A similar version of this story appeared last year on HuffPost.
It wouldn't be Halloween season without the following standard racist, sexist and all-around offensive costumes. "But it's all in good fun!" you probably want to exclaim.
And here's why that is simply not true. Before you jump down to the comment section to declare that we need to lighten up, please remember these basic rules:
--Most cultures prefer not to have their rich history reduced to drunken pageantry.
--Commentary about women’s bodies should not be purchased in a clear plastic bag at a local Halloween warehouse store.
--Mocking serious social issues of our time will just make you seem like an elitist a-hole.
Below, please see a definitive guide to avoid dressing up as an uninformed jerk this year.

While the costume's manufacturer said in a 2011 statement that the "Anna Rexia" costume is "a matter of taste and personal discretion," as BuzzFeed noted, it didn't stop the public backlash from ensuing.
Anorexia has one of the highest death rates of any mental illness, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. The organization reports that 90 to 95 percent of individuals with anorexia are women and between 5 and 20 percent of people with the condition will die.
Photo: HalloweenParty13

Because then, basically, we might as well be Hollywood: "Mexicans on the silver screen are usually portrayed as poor and uneducated at best, corrupt and violent at worst," Eduardo Medina Mora, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., said at a news conference last year, according to Forbes.
Photo: Costume Express

If you're dressed like this guy on Oct. 31, you're probably part of the problem.
Photo: PunchBowl

Jelani Cobb, a professor of history and Africana studies, told CNN in 2011: "To treat a character like Batman or Superman as a Halloween costume is one thing, but to treat an entire ethnicity as a costume is something else."
And he has a point. Geishas are often objectified and portrayed as submissive in western cultures, reinforcing negative stereotypes about East Asian women.
Photo: Party City

There are plenty of costumes for those who don't feel like being a "sexy ____" this year.
Photo: HalloweenCostumes.com

A 2013 campaign video by nonprofit Bring Change 2 Mind compared someone living with schizophrenia to a deranged character in a horror movie -- a reflection of how mental illness can be inaccurately portrayed in popular culture.
"Sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting a lunatic on a rampage," Calen said in the PSA. "People like me, with a diagnosis of mental illness, face stigma and discrimination every day. Luckily I've had the support of family and friends to help me live a full life."
Photo: Spirit Halloween


What's more, lampooning people who can't afford basic provisions is simply insensitive at a time when the issue is so extreme that some areas are being forced to declare a homelessness state of emergency.
Photo: HalloweenCostumes.com

As Mindy Kaling pointed out in Parade magazine in 2013, the perception of someone's self-worth based in part on their body type can be a harmful thing.
"I always get asked, 'Where do you get your confidence?'" she said. "I think people are well-meaning, but it’s pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, 'You, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. You’re not skinny, you’re not white, you’re a woman. Why on earth would you feel like you’re worth anything?'"
Photo: Spirit Halloween

And other than that, have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Also on HuffPost: