I Am Not a Costume!

DrPhil · #1 10-28-2011, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Root Article

Stop Racist Halloween Costumes!
Single-Minded: A Q&A with the leaders of an Ohio University campaign against offensive garb.

The 10 members of Ohio University's STARS organization were fed up with offensive costumes that reinforce negative racial and cultural stereotypes. So STARS, which stands for Students Teaching About Racism in Society, created a poster campaign to draw attention to those costume choices that are simply "not okay." With just five powerful posters featuring young men or women of various races holding a photo of a "racist costume," the students of STARS have started a movement

http://www.theroot.com/views/stop-ra...oween-costumes

DrPhil · #2 10-28-2011, 11:03 AM

The offensive costume thing is not that common in the grander scheme of things but seems more common because idiots take photos and post them on the Internet. When you leave the house with these costumes or take photos, you are giving people a reason to respond. Only wear the potentially offensive costumes at home next time.

AlphaFrog · #3 10-28-2011, 11:07 AM

I know when I went looking this year, I found 3 types of costumes: hooker that happened to resemble something (sexy policeman, sassy Cinderella, hot Barbie, spicy fairy), plus size, and plus sized hooker. It took me forever to find something respectable. Incidentally, It happens to match my daughter's costume almost perfectly, and is Renaissance Faire appropriate! Triple score!

Shellfish · #4 10-28-2011, 11:24 AM

I can't figure out which costume is weirder: Is it Sexy Spongebob (http://www.halloween31.com/pages-pro...t-costume.html) or Sexy Watermelon (http://www.yandy.com/Sexy-Watermelon-Costume.php)?

33girl · #5 10-28-2011, 11:26 AM

The person writing the article was stupid to bring up the whole "sexy insert here" thing. That's a completely different issue from what these students are protesting. I mean, I haven't seen the ladies who work for The Maids launching a protest against sexy maid costumes.

Journalists who use others to vent their own pet peeves are annoying.

DrPhil · #6 10-28-2011, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 33girl

The person writing the article was stupid to bring up the whole "sexy insert here" thing. That's a completely different issue from what these students are protesting.

I agree and that's why AlphaFrog and Shellfish's posts are not about the central topic. LOL.

GCers who may not know, this topic is about racist halloween costumes.

agzg · #7 10-28-2011, 11:48 AM

I love this campaign.

AlphaFrog · #8 10-28-2011, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I agree and that's why AlphaFrog and Shellfish's posts are not about the central topic. LOL.

GCers who may not know, this topic is about racist halloween costumes.

I was responding to the last part of the article you quoted about the sexy tiger. It's cold and rainy here and I wasn't in the mood to join in the race war.

Truth be told, I opened this thread thinking it was going to be Snooki or someone equally irrelevantly self-important talking about not wanting to be people's costume. I really thought you had lost it posting Snooki as news. LOL

DrPhil · #9 10-28-2011, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I was responding to the last part of the article you quoted about the sexy tiger.

I know. That's what 33girl is saying. The journalists shouldn't have made that the introduction to the article because some people will stop there and miss what this movement is about--whether it is cold and rainy or not.

Psi U MC Vito · #10 10-28-2011, 12:35 PM

Interesting how white privilege is brought up. But what about those who make costumes that are negative stereotypes of their own culture? Jersey Shore comes to mind here.

33girl · #11 10-28-2011, 12:38 PM

Speak for yourself dear, but my culture is NOT Jersey Shore.

Psi U MC Vito · #12 10-28-2011, 12:41 PM

And most African Americans cultures are not thug life. My point is that the guido subculture is a subset of white culture. And I actually know Italians who have dressed as guidos for Halloween.

DrPhil · #13 10-28-2011, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

Interesting how white privilege is brought up. But what about those who make costumes that are negative stereotypes of their own culture? Jersey Shore comes to mind here.

The notion of privilege is why you are more likely to find whites who wear these costumes than nonwhites.

Intraracial and intracultural dynamics are a different topic than interracial and intercultural dynamics. They are rooted in something different. For instance, if Italian Americans want to dress a certain way to mimic what they consider aspects of Italian American culture, that is up to them. That does not give nonItalian Americans (including nonItalian whites) the liberty to do the same thing.

What is embedded in this/

I feel the same way about racial slurs. If people use words and phrases intraracially and intraculturally, that's on them even if they use the words around nonmembers. Don't ask "but why can't I say it?!" Again, whites (in general) are much more likely than nonwhites to try the "but why can't I" routine. That need and desire (in general) to say and do things just for shits and giggles is embedded in white privilege. All of my life, whites have used slurs aimed at other whites around me. Most recently it happened at a professional gathering--a white man called himself a "h----." It made me uncomfortable because, a few times throughout the years, it was obvious that some of these whites were doing that based on the notion of "I'm going to beat my own ass so that you don't have to do it...I know that all Black people hate white people." That is also rooted in white privilege because you are saying that you have the liberty to pick and choose when you figuratively get your ass beaten whereas power minorities tend not have such input on their figurative ass whoopings. While it made me uncomfortable and I didn't even smile in response, I never said "oh yay! I'm going to use that word, too! Why can't I?"

/What is embedded in this

DrPhil · #14 10-28-2011, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

And most African Americans cultures are not thug life.

Really?

NonBlacks need to let the Black folks deal with that. If Black folks want to mock aspects of Black culture, that is completely on us.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

My point is that the guido subculture is a subset of white culture. And I actually know Italians who have dressed as guidos for Halloween.

Italians have every right to dress up as guidos.

Italian Americans have assimilated into whiteness so it's up to the white diaspora to fight over who can do what regarding the different white ethnicities. As a nonItalian and nonwhite person, I have no interest in policing that.

AlphaFrog · #15 10-28-2011, 01:26 PM

So, DrPhil, since in your opinion it's ok for Italian Americans to dress up as guidos, is it also in your opinion ok for blacks to dress up as thugs?

And if it's not ok for non-Blacks to discuss what Blacks dress up as, how come you get to (yes, I went there

) speak for Italian Americans?