Survey breaks down which costumes Canadians find offensive

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – If your child is dressing up for Halloween tomorrow, you may want to ensure the costume they are wearing isn’t crossing any lines.

A new survey is from Research-Co suggests about 57 per cent of people think costumes that represent an ethnic stereotype should not be worn, while 51 per cent think the same thing about costumes that change the colour of a child’s skin.

The numbers suggest people in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario have the biggest problem with skin-color changing costumes while those in Quebec are the least likely to take offense.

But we seem to have less of a problem with costumes that represent social stereotypes, like a jailbird. According to that survey, about 33 per cent think that’s not okay.

Meantime, nearly half of us want kids to leave toy guns at home.. About 47-percent think costumes where a child carries toy or replica weapons are inappropriate.

When it comes to the notion that Halloween should be moved to a weekend,  it looks like Canadians are split on whether or not that should happen.

A petition circulating in the U.S. calls for Halloween to be moved to the last Saturday of October, instead of being observed every year on the same day.

But a survey from research-co says 43 per cent of Canadians don’t agree with that idea, while 41-percent do.

Meantime it doesn’t appear to be popular in BC at all; About 31-percent of those surveyed are behind the idea.