It's a couple of weeks before Halloween, and I find myself in a local store looking for a cute costume to wear for a Halloween party that my work is throwing. As I go down the aisle, I notice a certain trend in the types of costumes that I am seeing. On one side of the wall is the list of all the women's costumes, and on the other side are all the male versions.
Classic costumes -- pirates, superheroes, and doctors -- seem fitting and normal for the men, but for the women, the costume is not complete without a skimpy skirt line, low-cut top, and minimal fabric. I take a long, hard look at the costumes and realize that this sort of overt sexualization of a gender is nothing new to the society that we live in.
Ever since I was little, I remember looking at the Party City catalog that had a vast array of costumes for girls and boys. I remember always wanting to be the cute angel, but each year my mother would shake her head no and rather have me be a Disney princess or a ghost. As I got older, however, I realized why my mother was so intent on me not being a cute, white-dressed angel. Even the young girls' costumes were highly promiscuous, now prompting the question as to why Halloween is the most sexualized event to date.
We live in a society where women are consistently sexualized by what we wear. We are told at school to keep our hemlines long and spaghetti straps at bay just so that our fellow boy classmates don't try and harass us after class. Then, in reference to Halloween time, we are shown that it's okay to wear barely-there skirts and dresses, knowing that if we choose not to do so, we will be looked down upon by our peers and deemed weird or not in the Halloween spirit. I personally would love to dress like a pirate without having to choose between costumes that have barely enough fabric to cover my chest and leg area.
Women are beautiful humans, I agree. We are all made in a uniqueness that is attractive to the opposite gender, which is a good thing. But, there is a line that should be drawn when it comes to the sexualization of women. We have been sexualized for centuries, and it needs to stop. We are not objects to be paraded around like animals. We are human beings with feelings and emotions, and when we have to be subjected to wear clothes that are demeaning to who we are, it just makes us feel even worse about ourselves. This Halloween, girls, I ask you this one question: Do you really want to dress up as a sexy pumpkin?
