Slut shaming is “the act of criticizing a woman for her real or presumed sexual activity, or for behaving in ways that someone thinks are associated with her real or presumed sexual activity” (geekfeminism).
In the classic movie Mean Girls, Lindsay Lohan’s character Cady proclaims that “Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it.”
I find this to be especially true when celebrating Halloween in college, as women tend to wear outfits that are more risqué than they would normally be comfortable wearing on any other occasion. Yet despite the fact that it is for the most part socially acceptable to wear provocative clothing or dress up as a sexy character, women don’t always get away with it and are often subject to slut-shaming, which puts a damper on the Halloween fun. There always seem to be people who think it’s okay to sexually harass women due to their costume choices, and there are others who criticize their lack of self-respect. While making presumptions about someone’s self respect (or lack thereof) is inappropriate, arguing in favor of modesty is perfectly understandable, because women are more than their bodies and sex appeal. There is really no need for sexualized “female” versions of Halloween costumes. If a woman wants to dress up as Batman, there is no reason she shouldn’t be able to wear the same kind of Batman costume that a man would.
However, even though women don’t have to dress sexy in order to have fun on Halloween, it’s also important to acknowledge that there are women that simply enjoy doing so. Is there anything wrong with that? Absolutely not.
There are definitely women out there who wear sexy costumes in order to look good for themselves and only themselves. Perhaps their decision has to do with their self-empowerment or personal expressions of sexuality. Maybe they decided to go all out on Halloween because they feel like they won’t have to worry so much about being judged. On the other hand, there are obviously women who simply do it for male attention. And if that’s the case, so what? There’s nothing wrong with someone wanting others to notice how bomb they look—that doesn’t make them a slut.
A woman’s choice to dress provocatively doesn’t make her morally inferior to those that choose otherwise—a costume that someone considers to be way out of line, she might consider to be just the right amount of sexy for herself. And of course, just because she is proud of her body enough to show it off, that never makes it okay to make sexual advances or harass her in any way—her costume choice is not an excuse.
Whether you decide to dress up in a sexy costume or not at all, and whatever your reasons are, remember that at the end of the day, we’re all just trying to have fun. As long as you steer clear from costumes that are drawn from offensive stereotypes, or make fun of or negatively depict certain races, cultures, or identities, your costume options are limitless!