There’s no better time of year to be unabashedly, unequivocally, unflinchingly gay than Halloween, and this year pop culture provided us a treasure trove of costume ideas. Here you’ll find the most topical, haute, and hilarious gay-friendly Halloween costumes of 2016. From controversial public policies come to life to the roasting of Ann Coulter to Alex Jones’ “gay frog,“ this year’s biggest headlines, memes, and entertainment personalities are now the must-wear, one-night disguises of the season. Halloween is here, LGBT fam, and it’s totally queer. Let’s get in the spirit.
Gutter Spice
Social media can make you an overnight celebrity – even if the term is used very liberally in this respect – and nobody knows that better than Instagrammer and wannabe backup Britney dancer “Gutter Spice,” who treated millions of video viewers to his semi-private swerve sesh before playing coy when an unsuspecting gym-goer walked in on him. To get the look this Oct. 31, peep the dude’s ’gram. You’ll find a wealth of (mostly shirtless) ideas and more booty than a desert island.
‘Roasted’ Ann Coulter
Real-life supervillain Ann Coulter got the verbal beating of a lifetime at Comedy Central’s Roast of Rob Lowe earlier this year – she was referred to as “a repugnant, hateful, hatchet-faced bitch” at one point, and nobody disagreed – which makes this figurative concept ripe for your own creativity. You can easily make this a couples’ costume, too, by asking a friend to transform into vile homosexual Milo Yiannopoulos as your devil-horned sidekick.
Zorn, Defender of Zephyria
One look at Zorn, animated star of FOX’s live-action Son of Zorn, and you’ll recognize from where his creators’ inspiration came. He looks a lot like He-Man, Master of the Universe, right down to the furry loincloth, and it’s relatively easy to DIY this costume. Hot glue brown faux fur that you can find at a local craft or fabric store to a pair of briefs and attach it to a wide belt with a homemade letter Z “buckle” in the center. Add a shoulder-length red wig, gold wrist cuffs and a sword, and you’re all set to conquer the tribes of Agon – and maybe a stragler from the go-go bar.
Lemonade
You could go full-on fierce-bitch Beyoncé this Halloween – in all her fur and fringe glory – but you’ll get more guesswork out of a straightforward approach to her Twitter-tizzying album, Lemonade, with a few nod-and-wink surprises mixed in. There are all manner of creative options on Pinterest to personify the tart-but-sweet summer refresher, after which Queen Bey titled her magnum opus, from glam to cas’. Grab a Louisville Slugger and throw a bottle of hot sauce in your bag (swag), and your own real-life Becky with the good hair won’t know what hit her.
Eggplant or Peach Emoji
Leave it to the gays to take something as innocent as the unassuming eggplant and peach emojis and defile them into expressions of lust and pornography. Because, why not? Pick your preference this All Hallows Eve – are you a size queen or an ass man? – and show your friends just how fruity you are. Resources like eBay, Amazon and Jet.com will reveal several quality results, ranging from about $35 up to $500.
Stranger Things’ Ill-fated Barb
Everybody’s favorite forgotten dead girl (on Netflix anyway), Stranger Things’ Barb rises from the shadows of the Upside Down just in time to make an appearance at your bestie’s costume party – and you’re in luck. News and entertainment outlets – from Today.com to Glamour to Bustle – have provided their take on how this quintessential ’80s wallflower should be recreated, complete with vintage pink eyeglasses, a front-buttoned denim skirt from Forever 21, and a cross-body handbag that you can snatch at Target.
Bare-Chested Putin on a Horse (of a Different Color)
There are plenty of photographs of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the interwebs, but perhaps none more famous than the iron-fisted leader’s shirtless horseback gallop through the Siberian countryside. Immediately, and quite fairly, memes sprang forth – many of which suggested a Brokeback Mountain sitch featuring Putin compadre Donald Trump as his riding companion. Recreate these Photoshopped gems as a couples’ costume with a Putin mask available on Amazon plus a million and one options for Trump get-ups in Halloween stores everywhere, completed by a unicorn ride-on costume from TVStoreOnline.com for gay-thenticity.
Gay Frog
Blubbering radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is certain he’s identified the real threat to American democracy: According to the radical-conservative blowhard in a video posted this past summer, somebody somewhere is dumping chemicals in the water to turn frogs – wait for it – gay! That’s right – amphibians everywhere are getting their queer Kermit on just to spite family values and church spaghetti dinners. You can cop frog costumes just about anywhere, though eBay perhaps has the widest selection, then sass it up like only your gay ass knows how.
Logo’s ‘Prince Charming’
No, we’re not talking about Snow White’s knight in shining armor here. Rather, Logo’s idea of “royalty,” Robert Sepùlveda Jr., the former sex worker-turned-dating show contestant on Logo’s Finding Prince Charming – our community’s limp-wristed version of The Bachelor (as if that wasn’t already wispy enough). Of course, we pass no judgment on fame-seekers and reality-TV egomaniacs, so we’ll leave that job to you in your characterization of the queen this Halloween. Ah, the irony.
Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has been published in more than 100 outlets across the world. He splits his time between homes in New York City and the Jersey Shore with his dog Jaxon. Connect with Mikey on Twitter @mikeyrox.
