This was the question I posed to my (Irish/German-American) boyfriend as we wandered around Salem on Halloween and saw our third or fourth sombrero/poncho/mustache combo stroll past us. He asked if it offended me (as a Mexican-American) and I couldn’t give a definitive answer of “Yes” but more like – “it’s annoying and I wish they wouldn’t.” It was hard for me to explain that seeing people dressed as “Mexican” alongside people dressed as zombies, bananas, and characters from the Jersey Shore made me sort of stiffen and groan on the inside.
Because I’m so non-confrontational, my boyfriend volunteered to confront one of the Halloween “Mexicans” and ask about their motivations for me, but I declined his offer. You can’t really explain to a drunken Halloween reveler that by dressing as “a Mexican” they’re being culturally insensitive and putting an entire group of unassuming people on a cartoonish character pedestal alongside reality show train wrecks (Snooki), pop music icons (Lady Gaga), and movie characters (Avatar). Snooki, Lady Gaga, and the aliens in Avatar are acceptable Halloween costumes because these people and characters put themselves in the spotlight. They are caricatures they created themselves or are fake characters dreamt up in the mind of a Hollywood producer. I think my argument is that Mexicans are not asking to be mocked, and if the butt of the joke isn’t in on it – it’s not that funny. I think my boyfriend tried to understand my argument but it was still elusive, mainly he just didn’t want to see me upset.
Later on in the evening my Muslim-sensitive boyfriend said, “That’s ridiculous!” when he saw a couple of guys dressed up as “Muslims” in robes and head-wraps and assorted accessories. He was couldn’t pinpoint why their outfits were offensive, but he knew the message that they were sending was wrong and not “all in fun.” At that point I said – “Remember how I couldn’t explain why dressing ‘Mexican’ for Halloween was wrong, but it just is?” and he nodded in agreement.
Unrelated, we went dressed as a pair of pandas: cute, non-offensive and drastically endangered.
