As the spooky season comes to a close, it is truly disturbing to see the cultural appropriation and disrespect that is still evident even in 2018.

Halloween is a time for fun and creativity, a chance to dress up as your favorite characters or items and have a good time with friends. Yet, year after year, we continue to see people drastically cross the line between festive fun and costumes that are blatantly racist, misogynistic and insensitive.

Popular costumes are based upon caricatures of cultures that use gimmicks and stereotypes to generalize an entire group of people. Blackface is a well-known and widely understood unacceptable form of cultural appropriation. Yet, what is the difference between Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 that makes people think it is OK to draw on what are often false stereotypes of cultures all in hopes of winning the “best costume contest”? In a national climate that is already slanted in favor of particular groups, reinforcing negative and misconceived notions about regions, religions and groups of people only deteriorates our national tolerance and sensibility even further.

Cultures are attacked during Halloween, but different characters are sexualized, too. Yandy.com has run into numerous issues from its costumes, many of which have been deemed culturally insensitive. One in particular, called “sexy convict,” was ridiculed for being interpreted as trivializing the prison system, according to Insider.com. Yandy ran into another issue with its “upside-down honey costume,” which is a clearly sexualized depiction of Eleven, one of the main characters from the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things.” Eleven is a 12-year-old girl on the show, and the sexualizing of her character through this particular costume caused an uproar of controversy on the issue of sexualizing children.

This is not to say that you cannot dress up and have fun on Halloween. That sort of fun should not be had at the expense of stereotyping a group of people. There are plenty of costumes you can make without being disrespectful or derogatory. Halloween is not an excuse to be insensitive or sexualize a group of people because Oct. 31 is a “free pass” to dress differently than normal. So, next time you think about dressing up as the “sexy Native American princess,” consider being a little more creative and thinking about how your choices may make others feel.