So it’s that time of the year again! And no, I don’t mean Christmas. I’m talking about Halloween. I’m talking about your once a year opportunity to be someone else, and to reinvent yourself completely for just one night. Or…is it? When we eagerly don our costumes and hide behind masks, are we truly posing as someone else? Or are we simply expressing our own personalities through makeup and floppy hats?
As Halloween grows nearer, the psychology major in me starts to stir. Are our costume choices really random? Or do they say something about us as individuals? (Bet that one is pretty easy to answer judging from the title of the article). The answer is yes!
Take celebrity costumes for instance. The Lady Gagas and the Michael Jacksons; we’ve all seen them or been them. Dressing as a celebrity is a way to express your interests or show that you keep track of current events. If the celebrity is someone you admire or like, then dressing as them may be a way of expressing the various characteristics of them that you admire. So dressing as Snooki may be a way for you to pay homage to her talent? style? You get the point.
Dressing as an animal however says something different about you. Animals represent our more basic instincts (you know, the ones that are constantly repressed by society, religion, your parents… but that’s a whole other article). Animals represent certain traits both in nature and in cultural contexts such as mythology. When you think cat, you think sensuality or grace. Owls symbolize wisdom. Lions, tigers and bears (Oh my!) are all about strength and aggression. Then again, dressing as a particular animal may be our way of exhibiting traits associated with the animal that we don’t always get to express in real life.
And then there are the sexy characters. Remember that “Mean Girls” quote about how Halloween is the one time when a girl can dress as slutty as she wants and no other girl can bitch about it? Like anything else coming from the genius mind of Tina Fey, these are words to live by. Dressing as a sexy nurse or policewoman may be a way for someone to express her usually repressed sexuality. Or it can be a way for someone who’s not sexuality repressed at all to express just that.
Although the idea that you can identify one’s personality through their costume choice is an interesting one and is supported by some expert psychologists, human personality is very complex (despite what you may see at college parties…Zing!). You can never be 100% sure what drove your neighbour to dress as Jack Sparrow or why that guy across the quad is dressed as a penis.