“In girl world, Halloween is the one time of year a girl can dress like a total slut, and no other girl can say anything about it.”
The wise words of Cady Heron are every girl’s motto when Oct. 31 creeps around each year. While this comment may be overlooked by most, it raises rather controversial questions. Why is it that only one day out of the year a girl can dress however she wants, without fear of judgment or harassment? Why is it that Halloween costumes are not much of a taboo in a society that is notorious for “slut shaming?”
Three young women at Florida State shared their own experiences and opinions regarding their typical Halloween plans.
Her Campus (HC): What are you dressing as for Halloween this year?
Lily Atwood (LA): A fembot, an astronaut and an angel, all three of which my mom does not approve of.
Skylar Runyon (SR): A Victoria’s Secret Angel, Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and Workout Barbie, where I’m basically going to wear a retro one-piece swimsuit with neon tights.
Sarah Broderick (SB): This year, I’m dressing as a devil, Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks, and the rest is to be decided.
A wide variety of costumes, and yet, they all share one thing in common: They are all “sexy.” While a Victoria’s Secret Angel and fembot from Austin Powers are rather revealing and scandalous by nature, other costumes like the astronaut and a children’s movie character are greatly sexualized by Halloween costume companies. According to the online publication Truthout in 2013, “At Party City, when boys are ninjas, they are ‘warriors,’ ‘Avengers’ and ‘dragon slayers,’ while the store’s lone girls’ ninja costume is called ‘Sassy Samurai.'”
All you have to do is type “sexy” in front of any noun, occupation or famous movie character, and a woman’s Halloween costume will appear on your browser. There is a clear, perpetuated male agenda; These costumes are designed to appeal to men. Think about it, models, cheerleaders and other popular, sexualized movie characters, all women who dress in little to no clothing, are all “fantasies” or “celebrity crushes” for men. They are completely objectified for a man’s pleasure.
Halloween truly loses its sense of innocence and its childlike charm once you leave an elementary and middle school setting. Then, when you get to a university environment you trade trick or treating for attending unregistered frat parties.
HC: How would you dress when you were a little kid?
LA: I was Junie B. Jones (from the children’s books) three years in a row.
SR: I dressed up as Disney princesses for a couple of years and the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland in the seventh grade.
SB: I usually dressed as people I looked up to. For example, I was Lady Gaga, Wonder Woman and Miranda Sings. As I grew up, that started to change because I was focused less on what I was and more on how I looked in my costume.
Whatever happened to dressing up as our role models? As female characters and stars that we idolize?
HC: Why do you think society deems it socially acceptable for women to dress like this only on this day? Do you think women are pressured to dress a certain way?
LA: Dressing slutty is just normal this time of year. There’s the excuse to dress up as something or someone else. You are just merely the subject.
SR: I don’t think I necessarily dress for boys, but I do want to feel confident and look good. I want people to recognize that I look good. It is for sure a confidence booster when a group of guys is staring at you when you walk into a room.
SB: I feel like it is so acceptable because everyone does it. No matter the background, person or how a woman presents herself, we all want to be truly seen by the opposite sex. It may be wrong, but it’s so true.
To fit in, to look attractive and desirable and to feel confident. Two of these three reasons are not reason enough for me.
Now, I am not saying this to condemn men in any way. Nor am I dissuading women from dressing up for Halloween this year. I just think it is equally important to understand the rather patriarchal undertones that this holiday reveals. At the end of the day, you should dress up as anyone or anything because YOU want to because YOU think YOU look good, NOT for anyone else. If you don’t want to rock over-the-knee socks, heels and low cleavage, so be it! If, however, you are dressing to impress anyone but yourself, you have some real soul-searching to do, sister.
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest!