It's never too early to start preparing for Halloween. I think we can all agree Oct. 31 is objectively the best day of the year. Between ABC Family's annual "13 Nights of Halloween" and those orange-creamed Oreo cookies, the entire month of October can feel like a spooky party.
But you know what's really spooky? The patriarchy. Yes, even our favorite holiday is not immune to the effects of structural sexism. Browse through the women's costume selection on Amazon, and it's no surprise that most of the costumes look like they have the same surface area as a bath towel. Think "Mean Girls" Halloween party. To quote the film, "In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it."
Once again, "Mean Girls" proves to be a starting point for some critical sociological investigations. According to this dogma, wearing a sexy costume on Halloween is seen as the norm, but it's still "slutty." Some could view sexy costumes as an institution of sexism that caters to the male gaze. I argue, however, that sexy costumes are not inherently bad. Women should have a right to feel sexy. Sexy costumes bring about the age-old problem of slut-shaming. We all know slut-shaming isn't okay, but it somehow creeps into our society like a residual poltergeist of the patriarchy. Here are some things to keep in mind when shopping for or designing your costume this Halloween.
1. Do think about the functionality of your costume.
If you're going to be dancing all night, maybe think about comfortable shoes. If you're going to two parties, you could bring two different sets of animal ears to fool people into thinking you actually wore two different costumes!
2. Don't choose a costume based on what you think other people will find acceptable.
If you want to be a giant cupcake with minimal to zero sex appeal, go ahead. Rock that giant cupcake costume. (See embarrassing high school photo below for example.)
3. Do utilize Halloween to dress up as something you aren't but have always wanted to be.
If you dreamed of being a firefighter as a child, now is your opportunity to live out that dream. If that dream also includes fishnets and high-heeled go-go boots, nothing should stop you.
4. Don't wear an appropriative costume.
They're just tasteless and offensive. It's 2015, but this still has to be said.
5. Don't take away other people's fun by judging their choice to wear a sexy costume.
Don't judge people who choose to wear a non-sexy costume. Just don't slut-shame or judge anyone for what they choose to wear!
