Black Panther and Donald Trump will be popular Halloween costumes this year, say Americans
Between the creative costumes and the festive parties, it’s no wonder that Halloween is a popular holiday among Americans. Over one-third (37%) of Americans say that Halloween is one of their favorite holidays, and 22% plan to celebrate by wearing a costume this year, according to new data from YouGov Omnibus. Millennials (37%) are more likely than Gen X (23%) and significantly more likely than Baby Boomers (6%) to plan on dressing up. Parents of children under 18 years old (35%) are about twice as likely as those without young children (17%) to say they plan on dressing up.
When asked what they thought the most popular fictional character costumes would be this year, the top responses among Americans were: Black Panther (13%), Wonder Woman (10%), and Fortnite skins (9%). By a wide margin, the celebrity costume Americans think will be most popular is Donald Trump (35%), followed distantly by Cardi B (5%), Stormy Daniels (4%) and Meghan Markle (4%).
Of those who may dress up on Halloween, about a quarter (24%) say that the look they’re going for is “creative.” Other popular answers were “unique” (21%), “funny” (14%), “scary” (11%), and “sexy” (9%). Women were considerably more likely than men to say they wanted their costumes to be “creative” (29% of women and 19% of men) or sexy (15% of women and 1% of men); Men were about twice as likely to say they wanted their costume to be scary (15% of men and 8% of women).
The question of cultural appropriation and Halloween costumes tends to become a focus around the holiday every year. Several colleges have previously issued guidelines on appropriate costumes and cultural sensitivity. However, 47% of Americans disagree with the idea that it is offensive to dress up in a cultural costume (i.e., Native American headdress, geisha robes, Mexican sombrero) if the wearer is not a part of that culture. One-quarter (25%) agreed, saying that it is offensive to do so, and 22% said they neither agree nor disagree with the statement.
Millennials were more likely (34%) than Gen X’ers (23%) and baby boomers (19%) to say wearing these costumes is offensive. However, a larger number (37%) of millennials say that it is not offensive.
About half (48%) of Americans say that Halloween costumes are mostly for children, while 32% disagree. People 55 and older were especially likely (62%) to agree that Halloween costumes are for children, while 18-34-year olds were particularly likely (46%) to disagree with the statement.
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Image: Getty
