Editorial: Get creative this Halloween, avoid tired stigmas

Halloween can be a stressful time of year —­ almost as stressful as Christmas, some would argue. Most of us will be rushing anxiously to Goodwill and rummaging through closets in the coming days to find the perfect costume — one that will make people laugh, blush or gasp.

Of course, some of us aren’t as into it. There will always be a “nudist on strike,” or something like that — and that’s fine.

But, there will also always be that other guy who finds an old sombrero from his birthday at Chi-Chi’s and decide to go as a “Mexican.” Or the girl with the pillow under her shirt saying that she is a “teen mom.”

Such costumes are not fine.

These costumes require just about as much cognitive effort as the “nudist on strike,” but they’re different because one plays on tired stereotypes and the other plays on a tired joke.

Such stereotypes and stigmas don’t exist only on Halloween — people deal with the oversimplification of their identities on a daily basis. Earlier this year, Rutgers University conducted a study and found that 22 percent of Hispanic or Latino workers reported experiencing workplace discrimination, compared to only six percent of whites. At the same time, mainstream media is constantly telling teen moms that success is incompatible with having a baby before the age of 20. In both examples, people are judged simply because they belong to a certain group.

Why should we perpetuate the very stigmas that unfortunately follow these peoples’ real lives by dressing up like the stereotypes?

It’s unfair to make assumptions about people in different societal groups, so, rather than expressing inaccurate generalizations of very real people through your costume, why not express yourself?

Try being something for Halloween that reflects your own personal tastes and interests. If you like to make people laugh, try a punny costume. Pay homage to your favorite television show and dress up as your favorite character. Or, if you really don’t care about Halloween, be the nudist on strike.

Halloween is a time in which we are free to take on a persona that is not our own, but remember that others deal with discrimination based on stereotypes on a daily basis. Your Halloween costume doesn’t have to highlight that unfortunate fact.