Is My Halloween Costume Okay?

News Article
Two small dogs in costumes. One is dressed as Little Red Riding Hood and the other is dressed as the Big Bad Wolf.
Published

Is it okay to wear a Halloween costume of a person or character who is a different race from you? The line between cultural appropriation and appreciation can be thin. There are things that are definitely not okay like changing the color of your skin or wearing an afro wig or speaking in an accent. These actions spread harmful stereotypes and make fun of things the dominant culture has punished others for doing.

But let’s say a child wants to dress as Lilo from Disney’s Lilo and Stitch movie. In the movie, Lilo wears two outfits: a long red dress with a white leaf pattern and blue sandals and a hula skirt and bracelets made of leaves and based on traditional hula outfits.

The character Lilo Pelekai, from Disney's Lilo & Stitch, wearing a red dress with a white leaf pattern and holding up her homemade doll, Scrump.

The red dress is what Lilo wears every day as she goes on adventures around the island. But many hula performances have cultural and religious importance in indigenous Hawaiian culture, and the outfits worn during these performances hold that same importance.

In “Cultural Appropriation at Halloween: My Culture Is Not a Costume,” a powerful article from Teen Vogue, six women explain what cultural appropriation means to them.

The character Lilo Pelekai, from Disney's Lilo & Stitch, dancing while wearing a red top and a head piece, bracelets, anklets, and skirt made of leaves. This outfit is based on traditional hula outfits.

"One of the things about Hawaiian culture that not a lot of people know is that historically it was illegal to practice anything that had to do with native Hawaiian culture. My grandmother is currently in her 70s, and she's finally learning how to dance hula,” says Cashman Aiu. Referencing a commercially sold costume, she continues, “She's been creating her hula skirt and lei for weeks now, and this is nothing like what it looks like. This costume is extremely hurtful, not only for myself but the generations that had to go through this erasure."

In an article on her blog, Dr. Aradhana Mudambi defines cultural appropriation and appreciation and lays out some questions that can be used to examine planned costumes. She asks:

  1. Is there a history of discrimination against this identity group? 
  2. Does my action perpetuate negative stereotypes? 
  3. Am I depicting the culture incorrectly? 
  4. Am I using someone else’s cultural or religious symbols out of context? 
  5. Does this offend anyone from the cultural group of origin?

If the answer to any of these questions is "yes" or is uncertain, the costume probably counts as cultural appropriation.

So, how do Lilo’s outfits hold up to these questions? The hula outfit is total appropriation. The importance of hula to indigenous Hawaiian culture and the punishment people faced for practicing hula make it completely inappropriate to use hula outfits as a costume.

What about the red dress? If done respectfully, an outfit like this may be okay to wear as a costume.

There’s a wide diversity of cultures and opinions on what is appropriation and what is appreciation. One of the best things anyone can do is to research and listen with an open mind, and do our best in the future. 

The City of Portland's Core Values include Anti-racism and Equity. As part of Civic Life's work to fulfill those values, we offer grants, sponsorships, and programing to support our diverse communities and build connections between Portlanders from every culture.

My Culture is NOT a Costume - Teen Vogue