– Don’t paint your face or body to look like you’re a different race/ethnicity, or wear traditional garments of a different real culture/religion as a costume or part of a costume. (This includes sugar skulls! And Roma people – g*psy is a SLUR and the Roma are a real culture you don’t get to aestheticize!)
– Don’t dress up as a member of any marginalized group you’re not a part of. People who have to fight to exist don’t deserve to be objectified and reduced to a costume. “Trans person”, “sex worker”, “disabled person” – not good costume ideas. Just don’t.
– Don’t tell kids that they have to conform to bullshit gender norms in their costumes. And don’t assume trick-or-treaters all are, either. (If you don’t know someone’s gender, don’t assume it based on whether they’re Darth Vader or a fairy.)
– Don’t wear a costume mocking or making light of horrible things that happened/are happening to real people. (Don’t wear a genocide-related costume. Don’t wear a domestic-violence themed costume. Don’t fucking dress up as a victim/perpetrator of a hate crime, etc.)
– Don’t dress up as a sexualized child. “Sexy schoolgirl” outfits help perpetuate the sexualization and fetishization of young girls, actual children who have to wear the oufits those are based on every day to school, and that’s fucked up. Don’t be part of that shit.
– Be respectful of others’ choices to participate or not in haunted houses or horror movie marathons. Don’t mock them if they’re uncomfortable participating.
– Remember, a costume is not consent. Your attraction to someone does not give you permission to touch them or talk to them in a sexual way without first making sure they want you to.
– Be respectful of haunted house actors. Again, don’t touch them. Don’t proposition them; that’s not what they’re there for. Don’t flash your cameras in their face. Basically, remember that they are human beings who are quite probably not even getting paid for this. Keep things fun, don’t ruin shit by treating them badly.
– If your prank can’t be undone in 30 seconds or causes risk of real harm, it’s probably a crime and it’s definitely an asshole thing to do. Remember when you’re pranking that some people have undisclosed physical disabilities, neurological or mental issues – try not to do any pranks that could trigger a PTSD flashback or an epileptic seizure. A good prank is one the target will laugh at afterward.
– Don’t wear extremely gory or sexual costumes around children, or if there’s a chance you’ll be around children. Wear a coat or something over explicit costumes or wait until you’re at your all-adult venue to put them on.
– In general, consider whether the venue is appropriate for your costume and whether you’re likely to make others uncomfortable. If you don’t know what’s common at that venue, check with someone who’s been there before to find out whether your costume with lots of gore or near-nudity, for example, will be well-received
– Don’t objectify or body shame people wearing skimpy costumes to all-adult gatherings. If you wouldn’t wear it, don’t wear it. You’re not better than someone in a short skirt just because they’re in a short skirt.
– Call out your friends if they’re being assholes. That’s what friends do. Don’t be that asshole who just stands around letting your friend ruin someone’s night.
– Save me some of the good candy. Remember, Halloween is about me, personally, eating chocolate.
– Don’t wear fat suits. When thin people wear fat suits it reinforces the harmful myth that “inside every fat person in a thin person waiting to get out.” Fat bodies are not costumes. Fat bodies are not a joke.
– Do not dress up as a psychiatric nurse or patient: The mental health system has been, and continues to be, horrifically violent towards neurodivergent people. Furthermore costumes that feature these motifs specifically invoke that violence.
– Do not use a strobe light to decorate, especially outdoors: It can cause a seizure or other harm to photosensitive people. Strobes used outdoors force many epileptic people to have to hide indoors during October out of fear of stumbling across a house that is using one. This is an extremely serious problem.
Don’t be an asshole on Halloween.
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