Halloween is here, and college students everywhere are rushing around to find the last pieces of their costumes.
This year, superheroes appear to be the most favorable costume choice, with five of the first seven top costumes searched for this year fitting into that category. Suicide Squad character Harley Quinn tops that list, followed by The Joker and a generic superhero in third place.
While doing my daily social media perusing last Monday, I came across an article on Facebook that immediately caught my eye. The title read, “Hey Wal-Mart, Suicide Is Not A Costume.” Right away I was enraged and clicked to read on.
At the beginning of the article there is a trigger warning, which is a bad sign off the bat. The article continues to state that Walmart’s Halloween store is selling a latex prosthetic of slit wrists called “Razor Blade Suicide Scar Wound Latex Costume Make Up.”
Latex prosthetics are nothing new for Walmart, the United States’ largest retailer and one of the nation’s largest vendors of Halloween costumes and accessories. Latex applications are a very popular accessory sold by Walmart and other vendors. These sleeves generally simulate wounds inflicted by weapons, burns and animals.
Sold and shipped by Totally Costumes, the picture in the advertisement shows two deep wounds, with a bloody razor blade being held at the end of a slash to depict self-harm and a suicide attempt.
The occasion for the product is “Party.” It could be purchased online for just $3.99 not including shipping. So for just under $10, you can show up to your Halloween party in the most offensive costume maybe ever.
Totally Costumes described the product as “Cruel World Razor Blade Prosthetics,” with the words “Surrender to your despair” appearing underneath the picture. This insensitive costume is not the first one that Totally Costumes has had advertised on their website.
A product called “Slashed Wrist Prosthetic Appliance” was posted before being removed along with the aforementioned product. This prosthetic included the description, “Give your costume a look so realistic that it seems suicidal with our Slashed Wrists Latex Appliance. Go off the deep end and make that gruesome suicide attempt with Halloween FX prosthetics.” I would love to know who wrote this and who approved it to be posted on their website.
Both of these items have been removed from Walmart’s and Totally Costumes’ websites; however, Totally Costumes blames Walmart for describing the item incorrectly. It seems as though Totally Costumes is trying to cover themselves, yet the description for the product can be seen on their website, thus eliminating any blame they are trying to give out.
We all know that Halloween is scary, but these prosthetics are making it even scarier. I am truly appalled by the lack of common sense by these large vendors. Deplorable does not even begin to describe the actions of these vendors. With suicide as the second leading cause of death for people from 10 to 34 years old, these prosthetics are making a joke out of something that kills almost 43,000 Americans per year.
I will be sure to think twice the next time I consider doing business at a Walmart or with Totally Costumes, and I urge everyone to do the same after this distasteful costume incident.
Samara Rosenfeld is a fourth-year communication studies major with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at SR806559@wcupa.edu.