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The Bridge: With Halloween around the corner, recent ‘pop culture’ costumes have been in the (social media) news. One such costume, Jeffrey Dahmer (yes, that Jeffrey Dahmer), has been recently banned from online and live stores. And he (his costume) is not alone. Will Smith and other pop culture figures have also had their costumes banned. This is leading to an increasingly murky line this Halloween: With increasing expectations of sensitivity and mindfulness, should we as society be censoring Halloween costumes? And if so, where do we draw the line?
It’s Not All Fun and Games 🍬
Ah, Halloween. It’s a treasured tradition loaded with sugar and mostly harmless fun. Kids of all ages get to dress up as their favorite characters and load up on candy. What could be controversial about that?
While the most popular costumes land invariably in “safe” territory, the internet would have you believe that there are some lines you just can’t cross.
The recent surge in interest in Jeffrey Dahmer has caused Ebay to do a major purge of their costume listings. Any costumes that “promote or glorify violence or violent acts” have been axed. 🪓
If you ask us, it’s a weird standard. Nobody blinks an eye when the Joker dances up to the front porch with his pillowcase outstretched, but apparently fictional acts of extreme violence are just fine.
There’s also a small but vocal community online that is quick to wag the finger at anyone who dares to dress up in ways they view as “problematic”. This can include, but is not limited to:
- Wearing a fat suit (so no more of those inflatable sumo wrestler costumes)
- Dressing as Will Smith at the Oscars 💥👋
- Styling yourself as The Queen
- Emulating Marilyn Monroe (???)
But It’s Halloween 🎃🧙♀️
We’re of the mind that if your kids want to express themselves during spooky season, they should feel unrestricted to do so. More rules don’t make thoughtful, creative humans. If they want to wear a “questionable” Halloween costume that is rejected by their peers, surely it will be a learning experience for next year.
Putting arbitrary guidelines on how kids are “allowed” to act during the one time of year where they can truly express themselves is a losing battle.
And they probably shouldn’t be watching Dahmer, anyway. 🫣
