Halloween is always a fun time of year. There’s something for everyone, whether it’s getting scared, dressing up, or having an excuse to eat their weight in candy. However, there’s still drawbacks that come from it, such as gender bias. I feel like I’ve seen some improvement over the years, but it’s an important conversation to remember when hunting for a costume during the spooky season.
Gender bias is “a preference or prejudice toward one gender over the other,” whether it is conscious or unconscious. This is prominent during the Halloween season, but most people don’t tend to notice it until it’s pointed out, since retailers create a subtle environment for it.
Looking through young boy Halloween costumes, the Joker, an army soldier, a Fortnite character, Spider-Man, and a Jedi were among some of the more popular ones I found. On the other side of it, looking through young girl Halloween costumes, an angel, a butterfly, a cat, a mermaid, and of course, a princess were among some of the more popular ones I found.
See the pattern here?
This is just for young boys and girls, let alone adults, where these ideas of gender norms are already ingrained in our minds that we choose to have a costume that fits our gender. But children are growing up in a world where their costumes are sectioned off into separate genders, rather than being organized by theme.
If a young girl wants to be a doctor or a police office, then she has to head over to the boys section to find the costume she wants. The same stands for young boys: if a boy wants to be a Disney princess for Halloween (which we are still learning to accept in society), he has to go to the girls section of the store. Both can be embarrassing for someone so young, especially if their parents don’t give them the freedom of breaking away from gender norms.
Although this may seem innocent during a fun Halloween season, it enforces gender roles and stereotypes, particularly with occupations. A boy has choices like a police officer, a firefighter, an astronaut, or a doctor. Girls have the choice of being a fairy, a cheerleader, or even a bride. It’s teaching children at such a young age that boys are going to have “important” jobs and girls are just cute.
Even the material itself is problematic. Most costumes for girls come with dresses or skirts whereas boys always come in a pant form. A boy might want to wear a dress or a girl might want to wear pants, but we aren’t really giving them these options while they shop for Halloween costumes—or any type of clothes for that matter.
By changing the ways we unconsciously enforce gender bias on Halloween, we could begin to pave the way for future generations to express the freedom of their gender.