Business Beat—What NOT to sell

By Ed Avis

Political correctness. In the wake of COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, Me Too and, most recently, an outcry about anti-Asianhate, it’s a topic that’s hit home with businesses in almost every industry. And for many costume industry pros, it’s raised an important question: Are there some costumes I simply shouldn’t be selling?

It’s not an easy question to answer.

Some costumes that seemed harmless a generation ago could easily offend some of today’s customers. Last fall, for example, Party City publicly apologized after customers complained about a children’s Confederate soldier Halloween costume the store was selling. A decade ago, such costumes were sold routinely; now it’s widely understood that Confederate symbolism offends many people.

There are many costumes that seem completely innocent at first glance but can convey underlying messages that might offend prospective customers. So, taking a look at all of the costumes you stock with an eye on what might be offensive is a good first step in deciding if there are costumes that should be taken out of inventory.

The bottom line is this: When you look at the costumes in your store, consider whether any of them might offend

There are three broad categories of costumes that might offend people.

The first is historical costumes that depict a group or person who participated in an event that is generally understood to have caused great harm. This category includes Confederate uniforms and Nazi clothing. These kinds of costumes are likely to offend some or all of your customers.

The second is costumes that depict racial or ethnic groups or individuals. These become problematic if they emphasize stereotypes or poke fun at the group or individual. This can be a gray area.

“Are you trying to honor this person or are you doing it to make fun of them?” asks Brynn Shiovitz, a professor of dance and performance theory at Chapman University in Orange, California.

Shiovitz, who is also the author of the upcoming book called Behind the Screen: Tap Dance, Race, and Invisibility during Hollywood’s Golden Age (Oxford University Press), says a Michael Jackson costume is a good example of this conundrum.

“It’s nice to idolize somebody to the point of wanting to dress like them, and you can distill Michael Jackson’s image down to his wardrobe choices,” Shiovitz says. “So, it’s conceivable that even if you’re white, if you wore a Michael Jackson costume, people would understand who you are trying to be.”

But the story changes if you are white and put on black face make-up while dressing like Michael Jackson. That would take idolization down a dangerous path.

“As soon as we start talking about body modification, it gets tricky,” Shiovitz says.

What about an American Indian costume? Many people might find that inappropriate, especially if leans heavily into cultural stereotypes. On the other hand, if the costume is designed to emulate the actual clothing of a particular Native American group or individual, is that offensive?

Another example in this category could be a costume depicting an Asian person. Kimonos, conical hats, and long mustaches are stereotypically associated with Asians, but would wearing these items be considered honoring this group? Probably not.

“Asian costumes will get a lot of attention this year because of recent events,” Shiovitz notes. “It’s complicated because you have to ask yourself are you really trying to honor a specific Korean actor, for example, or are you collapsing stereotypes of Japanese, Chinese and Korean all into one? As soon as we create a costume that encompasses an entire ethnic group, that would be problematic.”

Bottom line with the second category: If an ethnic costume is grossly stereotypical, you can expect someone to be offended.

The third category of potentially offensive costumes – those depicting religious or cultural figures – includes costumes depicting Jesus, nuns, priests, rabbis, etc. These might sell well, but it’s not likely someone wearing a priest costume to a Halloween party is doing that because he wants to honor priests, right? So, these types of costumes might be offensive to certain customers.

Theatrical rentals are a completely different story when it comes to deciding which costumes are appropriate and which might offend.

No one is going to be surprised or offended if you rent a General Robert E. Lee uniform for the play “Abraham Lincoln” or a rabbi costume for “Fiddler on the Roof.”

There are no hard rules for what costumes to sell and which to avoid, but it pays to give it some thought, especially in these times.

“It’s not like I can come up with an ethics code or a politically correct code,” Shiovitz says. “But we all have the responsibility to ask, ‘How will this costume or wig or depiction affect someone else?’”

Ed Avis is the publisher of The Costumer.