Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticCat
This whole topic just reinforces my curmudgeonliness: Halloween costumes are supposed to be scary -- ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties...
|
"Is that a ghoulie or ghosty or wee student beastie?" Peeves ITY?
Meh I think people get hung up on the whole body paint/face paint issue when (as Phil put it) there are other ways to incorporate racial identifiers that are just as offensive as face paint if not moreso. IIRC the 3rd photo was one of a guy in a sombrero and poncho "dressed as a Mexican." I went to a Halloween party last year and saw a guy in the same outfit, drinking tequila in the corner, and he said "I'm a Mexican." That's offensive because (among many other reasons), he was assuming that poncho+sombrero+tequila = an accurate representation of a Mexican man. If he had been wearing brown paint to tint his skin (he was white), that would have been (or should have been IMO) the least of the concern.
I found the cheerleader's face/body paint to be
unnecessary but wasn't personally offended by it. Mostly because she was imitating as one person in his usual attire. If she had put on that same outfit and just said "I'm a Black person for Halloween," the my offense would come from her assumption that Black men are thugs. This would be true whether she painted herself brown or not.
Threaded Mode
