10 racist Halloween costumes you should never wear

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Image via Ohio University

Two years ago, a Virginia mother made headlines for letting her 7-year-old son wear a Ku Klux Klan Halloween costume. But it's probably a good idea to steer clear of dressing up like a member of America's most notorious white-supremacist organization. Clearly, not a smart decision.

This costume may look like it's from another galaxy, but the green card and orange jumpsuit emblazoned with "illegal alien" are clearly meant to mock immigrants.

Referring to people as "illegals" is dehumanizing and racist language that promotes anti-immigrant sentiments. It's one of the reasons why social-justice organization Race Forward launched its "Drop the I-Word Campaign" in 2010, pressuring media outlets to stop using the term in their reporting.

Blackface originated from the minstrel shows of the early 19th century, when white actors would rub greasepaint, shoe polish, and burnt cork on their faces to perform racist caricatures of free and enslaved black people.

In 2013, Julianne Hough received backlash after she donned blackface for her costume as Crazy Eyes (played by Uzo Aduba) from Netflix's original TV series Orange is the New Black.

There are better ways to pay tribute to India's prolific Hindi film industry than a "Bolly Ho" costume that is not only stereotypical, but also slut-shames the wearer by including a sexist term in its name. Check out this Indiewire article, which explores common misconceptions about Bollywood, so you can create a more informed homage.

Retailers are selling this tunic and headdress combo, which includes the option of buying a separate goatee beard, under the offensive label, "Arab costume" (as if an entire cultural and linguistic group can be reduced to one costume). What's more, it's a poor imitation of the thobe (or thawb), an ankle-length garment typically worn by men in the Arabian Peninsula.

Pro tip: If your costume is everyday clothing for people in another part of the world, definitely reconsider.

The “Tribal Tease” costume is a hyper-sexualized stereotype of Native American culture, and reduces the feathered headdress—considered a "badge of honor and power"—to a mere fashion accessory.

There are many different styles of Native headdresses, and no one style is used by every tribe. This Halloween costume's headdress (poorly) imitates the kind worn by Plains Natives. 

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Before you think about dressing up like members of the Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group for Halloween, remember Ahmed Mohamed. He's the 14-year-old Muslim student who was arrested after teachers mistook his homemade clock for a bomb.

Since the World Trade Center was attacked by Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda in 2001, the word "terrorist" has become synonymous with "Muslim," leading to roughly 100 to 150 anti-Muslim hate crimes each year—a rate five times higher than before Sept. 11, according to FBI statistics. 

Once again, a nationality is not a costume. 

Unfortunately, many retailers are selling serape and sombrero sets, and calling them "Mexican" costumes. This label is also stereotypical because the serape isn't indigenous to Mexico, and didn't actually become a part of the country's textile tradition until European colonization. What's more, sombreros have more to do with shading the wearer from the sun, than partying as the costume suggests.

In the United States, Mexicans and Mexican-Americans have become targets of xenophobic violence. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump fanned anti-immigration flames after calling Mexican immigrants drug dealers, criminals, and rapists in his campaign launch speech. Citing Trump as an inspiration, two Boston brothers allegedly beat up a homeless man in August for being Hispanic. Police said one of the brothers told them, “Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported."