 |
| STARS poster |
It’s that time of year again. While it’s not an actual official holiday, the commercialism, creativity and association with an activity children love to participate in—Halloween might as well be a national holiday.
Halloween gives us the opportunity to be bold and creative with dress-up ideas. But it’s also the unfortunate time where we see particularly offensive costume ideas, that may not only offend some racial and ethnic groups, but perpetuate stereotypes that negatively appropriate aspects of one’s culture.
Two years ago a student organization (STARS) at Ohio University launched a campaign called ‘We Are Not a Costume’ highlighting racially insensitive costume ideas that typically stereotype certain racial and ethnic groups. Their slogan was, ‘You wear a costume for one night, I wear the stigma for life.’ This is relevant for people of minority groups who are grossly impacted by few and limited portrayals, or vast and over-saturated ones.
Before you pull out the sensitivity card, try to understand why some people will take issue with certain costumes.
If one chooses to be a ‘geisha’ for Halloween, keep in mind that the West turned an entertaining figure into a sex stereotype that some Asian women have to deal with in reality. This is important especially as this stereotype was heightened this year when a musical band released a video for a controversial song called ‘Asian Girlz,’ which many considered to be fetishizing women of East Asian descent.
If you choose to be a ‘suicide bomber’ for Halloween, it is not only insensitive to survivors and victims of such acts, but this is the same stereotype forces men who appear brown, or of Middle-Eastern and Asian descent, to undergo extra searches at airports, or become victims of surveillance tactics because he fits a profile.
If you choose to be a ‘Mexican’ for Halloween by dressing up with a sombrero and a mustache, know first that it is absolutely preposterous to be a nationality, especially one that includes people of all different racial backgrounds. And by doing this, you’re painting an entire ethnic group with a broad brush, one that deems them ‘foreign’ and subject to dehumanizing racial profiling stops.
If you choose to be ‘Black’ for Halloween, either a real or a fictional person, consider not using makeup or an Afro wig for accuracy. You will be entering rocky territory such as the offensive ‘Blackface,’ a dehumanizing portrayal used in minstrel shows that created negative and harsh portrayals of Black Americans. And consider that you’re basically wearing someone's skin color as a costume, a skin color that deems a disproportionate amount of people in this group, suspicious or threatening. As for hair—hair discrimination is a real thing. Last month a young girl was sent home from school because her naturally kinky locs were not part of school policy standards.
If you choose to be Native American for Halloween— know that Native culture in the U.S. was nearly obliterated by colonization. Never mind that there is currently a national debate on whether the NFL team, Washington Redskins, should change their mascot and team name due to r*dskin being a pejorative term used against Native Americans, with redface being a racist trope.
If you choose to be a redneck for Halloween—know that this term is typically used to distinguish Whites based on social class and association with racism and backward ideals. It’s also a negative term typically aimed at Southern White Americans, so while it may not be racist unlike the previous ones due to dynamics, it certainly is classist.
There is much to consider before deciding on a costume or who to be. It’s not to say you can’t be a person of another race, but do consider the disdain and stereotypes certain groups are subject to just by their mere existence. And know what constitutes redface, blackface, brownface, etc;
Amazing, cool, creative, and stunning costumes exist. Don’t think you can’t be a certain character, just reconsider the stigma that is associated with certain groups, and avoid participating in the misrepresentation of someone’s culture. Ask yourself, is this costume a stereotype someone of this group battles everyday?
Happy Halloween!
 |
| Main cast of Girls |
HBO's new series 'Girls', not even a month since its season premiere, has created lots of racial discussions in the last few weeks. The New York Times ran several opinion pieces discussing race and the show, which is about four young White women living in New York City.
The conversation has been very interesting. While several thought-provoking viewpoints have been made, the controversy surrounding this show does not divert my interest one bit.
Despite some complaints many have made about the lack of color on the show (which I noticed), no one has mentioned socialization of human nature. Clearly in an era where diversity is becoming more embraced and encouraged, not everyone has the colors of the rainbow represented in their social group. One of the shows writers may have put her foot in her mouth, but why is no one talking about how common it is for people to socialize and date people of the same race?
New York City is a large, diverse city with people of many backgrounds and cultures. Whites are a minority in many areas, especially in Brooklyn where the show is centered. You'd have to really go out of your way to avoid social and everyday interactions with someone of a different race or ethnic background. But when it comes to personal friendships, many people can still say that they mostly hang out with people who look more like them? Does that make someone racist? Obviously not. In the same way it doesn't makes you less of a racist, if you have a friends of different races other than yours. Who hasn't heard the "but I have a (insert race) friend..." line said as an afterthought to making an offensive comment?
So I beg to disagree. Speaking from my own personal experience as a young Black woman, most of my friends (actual friends) are other Black women in my age group. I have made friends with people of all races, however my lasting friendships are with women who just so happen to be Black. And guess what? If I were to write a show about my life, majority of the characters would be Black and Hispanic.
The racial talks about what's on TV, are even beginning to change the definitions. What does diversity in television mean today? Another token Black character? Or what about a Hispanic? Native American? and what about Asians? They are always left out. How many non-Whites have to be on a show for it to be considered diverse?
