Recently, I went shopping with my roommates at a local Halloween store. As we walked down the aisle, browsing at all the different costumes, I began to feel nauseous looking at what they were offering women to dress up as. “Sexy doctor”, “sexy firefighter”, and “sexy teacher” we’re just to name a few of the many costumes displayed for women to purchase. The costumes hardly had any support, were very skimpy and sent a bad message to women. Isn’t Halloween suppose to be about creativity and having fun? What is so fun about exposing women in a disrespectful way? Even while scrolling through Pinterest looking for costume ideas, pictures of females wearing tight, skimpy DIY Halloween costumes appeared all over my feed. Even the whole “risky business” costume? It’s just a large button down shirt for girls to run around in. Do girls actually want to dress up as Tom Cruise from Risky Business or is just a reason for them to wear no pants and have a sexy Halloween costume?
As someone who is going into a career that will be mentoring young students, particularly young female students, I don’t want my students thinking this is how girls and women dress up as for this popular holiday. A sexy Halloween costume shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to a girls mind when she dresses up each year. She should want to dress up in something she’s proud of and feels comfortable wearing. A woman wearing a skimpy Halloween costume is claimed to be another reason why man assumes a woman is “asking for it.” Nothing about a Halloween costume means a woman is “asking for it.” I’ve realized sexy female Halloween costumes will never disappear because they are constantly being purchased. What I have realized is women are strong, independent and capable of improving society’s social norms, such as girls/women dressing up as something sexy for Halloween. This year, wear something YOU want to wear. If your costume is from the male section, wear it. If your costume is something rare and unique, wear it. If your costume makes YOU feel gorgeous inside and out, wear it. Nothing should stop you from enjoying this holiday as a strong, independent and powerful female.