Recently, an incident of a woman being shamed for her fashion choices on a college campus has gone viral. On one of her first days of college, she wore jeans and heels and was promptly shamed all over the internet. Yes, jeans and booties set Twitter and Facebook abuzz.
The woman in question is Malala Yousafazi. That’s right. The girl who defied the Taliban to advocate for the education of women in Pakistan and continued to strive for this noble goal despite being shot in the head at age 15. She earned two Nobel Peace Prize nominations and became the youngest person to win a Nobel Peace Prize, at age 17. She is now a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and a student at Oxford University, studying philosophy, politics and economics.
Comments on the unverified picture of her circulating the internet range from defending her to vile comments that wonder when her headscarf will no longer be worn, ask where her father is, and depict her blacked out in a niqab style.
When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter who a woman is or what she wears. She will be judged for dressing too slutty, too frumpy, too girly, too dressed up, too modest, too dressed down, too masculine and the list goes on. Even worse, she may be told that the way she dresses is “asking for it.”
As Halloween and costume party season comes to end, there remains a chance for reflection. Social media sharing platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram have been inundated with memes setting girls against each other with images comparing two girls costumes, one dressed provocatively and one not, saying either “other girls on Halloween vs me” or “two types of girl at Halloween.” Interestingly enough, memes comparing how guys dress on Halloween don’t go viral.
Let’s clear this matter up once and for all: wear what you want on Halloween and every other day of the year as long as you aren’t culturally appropriating. If you like your outfit, regardless of how much skin you show, wear it with pride. And no costume or outfit is ever asking for anything (except blackface: that’s just asking for ridicule).