Halloween is a time for play, and fun. The holiday itself almost demands a costume–from everyone! If there was ever a chance to showcase your theatrical skills and quirky/ spooky personality, it’s now. Still, it can be hard, amongst all of the generic costumes of superstores like Target and Walmart, to find one that you can say for certain fits you. It’s also hard to find genderfluid Halloween costumes, outside of very generic ones, which typically fall under the realm of “inanimate objects.” No one wants to go as a loaf of bread for Halloween, so I’ve compiled here a list of creative genderfluid costumes that likely won’t break your budget.
To start…
A Mummy
Naturally, any costume in which a person cannot be viewed may very well be interpreted as a “genderfluid costume.” Mummy costumes in particular are great because of how flexible they are: you can pull together a historically-accurate look, or you can simply throw toilet paper over yourself and call it a day. Ideal for anyone who is lazy about their costume, and wants something both cheap and effective for scares.
As ancient Egyptian culture is not particularly well-known in the West (at least, not in very great detail) many golden adornments can be worn without adhering to a specific gender. These would include: A Pharaoh's mask, golden bracelets, lapis lazuli pendant, scarab beetles.
If you’re sick of people dressing up as movie characters for Halloween, and would rather stick to the scary classics, this is the costume for you. A great film to watch for inspiration might be “The Mummy (1999),” as it shows mummies as being generally more threatening than your typical lurching, groaning, zombie-like mummies that are all too common in film these days.
However, there is a history to be honored with the mummy costume. Read up a bit on mummification, if you enjoy historical accuracy. And be sure to act respectfully if you do decide to commit fully to representing ancient Egyptian culture. It may be long past, but it still has a great significance to Egyptians today…How would you feel if someone dressed up as your ancestors for Halloween, and then started acting foolish? Probably not great…
NOTE: This is not an issue if you went as a toilet paper mummy. No strong traditions to uphold there–Except for maybe toilet-papering your neighbor’s house…
You will need:
- Mummy wrapping or toilet paper
- Golden decals
- White undershirt/pants
A Superhero
Another great aspect of this costume is the creativity that it allows you to awaken, as you create it. Your character may have any backstory, come from anywhere, and do just about anything they like. You are not limited by character archetypes or “film cannon” while making this costume.
Some superheroes, mainly from Marvel films, are entirely good. They fight for justice, and have straightfoward backstories. There are so many Marvel heroes now, that we may very well have a hero to represent everyone.
Other heros, like in popular shows such as The Boys or Watchmen, act a bit more ambiguously. This may perhaps be more appropriate for Halloween, though be sure not to get too into character if you dress as Homelander. Yikes.
You will need:
- Anything!
Nimona (From Netflix’s ‘Nimona’)
Image Source: Gcosplay.
This list wouldn’t be complete without a shape-shifting character. Embodying the ways in which a person’s identity might alternate daily between traditionally masculine/feminine, Nimona (universally recognizable through her red hair) transforms into the following throughout the Netflix adaptation of ND Stevenson’s award-winning graphic novel: A man, her best friend Ballister (a man), a young boy, a dragon, a bear, etc. However, no matter what form she takes, it is obvious that she is still herself. Her shapeshifting powers are less of a "costume" for her, and are portrayed as being a part of herself instead.
While Nimona seems at her most comfortable as a young woman–always returning to this form at the end of the day–she has no problem switching between different creatures and people, describing the feeling she gets when she doesn’t shift as being itchy and uncomfortable. This may resonate with anyone who feels uncomfortable in their skin, and who seeks solace through self-expression.
Nimona’s most iconic line from the film is: “But I’m not a girl–I’m a shark!” As a character, she encourages us to look beyond appearances when seeking out a person’s identity. She is also a rough-and-tumble person, who relishes in dispelling stereotypes of modern to medieval women being delicate and frail.
You will need:
- Nimona Costume: Red shirt-dress, chainmail, boots, signature red wig and wings combo
Stormtrooper
Image courtesy of Wookiepedia.
Same deal as with the mummy costume. You can’t conform to any one gender when no one can see you very well. In the immensely popular film series, Star Wars, Stormtroopers were (admittedly) the bad guys, backing Darth Vader in his quest to conquer the galaxy. Very little about Stormtroopers is revealed within the course of the main three films, and the ones that do have even a few speaking lines appear to be male. However, there is a bit of a loophole here when it comes to gender, as it is never explicitly stated that stormtroopers are exclusively male.
You will need:
- Many stores sell Stormtrooper costumes, all you need is one in the correct size
Haruhi
Image Source: Pinterest.
Haruhi is arguably the main character of the popular anime “Ouran HighSchool Host Club.” The show centers around the movements of a men’s club in a wealthy school, boys who use their charms and good looks to rake in cash and serve tea to lonely, romance-starved, rich women.