The studios can be blamed, but society needs to be held accountable as well. Another factor to take into account is consumerism; the type of consumerism that may expose personal preferences, which in turn may lead to another racial discussion. If you want to see something on TV, you have to show it in your viewership. Television shows with minorities probably aren't produced because they're not garnering enough viewers. Viewership equals ratings ($), and ratings drives production. If no one is watching, then the show will get the axe. The ugly truth could be that television shows with minorities just aren't bringing enough viewers for studios to keep producing, and that's simply because most of society (White) isn't watching. This is where it ends.
The same way many minorities want to see themselves represented when they turn on their TV's, is the same reason some Whites (the majority) want to see the same as well.
However that doesn't dismiss the topic that minorities just aren't on TV, as much as they watch. Because Girls is not like the other shows about privileged White girls, the expectations were seemingly high. The show provides a different view of young women today. And for a show like Girls to display these progressive, relatable attitudes in one of the most progressive cities in the world, it is clear why it left some disappointed. White women are not the only definition of funny, quirky and spoiled.
In all, if the show is reflecting the writer's experience and life, it shouldn't be criticized for portraying factual events. While characters can be attributed to any race, especially ones about spoiled, college girls (yours truly), if they imagined their characters to be White, no one should be angry at that. What if that's not part of her experience?
If a Black, Asian or Hispanic girl were added to the cast, would the
writers' accurately portray them in the way viewers of that group would
want? It's highly possible that there may have been complaints about the
portrayals of said characters. For all one knows, the writers' lack of experience with
non-White girls may have added the to the long line of stereotypes of
minorities in television. And who would want that, when minorities are constantly
fighting stereotypes that have been created by television? Examples like
the thick-accented feisty Latina, the loud, sassy Black
chick or the socially awkward timid Asian girl.
Television does need to change, but it doesn't start with Girls. It is not the first and won't be the last.
 |
| Trayvon Martin |
By now, many Americans and many others across the world have heard of the death of Trayvon Martin.
Martin was a 17 year-old black teen that was fatally shot by a 28 year-old neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, in the city of Sanford, Florida a month ago. Martin was unarmed. Zimmerman admitted to shooting him but has claimed self-defense and has not been charged.
The story which has been reported by almost every major news corporation in the United States has brought up the topic of injustice, and whether race played a part in the crime and investigation. An online petition on change.org calling for Zimmerman's arrest has over two-million signatures, rallies and protests have already taken place in major cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Sanford, Miami and even in the nations capitol.
Trayvon's Martins case has sparked lots of national outrage. We are seeing a rise of revenge vigilantism as Black nationalist group, New Black Panther Party issued a $10,000 bounty for anyone who can find Zimmerman. Director Spike Lee evidently tweeted an address said to be of Zimmerman's home, which actually turned out to be the home of an older couple that lives four miles from where Zimmerman actually lives. Black parents who already feared for the lives of their children, especially their boys, have now reinforced their fear in the possibility that their sons may be the target of racial profiling.
The gleaming uncomfortable pink elephant in the room right now is: race. Martin's parents and the Martin family lawyer, believe that if the crime was reversed and Martin was the shooter, he would've been arrested and tried for the crime.
Racial profiling has a long history in America and it usually affects minority males, specifically Black. Young Black men are constantly suspected of wrong-doings. This causes plenty of innocent men and their families to be in constant fear and wary of their surroundings. The lives of these young men are in danger because they're already branded as troublemakers, historically no fault of theirs.
New York City's controversial stop and frisk initiative gives police officers the legal right to stop and search anyone they deem suspicious. Many who oppose the law have accused it of being an excuse to racially profile. In actuality, majority of the men stopped and frisked by NYPD since it went into effect, have overwhelmingly been Black or Hispanic.
Personally, I don't feel comfortable having to constantly worry if the men in my family will ever become victims of someones preconceived notions of them. They say, if you live like a thug, you die like a thug.
Well I can proudly state that none of the men in my family are thugs and they are all hard-working, law abiding citizens. That didn't stop my father from being verbally abused by undercover cops several years ago for switching to a lane the cops supposedly wanted for themselves. Even my mother is paranoid, especially after she felt she was harassed twice by bored cops. If I'm ever driving in the car with my mother and a police car is behind or her in front of her vehicle, she will choose another route. It is what it is.
No one in my family works in law enforcement, so I can only sympathize with the families of the men and women who put their lives on the line as officers, because it is a brave job. But as an aware young human being, my trust isn't just given, I am not naive and I have my doubts. Cops are like everyone else, they are not perfect superheroes.
Just two months after I turned sixteen, I experienced one of the most negative life changing events that has ever happened to me. The main subject of this experience wasn't just a cop, but a sergeant. To protect my privacy, I won't detail what happened, but I quickly learned how easy it is to become a victim of racial profiling, accidental death and injustice.
In a nutshell, most people could only wish that they would be judged by their characters, and not the color of their skin. But the amount of emotion this case has brought out shows that there is a disconnect between the races and the judicial system.
Whether one wants to admit it or not, everyone has and/or will be stereotyped at least more than once in their lifetime. If people are afraid to evaluate their own misconceptions and prejudice, we will never move forward.
I've heard some solutions that state, "well if he wasn't dressed like a____, then he wouldn't have been killed." It is no wonder that hoodies have now become a symbol of the Trayvon Martin case. Being dressed in a hoodie does not determine what criminal activities an individual is capable of; if any.
Statements like the above only expose the troubling nature stereotypes have on how various people view each other. There's also a common meme of using racial crime statistics as a determining factor on what racial group should be feared and watched? Unfortunately, it came as no surprise to me which group seems to tense certain people up the most.
