Pimp costumes, popular for Halloween, remain controversial

Dressed in colorful, often garish costumes will be teenage pimps, adult pimps, female pimps, even children dressed up as pimps, thanks to a Los Angeles-based firm that for the past two years has been selling thousands of the outfits.

Garrett Duncan, associate professor in the college of arts and sciences at Washington University, said in part the fascination with pimps among whites is a continuation of a history of appropriating various aspect of African-American culture by the larger society.

"It's like Al Jolson," said Duncan, who teaches a class in culture, language and the education of black students and youth. "This is another form of black face in the sense that you are appropriating the aspects of a culture and going out and making a profit on it. Yet you have contempt and disdain for the very culture - the so-called pimp culture - that you take it from.

"It's like a double-edged sword," he said. "On one hand you have people celebrating and making it into an art form, but on the other hand it's used to characterize black culture and contribute to the notion that black people in general are inferior."

•	Pimp costumes, popular for Halloween, remain controversial Biloxi Sun Herald (MS), Friday, Oct. 29, 2004 Byline: Ron Harris, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

•	Culture takes shot at altering meaning of �pimp� St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2004 Byline: Ron Harris

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