Every year on Halloween, I look forward to picking out my own costume as I do to seeing what other people choose to wear. This year, my boyfriend and I are dressing as Marty McFly and a female Doc Brown from my favorite ‘80s movie “Back to the Future.”

From clever, to scary or funny, Halloween is the one night a year when it’s socially acceptable to wear a costume in public — but that doesn’t mean it’ll go without judgment. 

Let’s be honest, we’ve all experienced seeing someone’s costume and thinking to ourselves, “You had the opportunity to dress as whatever you wanted… And you chose that!?”

Sometimes we ask ourselves this because the costume seems controversial, borderline offensive or just plain stupid. Personally, I’m ready to leave those costumes in the past, so here’s my list of the top five costumes I don’t want to see this year.

1. Nuns, specifically "sexy" nuns

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I’m starting off on a more serious note with nuns, especially when it comes to the sexualization of those women. Dressing up as a Catholic nun is not only offensive to the sisters, but to anyone in the Catholic faith because it is mocking a lifestyle that is well-intentioned. 

Nuns of the Catholic church purposefully make vows to chastity, modest lifestyles and dress in full-length garments to avoid being sexualized. The focus of their work is geared towards their faith, community service and religious education.

When people choose to dress as a nun or a “sexy” nun, they are taking their lifestyle and mocking it. It’s not sexy or funny, but it is something that I believe is perpetuated by Hollywood. 

Nuns have always got a bad rap in Hollywood, especially in the horror genre. Filmmakers like to use the church as a setting when it involves something like demonic possessions or exorcisms.The 2018 movie “The Nun” is an example of this.  

Most recently, Hollywood’s breakout heartthrob Sydney Sweeney starred in the movie “Immaculate” in March 2024. Casting Sydney Sweeney, a woman who many viewers are attracted to, immediately sexualized the character. 

Therefore, it’s no wonder that people who aren’t in the Catholic church and only see nuns on the screen think it’s OK to dress as such for a holiday that glorifies the horror genre. However, the real horror to me is that costume warehouses like Spirit Halloween think it’s OK to sell costumes like these.

When you walk into Spirit Halloween, you won’t find a Jewish rabbi costume or a Buddha costume, but you will find an entire section dedicated to the Catholic church clergy, complete with a flask labeled “Holy Water.”

Newsflash— it’s not OK to appropriate any religion, so don’t do it to the Catholic church just because it is prominent in the United States. 

2. "Hawk tuah" girl

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Yes, you read that right. “Hawk tuah” girl has officially become a Halloween costume, brought to life by, you guessed it, Spirit Halloween. Seriously, what is going on at that store? 

For those of you who aren’t chronically online, Hailey Welch, 22, did a man-on-the-street interview where she was asked what she thought would make a man go crazy in bed. Her response: “You gotta give ‘em that ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that thang.” 

The video went viral this summer and now she’s known as the “Hawk tuah” girl. In an attempt to keep up with social media memes and trends, Spirit Halloween decided to give us what we weren’t asking for and released a pink Hawk tuah jumpsuit, leaving me with one question— why?

First of all, the “Hawk tuah” meme isn’t funny and has already been buried and surpassed by many other memes in the fast-paced world of social media. But the real kicker is the costume itself. 

The Spirit Halloween pink jumpsuit resembles a blue collar outfit, similar to the pink outfit that the women wear in the popular 2023 movie “Barbie.” 

Two years ago, the pink jumpsuit was a symbol of female power. Now, Spirit Halloween has turned that symbol into a gross article of clothing that reads “Hawk Tuah Express Lubricant Experts: Spit on that Thang.”

Lubricant expert? That’s really gross, and what does that say about women? If I see someone in this costume, I won’t laugh. I’ll probably give them a secret side-eye and move on with my evening feeling disturbed, so do yourself a favor and save your money. 

3. The Menendez brothers

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If you’re like most people and have a Netflix subscription, then you probably watched or heard about Ryan Murphy’s newly released limited series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” 

The show has reignited attention on the Menendez brothers, boys who shot and murdered their parents in 1989 and have been in jail since 1990. The brothers are in the news because new evidence suggests alleged abuse may have happened, and now Los Angeles County prosecutors have recommended they receive a new life sentence of 50 years, which, because of California law, would make them immediately eligible for parole.

Coincidentally, this show was released in the month leading up to Halloween when people are looking for something suspenseful to watch in the true-crime genre. With the gaining popularity of the show, the media has taken notice and brought more attention to the case. 

Even “Saturday Night: Live” picked up on the hype with a “Weekend Update” comedy sketch starring two boys resembling the Menendez brothers, joking that they are supposed to be dressed as doctors but keep getting mistaken for the pair. 

Many people have mixed feelings about whether the brothers deserve to be in prison because of the abuse they, it now seems likely, experienced. Regardless of how you feel, they are real people who don’t deserve to be highlighted as a Halloween costume whether it is for good or bad intentions. 

The controversy about whether it’s OK to dress up as a convict in a true-crime case started in 2023’s Halloween season when people dressed up in Jeffrey Dahmer costumes following the popularity of Ryan Murphy’s previous Netflix series, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (2022). 

The show sparked a growing debate online about whether or not it’s OK to dress up as a real-life serial killer because it is insensitive to the victims and their surviving families. Murphy’s next series with the Menendez brothers is a little more complicated because of the situation, but because of the show’s popularity, I wouldn’t be surprised to see many costumes of the pair this season.

My take: the Menendez brothers are still very much alive, unlike Dahmer when his series was released. Just because the show is trending doesn’t mean that their complicated lives should be put on display at Halloween parties throughout the country. Their lives have been broadcasted enough recently, so let them be and find a different costume. 

4. Political candidates

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Did you know that the presidential election always falls in the same seven-day period as Halloween? And is it worrisome that I can’t decide which day is scarier?

Every four years when the presidential election rolls around, passionate citizens will decide to dress up as one of the two main candidates to either make a statement, glorify the candidate or make a joke out of it. After all, it is a timely costume. 

In fact, legend has it that whichever mask of a candidate sells the most for Halloween that year will determine the winner of the election. However, this isn’t always true and is really just a fun myth. 

While dressing up as a politician isn’t necessarily controversial, the candidates themselves are indeed controversial in their own ways, and it may land you in some uncomfortable conversations.

All I can say is that if you chose to dress up as one of the presidential nominees this Halloween, then you better really know your audience and you are braver than me. Stay safe out there — and go vote!

5. Jojo Siwa's "Karma" outfit 

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Don’t even get me started on this little number. This year, Nickelodeon star Jojo Siwa announced that she was switching her brand to become more adult. Thus, the “Karma” music video was born, and I have a lot to say about it. 

My personal vendetta against Jojo Siwa has run deep for years as we are unfortunate birthday twins, even down to the year. Every year on my birthday, I have to watch everyone online wish her a happy birthday. This year, our 21st, was especially unfortunate. 

As a dancer myself, I can appreciate her moves. However, the “Karma” music video was unique and not necessarily in a good way. 

To show that she was more mature now, Jojo decided to dress as a sea monster resembling a member of the band Kiss and awkwardly rise out of the water, because nothing says “adult” like face paint and a sequined unitard. 

I don’t wish ill on Jojo Siwa, but for selfish reasons I don’t want to see the sea monster costume this year. Not only is it kind of disturbing and weird, but something about it just instantly makes me mad. Maybe it’s the birthday thing. 

This time, do me a favor and do not dress up as Jojo Siwa for Halloween. I would appreciate your support.