From the tasteless to the offensive
Halloween costumes generally fall under three categories. It’s either you dress classically spooky, dress “slutty”–as coined by incels who objectify women when girls just want to have fun—or dress weird. The last one changes definition every year, but we can forecast a trend right away.
Remember when Suicide Squad hit theaters in 2016? We expected a lot of campy, bubblegum-Harley Quinns, and mumble-rapper-esque Jokers. When Halloween came around, we were (disappointed but) not surprised.
At least those costumes weren't tasteless or, worse yet, offensive.
There are actually a lot more “evil” costumes than you would think. The sort of costumes nobody asked for and (should) upset everyone. From the tasteless Nazi or terrorist costumes to the downright offensive transphobic and culturally appropriated costumes. These are the sort of costumes that are canceled right from the beginning.
Halloween is coming up and we have already spotted some new, problematic costumes. Many are inspired by, you guessed it, Covid-19.
Hand Sanitizer
This one is okay in the sense that it doesn’t have an irregular dispenser-shaped structure and can be worn with pants. Kidding aside, this mint-green bodysuit from the online American costume retailer Yandy comes with a vinyl outer dress and velcro letterings that read “kills 99.99% of germs.” This costume goes well with an attitude that doesn't mind all the eye-rolls. And for $69.95, or ₱3,395, it’s really not clever.
Banana Bread Boredom
Another tacky costume from Yandy that’s reeking of misogyny, the Banana Bread Boredom costume's description starts off with, "Well aren't you looking hot and homemade?" The costume is inspired by the banana bread baking trend of the year and is essentially just a metallic tube dress with a brown velvet front and two banana details literally taped on it. It looks 0% hot and 100% homemade. Save your 40 dollars.
Corona + Virus
Who doesn’t like a costume mash-up that capitalizes on a pandemic in the middle of a pandemic? All of us.
While Yandy executives have gone on record saying they would not make a Covid costume this year, other costume companies decided to fill in the gap.
The mask and bottle combo from Costume SuperCenter is the kind of “irregular bottle-shaped structure” we were talking about early. This is how the Costume SuperCenter officially describes this.. thing: “Quarantine might have us all feeling locked up these days, but when you put the Coronavirus costume for an adult on this Halloween, you'll be ready to party! With your purchase, you will receive everything you need to show the world that Covid-19 isn't going to bring your energy down!”
Sounds like there isn't just a lot of ?confetti? going on but also a lot of insensitivity.
Karens
Everybody knows a "Karen." Probably the word of the year, she is your typical "mature" woman with a blonde, bob haircut, snarling facial gestures, and trademarked bigotry. And now you can become a Karen for one Halloween night. They are getting a mask and we want in. This Karen latex Halloween rubber mask was found on American e-commerce site Etsy. The odd one out among the list, it has actually sold out pretty quickly.
Black Lives Matter
You can wear your support on social media and on the streets, but a movement advocating against racial discrimination is not a Halloween costume. This Amazon find belittles everything BLM stands for, especially as it just emblazones the slogan onto a Friday the 13th frock.