By Michelle Golden and Jessica Moore
Word to the wise: When firefighters put out a house fire, they’re usually wearing pants, not booty shorts. When most of us see a bumblebee or ladybug, we don’t usually think, “Wow, that is one sexy insect!” So we’re wondering why, when we go shopping for Halloween costumes, the options for girls and women run the gamut from sexy to…sexy, and often involve professions and objects that have nothing to do with sex. There’s even a sexy candy corn costume floating around out there. Really? ‘Cos candy corn? Not really doing it for us.
Halloween used to be about going trick-or-treating with friends and family, watching Casper the Friendly Ghost, and stuffing your face with witch-shaped sugar cookies. Costumes included innocently clothed Disney princesses or the usual black cat outfits. But recently, Halloween has made a terrifying transformation into a night where girls turn into mini-porn stars and sexualized children’s storybook characters.
The kids’ section in your average Halloween store looks OK — the Snow White costume actually looks like Snow White’s outfit in the Disney film. Then you hit the teen section, and Snow White’s dress gets shorter – much, much shorter. Her top transforms into a corset, her waist is thinner, and the “appropriate” shoes to wear with the outfit are black platforms or pumps. We’re pretty sure Snow White couldn’t have escaped from the evil queen wearing those shoes.
The women’s outfits add a whole other element to the story: Sexy Little Miss Muffet and Alice in Wonderland costumes for grown women are disturbing for the way they reduce women to children, encouraging boys and men to fantasize about images associated with little girls.
Now, we’re not saying everyone should wrap themselves from head to toe in toilet paper or spend Halloween dressed in a sack. What we are saying is that it would be great for girls and women to stop and think about why they want to look like they just jumped out of the pages of Playboy. Is it for male attention? Is it because that’s how the girls on America’s Next Top Model or The Girls Next Door dress? Why are we all so eager to look like cheap fantasies? We should also think about who is selling these pre-packaged sexy fill-in-the-blank costumes at every Halloween store in the country — and why they are all benefiting so well from our nationwide desire to take sexy over the top.
These overly sexual costumes imply that it’s only our physical appearance that matters –and we all know we have more to share than cleavage. We’re open-minded, individual girls who should be wearing creative, innovative costumes – and that doesn’t mean giving the impression that our one goal in life is to become a stripper or Hugh Hefner hanger-on when we grow up.
By all means, we should all go out and have a good time. Be safe and responsible. But before you slip into that corset and booty shorts, think about better ways to get the attention you’re looking for. Think about the 7-year-old you’ll pass on the street, and the way she’ll look up to you in your chosen costume. Why not go against the norm this year? Heck, you might even find an outfit that’s a bit warmer.
What’s your costume, and why did you choose it? Comment below and let us know!
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I can really appreciate this post on costumes being too sexy. After coming across a number of women in a college environment dressed in super-revealing costumes, I begin to wonder why my peers fail to recognize that alot of times these costumes feed into the negative images society creates for women and girls on a daily basis.
This is such a great post! In my opinion, the best costumes are the ones that have a lot of thought behind them and are really funny, not the ones that are “sexy”. I don’t need to see your butt or boobs, so put them away please!
I agree with your concerns and viewpoint on how female Halloween costumes are being over-sexed. Besides degrading the expected image of women, it also takes away from an important tradition of Halloween – the creativity of putting together a costume!
I would like to comment on your reference to “America’s Next Top Model” however. I know that it was just a small example and not the main point of the article, but I think that the fashion industry is seen in the eyes of too many as equated with that of pornography or even Playboy. The competition is to find a “model” – the judges look for a role model as well as a fashion model. It’s not a competition for America’s Next Top Slut as you implied in this article. Before watching the show I had the same assumptions about the competition and about the fashion industry, but after learning more about it I’ve realized that there is more emphasis on classiness, charisma, and hard work than I had thought – and definitely not a competition to find some hot chick who wears booty shorts.
This is so true. Recently I was at a costume store toying with the idea of buying a costume (instead of making one like I usually do) but I literally could not find a single one that I liked, but wasn’t gonna make me look like I was shooting porn! At this store, all the employees are required to dressup during the Halloween season. While I was there I started up a conversation with one girl who was attempting to keep her short-short “dress” pulled down past her underwear. She told me that while she likes looking cute and wearing the costumes for free, she gets really tired of all the sexual come-ons that are made while wearing them. She said she even once had to have the manager throw an older man out because he was following her around the store! Really girls, lets not try to encourage an image of porn.
This Halloween I was a pusy cat. My outfit was totally PG. I had on a tutu with leggings with leggings. I also had on a cardigan with a tank top. So, I was totally clothed. But, I totally agree with what this article is saying. Teen girls tend to wear slutty costumes that reveal body parts that are not necessary, which is not the right way to go.
Ayyyeee!……I agree because you talk how that girl is dressed and how she look like a s*** but when its time for a holiday like this your dressing like the next person your talking about! like come on! then your setting a bad example for the little ones!……you want your siblings looking like the chick you talk about on a regular basis’s? think about it!
I agree with this article 100%. At my school, Halloween is just a competition among girls about who looks the best with the most cleavage, the most skin, and the least amount of clothing worn. It’s disgusting, quite frankly.
I was Lady Gaga for Halloween, but unfortunately, at all the stores I went to for an outfit, none of the costumes were school-appropriate since they revealed too much. Because of this, I ended up creating my own Lady Gaga outfit from my own clothes, and it was just as cute.
well halloween is not my holiday i dont celebrate it at all because i was raise that way , but usely i do have candy and i have alot of freinds who do celebrate it and dress as differnt things