For a parent, Halloween can be terrifying—especially if you have a daughter. Somewhere during middle school, costumes marketed for girls take a huge turn. Back in elementary school, costumes were cute, innocent, scary, and creative. However, as soon as those middle school invites for costume parties are sent out, young girls are faced with a dilemma.
I remember the Halloween where everything started to change. For me, that was seventh grade. Suddenly, a cute DIY costume or playing dress-up with your mom’s old clothes was no longer acceptable according to my peers. After that point, it was all about the skimpy, sexy costumes. The hotter the costume, the more likes on social media. When I was a little middle schooler, your popularity—and practically your worth—was based on something as pointless as a Facebook profile picture. I was feeling the common need to fit in.
Naturally, my parents were definitely not okay with me shopping for a bagged costume marketed for adults in the local Spirit Halloween store. I’m thankful they weren’t okay with me buying some sexy sailor costume when I was 13—I eyed those costumes for all the wrong reasons. I was trying to fit in. I wanted to look good—or rather, what a select group of my grade thought was appropriate. I was 13, I wasn’t going to any big Halloween parties. A skimpy costume wasn’t going to be all that practical while trekking through the neighborhood in search of candy. Most importantly, I wasn’t going to feel like myself. I pride myself on my DIY costumes to this day, and some bagged costume was simply not me. I wasn’t ready for those sexy outfits, even though I was convinced that wearing that costume would make me fit into society.
Now that I’m in college, I actually don’t mind the sexy costumes. What really infuriates me is the spike in slut shaming that occurs each and every year on October 31 on every single college campus.
A woman can wear whatever she wants. Period. Done. End of story. She wants to wear a sheet and go as a ghost? Awesome. A shorter, sexier costume found at a Halloween store? Fantastic. A DIY number she found on Pinterest? All the power to her. It’s 2015…why is society still dictating what is acceptable and not acceptable? Kudos to all the girls who want to wear the “skimpy,” “sexy,” or what some idiots would call “slutty” costumes. By donning those costumes confidently, a woman is embracing her sexuality. She’s taking control of sex and her identity, something men had been in control of for centuries. It’s her choice whether she wants to be sexy, funny, or scary that night—not anyone else’s.
Girls also have to remember though that curves and skimpy outfits are labeled as “sexy”…but only sort of. A hot costume only goes so far. What’s really sexy? Intelligence. Wit. Humor. Compassion. That’s why it doesn’t matter what a girl wears on Halloween, or any day for that matter. A girl is more than her appearance, and it's about time we realized it.
