For a lot of us October and fall is the best time of the year. When you think of October you think of leaves changing colors, sweater weather, pumpkin spice lattes and most importantly, Halloween! For me personally, it’s my favorite month of the year because my birthday is in October, which is only the best holiday of the year aside from the close second best holiday: Halloween!
However, if you are a member of Alpha Chi Omega like myself or someone who has been a victim of domestic violence, October is important to you for a far more meaningful reason. It is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which if you ask me, has been a pretty underrated month considering all that it stands for.
1987 was the first year that Domestic Violence Awareness Month was observed and two short years later in 1989, U.S. Congress passed a public law designating October of that year as DVAM (Domestic Violence Awareness Month) and has continued to pass it each year since.
But enough of a history lesson, let’s get to my point.
As ironic as it is that Halloween and DVAM both happen in October, I think it can be coincidently important. Slut-shaming over women’s costumes is a huge issue.
It’s no secret that once girls hit the high school and college ages that a lot of the costumes for Halloween become shorter, tighter, and more revealing. As highly criticized and made fun of as it can be, any and every girl is entitled to wear what she wants.
Sexy Hugh Hefner bunny? Sure! Hot nurse, why not? A character from The Purge in nothing but fake blood and lingerie? To each their own.
But she should not be discouraged from wearing a costume just because it highly accentuates her figure and gives off a sexy appeal. If it makes her feel good and confident that is all that matters because she is the one wearing it.
Don’t like revealing costumes? Don’t wear one then.
But don’t go around bashing women and slut-shaming them for being confident in their own skin and definitely do not ever say, "She’s just asking for it by wearing that" because she most certainly is NOT asking for anything unwanted or unwarranted to herself.
A boyfriend telling you that “You look like a slut dressed like that” is a form of verbal domestic abuse. A boyfriend telling you that "You're shallow and worthless and a slut” over how you’re dressed is a form of emotional abuse. A boyfriend pushing you and grabbing you aggressively because he hates how you’re dressed and you’re allegedly "provoking/ flirting with every guy at the party" to the point it makes you feel uncomfortable and even afraid is a form of physical abuse.
But most importantly, whether it is your boyfriend saying it, your best guy friend, or even some random guy, “She was asking for it, you saw how she was dressed” is never okay. By saying things like that, it is just appropriating rape culture, which yes, your boyfriend can rape you, no matter how long you have been dating him.
So this Halloween instead of slut-shaming the girl in the sexy cat costume, understand that it is her free will to wear whatever she wants and admire the confidence that she has in her own body. Let this be the Halloween and DVAM that we begin to put an end to slut-shaming and appropriating rape culture over costumes and in daily life.
