By Lilia Quevedo, Staff writer
When I was a kid, trick-or-treating was the highlight of October. I loved to wear all sorts of costumes, like cat outfits and witch dresses. Back in elementary school, all everyone cared about was how scary you looked. When I got to middle school, everything changed.
There are a ton of scary, Halloween-related movies out there, many of which feature a party where all of the high school kids go to so they can drink and pass out. Then some scary monster or murderer comes, killing the mood (pun intended). In these parties, what everyone wears—more specifically the girls—is pretty much the same: a tight piece of cloth that covers as little of the body as possible. If you want to be a sailor, here is a miniskirt and a tube top for you to wear. If you want to be a nurse, here is a dress that shows your butt if you bend one inch. But wait—if you’re a guy and want to be a sailor, you can buy long pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt! What? Yes, you’ll actually be a realistic sailor.
What the media portrays clearly reflects what the stores sell, too. If you’re a teenager/young adult, good luck trying to find a costume not labeled as “sexy.” The days of looking scary for you are over. Remember, though, this is only applies to you if you’re a girl. Even little kids costumes might raise a few eyebrows among parents. Of course, you can always find Bucky the Winter Soldier costume replica online that actually looks like the real thing–if you’re willing to pay $300, that is.
Why is it that women continue to wear these costumes? There are tons of articles and rants online that talk about how these sexy outfits should not be sold any more because they degrade women and objectify them. While that’s true, no matter how many petitions there are, no matter how many protests and anti-sexy Halloween campaigns there are, the Halloween companies will never stop selling those sexy nurse costumes. Society has conditioned women to be “sexy and beautiful” so much that some women don’t even question the costumes. They wear it because everyone else is wearing it. If everyone stopped wearing the costumes, then maybe the companies and the world would realize how degrading they are. There’s nothing wrong with showing off your body, though. If those are the kinds of costumes you want to wear, go for it. What’s not right, however, is the belief that those are the only things women should wear. Don’t just give women one option, give them many. Sell an Assassin’s Creed Costume that isn’t only made for men! Sell a real-looking nurse outfit, not just those skin tight mini dresses that look nothing like what the workers wear.
Don’t stuff all women into one category—give them a choice.