In the days of this year’s street carnival, a public campaign by the “Forum against Racism and Discrimination” draws attention to racist and transmisogynous carnival costumes in the subways on info screens.
The“I’m Not a Costume!” campaign is modeled after the “We’re a Culture, Not aCostume” initiative by an Ohio student group of color. People should be made aware that disguises that caricature discriminated minorities such as People of Color or transgender people have real consequences.
In a press release from the Forum against Racism and Antidiscrimination on the poster campaign it says: “Europeans use(d) these images to justify exploitation and oppression of certain groups of people. Very few wearers of the costumes are aware of this. The period of colonialism and the so-called ‘discoveries’, which were accompanied by mass murders and other atrocities, has not yet been adequately addressed. The so-called ‘Indian costume’ and other discriminatory and sometimes romanticizing images of certain groups are thus passed on again and again by the elders to the next generation. Even people who dress up as trans_women* at carnival are probably rarely aware of the stigmatizing effect of their costumes. The costumes reinforce stereotypes that justify unequal treatment every year.”
The posters and postcards are to be published on 11.11. 2017 will be printed and can be downloaded here or ordered at This email address is being protected from spambots.