13 kids costumes to avoid this Halloween

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Having kids on Halloween allows you to experience the wholesome joy of Halloween all over again. From school activities to going door to door for candy, there’s so much for them to enjoy this holiday. The only question? What should your kid wear for Halloween?

Especially if they're younger, it falls to you to pick out an appropriate costume for your kids to wear on Halloween. It's easier said than done. Somehow, costume stores are still stocked with costumes that many find to be offensive or dangerous. 

If you're overwhelmed trying to figure out what to put them in, that's completely normal. As a guide, these are costumes you may want to avoid.

1. Dressing as Moana may seem harmless but some argue it turns Polynesians into a costume.

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With the popularity of the film "Moana," costumes featuring the princess will be everywhere. While it may seem like a no-brainer to have your kid dress up as a movie character they emulate, many feel that dressing up white children as Moana turns Polynesians, and their culture, into a costume.

"Recognize this: Moana is a really special character to young girls of Polynesian descent who have never seen a Disney Princess who looks like them, just like how Tiana from 'The Princess and the Frog' likely resonated with young Black women who had waited decades to see themselves represented," the editors of Redbook wrote in an op-ed. "White girls have plenty of princesses to choose from — there's Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty … you get the idea. If your Caucasian son or daughter doesn't get to be exactly what they wanted for Halloween, encourage them to take a step back and realize that they're awash in privileges that the real Moanas and Tianas of the world will likely never see, because the world is full of racist a-------."

It's worth noting that others, including writer Preeti Varathan, have argued that kids can wear this costume as long as it's done in a respectful way. 

"Discouraging your children’s impulses, and insisting they stick to white alternatives, misdirects their initial feelings of adoration for a woman of color," Varathan wrote in Quartz. "Brad Meltzer, a children’s book author who has spent decades studying the concept of heroes, believes 'heroes are really magic mirrors. Your heroes don’t just reflect you; they reveal you.' This makes your child’s impulse to worship Moana, a girl from a different race and culture, even more worth protecting." 

But both Varathan and others agree that brownface shouldn't and can't be part of these costumes, so painting their skin or "wearing" traditional tattoos like the character Maui should be avoided. 

2. Anything with blackface is a no-go.

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Blackface has a deeply painful history in the black and African-American communities. Costumes with blackface, as "Daily Show" correspondent Roy Wood Jr. noted in a segment, are something that should be avoided at all costs. 

3. Dressing like a "homeless person" isn't funny.

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There's a trend on Halloween for people to dress as "hobos" or people who are homeless as a joke. As the Montgomery County Coalition for The Homeless reminded people, a person who is homeless is not a costume and poverty is certainly not something to be used as a punchline.

"This Halloween, please don’t dress up like a person experiencing homelessness," the group wrote. "It’s unthinkable that anyone would dress up as someone experiencing domestic violence or as a child in extreme poverty. So please respect our clients’ humanity as you plan your Halloween costume this year."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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