirited.

Perhaps, but given that the average college student (as well as average American) would have *no* idea what a Maya would wear, They'd have to increase their knowledge *about* the Maya to even get it insultingly wrong. Think of trying to have a group of Europeans dress up as Chinese prior to Marco Polo.

Oh, I know, it's just that if she heard the name of the party and that she was supposed to dress Maya, it would weird her out. We have a ton of Guatemalans here and some still dress in the Central Native American style with the long woven skirts and carry baskets of laundry on their heads on the way to the laundromat. She knows that she looks more like these Guatemalans than she does the more westernized ones (ladinos) and knows that she and they are Maya.

They also speak among themselves in Maya dialects that are nothing like Spanish, so she doesn't understand them when she overhears them or when they try to speak to her because they think she's one of the gang. So, if someone said, "We're having a Dress like a Maya, End of the World party!", she'd bid you hasta la vista.

I actually was in a somewhat similar situation (I'm Jewish) while I went to High School in China. In most of East Asia they'll still manage to combine some of the most negative *and* most positive stereotypical characteristics of Jews into one stereotype. It's why the Japanese tried to take some of the Jews off the hands of Hitler, they wanted to settle them in Manchuria to take the place of the Chinese that they'd killed.

As an undergraduate I protested a mock wedding theme party - parodying a sacrament is just wrong.

Um... how did THAT one work? And what's the point? That doesn't sound fun at all...

A theme that was really fun is "Red Carpet." Everyone comes dressed as a celebrity. It was pretty hilarious.

Idk about this person's school, but typically there is a bride, groom (sorority member and fraternity member.) It is a weekend long thing, with a rehearsal dinner, bachelorette/bachelor parties, and then the big reception where people dress up as they would for a wedding.

Wow. They need something better to do with their time.

I like a theme party when it is a smaller group of people who are clever and I know won't create a problem. Problem defined as inappropriate or offensive, or unfunny. I've always been a fan of authors, characters (literature, film, television), television or music decade or genre, but my all time favorite was San Francisco neighborhood. One could easily do that in New York and be quite creative.

If anyone has a Viking party I'd boycott if the default was horned helmets, not one exists in the archaeological record. What was found is all mainland Europe (not even Danish at that) and British Isles and pre or post dates the age of the Vikings. Chain mail was the norm, so no metal breastplates ladies, though in the Sagas a lot of ladies went topless or flashed in battle.

Barbarian would probably be a much better theme and can include Romans of the Western Empire. Even better, Romans and Goths then let people self interpret as flying buttresses, Germanic tribes, people who should not take make up tips from Robert Smith of The Cure, Poe or any of his characters, a couple as a Grant Wood painting, or perhaps the National Cathedral.