Question: Gender neutral Halloween costumes
Wiley asks…
Hey there!
It’s already July, and as usual, I am scrambling around trying to come up with genderneutral/genderbending Halloween costume inspiration. (I am pretty crafty, so I usually start early and go all-out.) I could go as something trite like a ghost or a skeleton, but those are very run-of-the-mill. I could also stick to the staples of going as a concept/item like a bunch of grapes, but I am sick of being inanimate objects/concepts to avoid being strictly a man or a woman; just because I want a neutral costume doesn’t mean I am less of a person.
Anybody got ideas?
Please post your response in the comments below.
» Ask Genderfork «
Posted by Merritt on July 21st, 2012 at 08:00 am
Category: questions 24 comments »
July 21st, 2012 at 8:12 am |
Something I’d LOVE to do (if I ever become sufficiently crafty with copious amounts of spare time): cosplay Tilda Swinton’s angel Gabriel in “Constantine”. Androgynous & awesome. <3 -- did I mention I love Tilda Swinton? :)
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Als replied:
July 21st, 2012 at 9:05 am
That’s awesome! How about a totally black angel? Like an inversion of the traditional Christmas angel. Head to toe jet black, with huuuge black wings. I might do that myself actually. It might take a couple of days to get black face paint off though (I’m as pale as can be). Or totally black apart from the face, that could be creepy too.
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Mym replied:
July 21st, 2012 at 9:28 am
Even for something like that, I’d recommend staying away from blackface.
Though! Weeping Angels? Or other Doctor Who baddies…
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Wiley replied:
July 21st, 2012 at 12:12 pm
This is an awesome idea! I was thinking of going as an angel similar to this, but with wings a la “I can’t be with you” by The Cranberries. Thanks for the suggestions!
Als replied:
July 23rd, 2012 at 8:54 am
Yeah, I had thought of that and figured it wouldn’t be blackface as long as the whole thing was black, but it’s not too practical anyway so it’s probably moot! It could be any colour though; dark purple, blue or bottle green would be awesome and not as staining. I’m just very taken with the idea of a uniformly coloured costume, as you can probably tell!
For creepy feathered inspiration, anyone who hasn’t seen it could check out the short film “The Sandman” (1992) on YT; gets me in the mood for Halloween every time.
Als replied:
July 23rd, 2012 at 9:07 am
Sorry for the extra comment: it just occurred to me that I should put a warning on mention of that film. It’s not for anyone feeling delicate; I’m not good with horror generally, but it doesn’t bother me, however some people find it very disturbing, so overall it’s probably not one to watch right before going to sleep. Since I’m commenting again I might as well post a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjgHbRrnjhU
Thanks for the mention of the Cranberries thing, Wiley, I’d never seen that before and it’s supercool. Great original question too; it’s great fun reading people’s ideas.
July 21st, 2012 at 8:40 am |
First thing that came to mind (cliché I know) was David Bowie
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Wiley replied:
July 21st, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Oooh. I could just dress up as any of the awesome gender-bending folks in history!
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Elle replied:
July 22nd, 2012 at 12:26 am
My very first thought as well. Ziggy Stardust.
Or the character Pat from the old SNL skit.
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July 21st, 2012 at 8:59 am |
I think this year I’m going to go as Bunnicula – white clothes, black cape, fangs, rabbit ears & tail, stuffed carrot w/ bite marks.
Last year I did an inanimate object (undersea fiberoptic cable), the year before was another ‘mythical’ creature (a flamingolope – like a jackalope, except a flamingo)… I’m having trouble thinking of gender-neutral people who’d be recognisable, though.
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Wiley replied:
July 21st, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Those are all awesome ideas…Bunnicula was one of my favorite books when I was little! One year I went as a bag of toxic waste. That one was pretty good; got to wear awesome blue rubber gloves. I suppose I could also go as a merperson, but mer-costumes are heavily gendercoded towards the mermaid side, what with contemporary swimwear and such.
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July 21st, 2012 at 6:08 pm |
Last year around Halloween I went to a show called ‘Zomburlesque’ which was possibly the most awesome thing I have ever seen in my life. Lots of skin, genderbending, and blood. Maybe something completely outrageous like that? Genderbending burlesque Zombie? I like the sound of a Doctor Who monster, they can be fairly non-gender-specific … or, the Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth? I know he’s called ‘man’ but he seems pretty non-gender-specific to me … maybe he’s just misunderstood and misgendered … but he is terrifying!
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Anonymous replied:
July 22nd, 2012 at 11:01 am
These all sound good…but the Pale Man does give me nightmares!
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July 21st, 2012 at 6:10 pm |
Sorry for extra comment but just had a thought – an Ood! They’re totally gender-neutral. ;)
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July 22nd, 2012 at 10:10 am |
Along the sentient-but-non-human creatures route, you could go for someone out of Star Wars–R2D2, maybe, or an Ewok. (I think other characters refer to R2 as ‘he,’ but I don’t think they have much to base that on.) If you’re into Star Wars of course. Or other scifi.
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July 22nd, 2012 at 8:54 pm |
Dr Seuss characters come to mind for me. Perhaps you and a friend could be Thing 1 and Thing 2?
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July 23rd, 2012 at 10:23 am |
How about a genderqueer blood-thirsty pirate, an androgynous zombie or ghost, a gender-neutral alien or maybe a bi-gender demon?
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July 24th, 2012 at 9:44 pm |
I was the moon once. It was pretty cool. And very up for interpretation, so you could make it what you wanted.
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July 25th, 2012 at 3:01 am |
I identify myself as a lesbian, and last halloween I went as Draven from The Crow. I made the character my own though using different sides of my gender identity and I’d have to say it was my favorite costume I’ve ever worn, and probably the most androgynous. The trick was I picked something I loved and made it my own. Good luck!
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July 25th, 2012 at 3:53 pm |
Star belly sneetches!
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July 28th, 2012 at 10:49 pm |
a plague doctor!
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July 29th, 2012 at 9:49 pm |
I was a rainbow once. It was very colourful. Also, you could be an elf, if you’re into LOTR, or maybe a Zombie Apocalypse Rescue Team member. I was thinking about being a demon this year.
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August 1st, 2012 at 12:59 pm |
desire from the sand man comics?
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October 13th, 2012 at 11:12 pm |
Skeleton might be cliche, but I enjoy making animal skull masks and painting up my face to further muddle my features. It’s creepy, androgynous, and gets a good reaction. The one that’s been the most fun so far was a crow skull because i’d been working on my bird calls and could caw pretty convincingly!
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