Editing Halloween costume (section)

==Criticism==
Halloween costumes in the contemporary Western world sometimes depict people and things from present times and are sometimes read in terms of their political and cultural significance. 

When costumes uncritically use stereotypical representations of other groups of people such as [[gypsies]] and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], they are sometimes denounced for [[cultural appropriation]].<ref>Kjerstin Johnson, "[http://bitchmagazine.org/post/costume-cultural-appropriation Don't Mess Up When You Dress Up: Cultural Appropriation and Costumes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629193134/http://bitchmagazine.org/post/costume-cultural-appropriation |date=2015-06-29 }}", ''Bitch'' magazine, 25 October 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/10/20/individual-racism-alive-and-well/|title=Race-Themed Events at Colleges (Trigger Warning)|last=Wade|first=Lisa|publisher=Sociological Images|date=11 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506073540/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/10/20/individual-racism-alive-and-well|archive-date=6 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nancy Kelsey |first=cleveland com |date=2023-10-29 |title=Halloween costume choices can dehumanize Indigenous women, amid crisis of the many who are missing or murdered: Nancy Kelsey |url=https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2023/10/halloween-costume-choices-can-dehumanize-indigenous-women-amid-crisis-of-the-many-who-are-missing-or-murdered-nancy-kelsey.html |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=cleveland.com |language=en}}</ref> For example, [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (ICE) Secretary [[Julie Myers]] was involved in a scandal in 2008 at ICE's Halloween party when she made the Best Costume award to someone dressed as an "escaped Jamaican prisoner" with [[dreadlocks]] and [[blackface]].<ref>{{cite news| last = Lipton| first = Eric| title = Official Had Controversial Photos Deleted, Report Says| newspaper = New York Times| date = April 9, 2008| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/washington/09homeland.html| access-date = 2008-04-09| archive-date = 2013-03-27| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130327083100/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/washington/09homeland.html| url-status = live}}"The staff member who won the “most original costume” prize wore a dreadlock wig, what looked like a prison jumpsuit and black face paint. “I’m a Jamaican detainee from Krome — obviously, I’ve escaped,” the employee, referring to a detention center in Miami, announced to the judges..."</ref>

[[File:Woman dressed up for Halloween.jpg|thumb|right|Woman dressed up for Halloween]]

Halloween costumes can also generate controversy through overt sexualization of many women's costumes,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lennon |first1=Sharron J. |last2=Zheng |first2=Zhiying |last3=Fatnassi |first3=Aziz |date=2016-10-28 |title=Women's revealing Halloween costumes: other-objectification and sexualization |journal=Fashion and Textiles |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=21 |doi=10.1186/s40691-016-0073-x |issn=2198-0802|doi-access=free }}</ref> despite a surprisingly long history of it,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/1665320/slutty-halloween-costumes-a-cultural-history |title=Slutty Halloween Costumes: A Cultural History |author=Suzanne Labarre |date=2011-10-31 |publisher=[[Fast Company]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/slutty-halloween-costumes-photos-2011-10?op=1 |title=A Brief History Of The Slutty Halloween Costume |author=Meredith Galante |date=2011-10-28 |publisher=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://time.com/3547024/sexy-halloween-costumes-history/ |title=The Definitive History of Sexy Halloween Costumes |author=Laura Stampler |date=2014-10-31 |publisher=Time }}</ref> and even those intended for young girls. Costumes for women are often far from what would be considered accurate for the clothing usually worn by women in those fields, and focus on sexualization of the wearer and often the concept portrayed. Although there are costumes for men of various occupations—like student, police officer, academics, clergy, or nurse—they are often at least relatively accurate to the clothing that men employed in any of these fields would wear.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}