Every Halloween, there are conversations about what's an appropriate costume, and what's insensitive. Historical (but despicable) figures like Genghis Khan? Racial stereotypes like a Geisha? Sexy [anything]? Blackface? (Okay, that one's easy: It's not okay!) Jeff Yang, contributor to the WSJ's Speakeasy blog and editor of Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology; Kendra Pettis, television correspondent for Racialicious.com; and Cord Jefferson, west coast editor of Gawker, take listeners calls on whether their Halloween costume is offensive and discuss what our Halloween practices say about our culture today.
Costume: Kim Jong-il #Offensive? #NotOffensive? #Depends?
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) October 31, 2013
Costume: Dressing up as a "Mexican" versus dressing up as a specific Mexican person like Pancho Villa? #Offensive? #NotOffensive? #Depends?
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) October 31, 2013
Costume: Japanese sushi chef if you're not Asian. #Offensive? #NotOffensive? #Depends?
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) October 31, 2013