Haruhi stumbles upon their club one day by accident. She quickly accrues debt through a clumsily broken vase–and the solution that the club’s leader presents is that she be made to work off her debt through employment. Along the way, she discovers that the club is less about making money, and more about real, human connection and making others feel good about themselves.
Haruhi presents as a male in order to conform to the expectations of her job, but identifies personally as a female–though she makes plain to Tamaki (the club’s leader) that, while she may be a “girl,” she’s simply not fussed by how others perceive her gender.
You will need:
- A blue suit and dark pants
- A wig (to achieve Haruhi’s short hair)
- Serving china for tea
- A Host-Club emblem
The Sailor Starlights
Image Source: Amino
The Sailor Starlights from the popular anime serial, Sailor Moon, have been heralded as being the “ultimate Trans and Non Binary Fantasy.”
While the show tends to imply that they are canonically female, in the book, the Sailor Starlights have no problem identifying as male or female. Their costumes at times leave room for ambiguity, resembling suits or costumes depending on the occasion. Their homeplanet, Kinmoku, was destroyed prior to their encounter with the sailor scouts.
They are also not immune to censorship—in Italy, they were portrayed as characters with identical twins, to explain away their apparent switching between gender presentations.
You will need:
- Full costume includes: boots, shorts and top combo, with Sailor Moon decals
A Spirit (Studio Ghibli)
Image source: Buzzfeed.
Image Source: Screenrant.
Spirited Away won the award for best animation the year it was released. A masterpiece of art and cinema, Spirited Away follows the story of a young girl, Chihiro, who has been unexpectedly sucked into Japan’s spirit world after her parents commit a grave error. Alone, she must work at a spirit bath house in order to eventually earn her parents freedom. What follows is a tale of many spirits.
Naturally, with the setting of this film being (primarily) the spirit world, the film is full of spirits that never get the chance to be fully explored as characters. There are radish spirits, duckling spirits, and faceless spirits, all inhabiting the same screen with zero explanation of their politics or origins. These spirits never receive speaking lines within the film, and their appearances are so outlandish and fae-like that it’s impossible to pin them into any sort of gender stereotype. While the spirit noh-face is male-coded, many people dress as him for halloween regardless of gender.
Plus, if you are a hardcore Miyazaki fan, wearing a studio ghibli costume is the best way to strike up a conversation.
You will need:
- Almost anything
- For Noh Face (black robe, mask)
- General: Robes, Japanese Noh masks, decorative fans
V
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If you’re looking to sport a slightly more political and alt culture costume this year, have you considered V from the popular comic/film V for Vendetta? Determined to overthrow “future” Britain’s oppressive government, he takes on the (very theatrical) role of masked-terrorist-slash-good-guy.
While the film adaptation gives V a very masculine presence, and blatant male pronouns/identification (presenting him as a love interest to the films’ other main lead: Evey), the comic adaptation lends his character a more androgynous angle. Rather than being Evey’s love interest, he acts as her mentor, offering up worldly advice when necessary, whilst purposefully never revealing much about himself. V makes it clear that he doesn’t want the reader to know who he is–male or female–as it really doesn’t matter. Multiple characters throughout the book note that, quite literally, anyone could be under “his” mask.
Acting somewhat androgynously and with an apparently unique, hard to identify voice, V does not appear fussed about gender, seeing it as ancillary to his character and utterly irrelevant to his purpose.
You will need:
- Dark robe
- Boots
- Hat
- Belt
- Mask
- Wig
BMO
Image Courtesy of Adventure Time Facts Wiki
BMO is a character straight from the television show Adventure Time. They are genderfluid, and addressed by male and female pronouns. BMO goes by many names and nicknames, and that suits them just fine. Within the realm of Adventure Time, their role is to act as a protector/friend of Finn and Jake. But that’s not all they do. BMO can do and/or act as all of the following: “living prototype video game console system, portable electrical outlet, computer, music player, VCR, video player, video editor, roommate, camera, alarm clock, toaster, flashlight, strobe light, skateboarder, soccer player, tape player, chef, detective,” (Adventure Time wiki).
This costume may be fairly difficult to replicate, as it requires a lot of craftsmanship. However, if you have a large cardboard or metal box, you can paint it a teal color and easily add different button cutouts to it. Just make sure that you can actually walk and see out of your creation. You don’t want to be Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird in that ham costume…
Which genderfluid Halloween costume will you choose?
Halloween is a time of year when a person is generally forced to choose between one form of expression: masculine or feminine. There are not a lot of commercial genderfluid costumes out on the market just yet, and the ones that are listed at your local superstore, all happen to be incredibly generic.
A costume–even a Halloween one–is something that is meant to showcase your personality. This list provides several different costume ideas that can easily be adapted to a masculine/ feminine angle, or can be done androgynously.
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