When Halloween Costumes Become Offensive
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
I was on NPR’s Tell Me More yesterday to talk about the racial politics of Halloween, something we’ve been discussing quite a bit this week on both Racialicious and Love Isn’t Enough. You can listen to the segment or read the transcript.
I started eyeing costumes in that damned One Step Ahead catalog months ago! Originally I wanted the bumble bee costume for Sean (yellow and black, hardy har har!) but they didn’t have infant sizes for that one.
So Sean will be going as a little spider instead. Can’t wait for the cute overload to begin!
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Rebecca Said,
November 10, 2009 @ 12:03 am
unfortunately, this seems to be a holiday that brings out our prejudices in even more ways than those you mentioned. i’m still thinking about what someone said to one of my friends on halloween – she was dressed as amelia earhart, wearing a hood to replicate the look of flight gear, and a guy asked if she was supposed to be a jihadist. my friend is indian.
anyhow, thanks for this interview.