Ladies of all shapes and sizes and identification, we should be able to wear sexy costumes if we want to. We just shouldn't be made to feel like we have to, no matter how old we are.
While I totally agree with criticisms of the pressure to look sexy for Halloween or the ridiculous marketing of such, I also feel like that sometimes gets mixed up with shitty comments aimed at policing women's sexual expression.
OOOKKK, let's talk about race, let's talk about halloween costumes:
1. One of the benefits of being from a dominant culture or ethnicity is that there are plenty of choices for costumes from within that culture to choose from.
2. The reason why I'm so wary about you choosing a costume from my history is because we are tired of being seen as foreign or exotic or odd or different from "the norm." My ethnicity is not a look that I can just put on. Even if you do the research and want to be a specific character, because our society is not very aware of my people's stories, it just looks like you are promoting a caricature of me.
Some people might say, "Well, how come you can dress up as white characters? Isn't that the same thing?" I disagree, especially after taking a class on Canadian Immigration. There has been a long history of promoting assimilation in North American countries. Western-Anglo societies have literally spent decades, centuries trying to get people of colour to look and act like you not just for one day but everyday. Also, we know enough white characters, historical figures, and celebrities that you'd be hard pressed to find one of us dressing like "a generic white person" because we have been socialized to know that not all white people are alike. Unfortunately these nuances - especially in history - are not often taught in relation to people of colour.
A response to commentators from a previous version of the post:
Also, I'm not saying that there is only pressure from white people, but as the dominant culture who is in control of much of the world's media, I just don't think you can spread and promote Western, predominantly Anglo, characters and then make claims about equality. When the systems and market flows become equal, then we can talk.
3. If you really want to be Cho Chang for Halloween, fine. Just don't feel the need to tan your face or do something wonky with your eyes. It's not like I lightened my face or taped up my eyes to be Leslie Knope.