Modern era goals of being “trendy” that continues to spread across all forms of social media, from Pinterest to Instagram, makes disobeying the status quo extremely difficult. This we know, we all know. Women, men, girls, and boys alike. Separating yourself from the crowd is difficult when a mob of people is screaming at you (or more accurately typing) and luring you over to come join them and follow suit. This upcoming holiday of costumes and candy is no exception. On July 4th we wear red, white and blue. On Christmas, we wear fuzzy sweaters and drink eggnog. On Saint Patty’s, we wear green and drink in honor of the Irish. On Halloween, we dress like sluts, or at least that’s what we are told.
As Halloween approaches, it is hard to not imagine all the “slutty” costumes that will soon fly across my dashboard, newsfeed, and past my eyes directly. Shops and costume pop- ups sell every version of a dirty nurse to a sexy zombie, selling the idea to teenage girls and everyone else in the world, that you must look hot or attractive to dress up for Halloween the correct way. For those of you that don’t know, this holiday originally revolved around scaring off unwanted spirits, and was commercialized by the candy industry to maximize their profit. Think about that for a second.
However, something this year is different. Something has changed, because women and men across the world have started to use their social media platforms that constantly tell them who they should be, that they object. People have stopped listening and started talking back, screaming to the world that the internet can no longer dictate our opinions, fears, and identification. As many of our readers have probably seen, the hashtag #MeToo has been trending for the past week. This movement, spurring from the multiple allegations against Harvey Weinstein, a high-profile Hollywood producer, highlights the widespread issue of sexual assault and harassment. There have been millions of posts, retweets, and comments in consolidation with survivors, and even posts from perpetrators, and the huge uproar has got me thinking.
This Halloween or Halloweek as some refer to it, please wear what you want. Go as crazy, as funny, as cute, as sexy, as stupid as your heart desires. Don’t let anyone stop you and for sure don’t let anyone judge you. In this day in age, everything is already publicized, so it is time that we, as a society, learn to use it to our benefit and not our downfall. Girls and boys, support your friends and don’t assume that whatever they put on these fine Thursday-Tuesday evenings dictates their sexual preferences or goals. It is wrong to let a holiday’s tradition blind you from viewing someone as you would any other night or simply at all. There is no excuse when it comes to sexual harassment and it’s time everyone starts to realize that.
I hope I see no new #MeToo posts this upcoming week, not because I don’t commend the survivors who have come forward to share those story, or urge them to stay quiet. But, because I hope there is no cause to decide whether one wants to publish their most private and intense experiences. Earn respect by giving respect, and as always, stuff your face with as many Twix as possible.
Image courtesy of: Huffington Post