Fish nets….CHECK.
Push-up bra…CHECK.
Fake lashes…CHECK.
High heels…CHECK.
This isn’t my Halloween check list. No. My costume will consist of jeans, sweater, a glass of wine and a face full of chocolate. I will be going as an I’ll Diet Next Week Mom. ‘Why the wine?’ you may ask. Well, the vino is helpful in retaining my sanity while witnessing all the little girls who DO use the above check list. I wish I were exaggerating, but truth is there are times I feel I should be handing out condoms instead of Snickers.
For females in general, Halloween has gone from spooky to slutty. Forget the Dorothy costume unless she is sportin’ 5 inch platforms and exposed cleavage. Don’t bother with the creative, humorous or – God forbid - scary outfits. If you have girlie parts, this holiday comes with a pass to show them off. Naughty nurses, salacious nuns and skanky pirates will be out on the prowl this weekend enticing a whole lot of "eww" and very little "boo."
Don’t get me wrong. I see the appeal in feeling a little more sexy than usual; the excitement of piling on the makeup, wearing that long wig and balancing on stilt like heels. I mean, it’s only once a year, right? Or for lazy Spanx haters like me – once a never.
Anyway, this isn’t about what grown women choose to wear to adult parties. If you want to flaunt it – then you go, girl. What gives me the urge to upchuck my Junior Mints are the street-walker-dress-up-kits I see on the trick-or-treat circuit. Anything from Mousin’ Around Teen to Rebellious Referee Teen can be found on numerous websites and in stores.
During this fright-filled holiday, the grownup aisle becomes tangled with the kid aisle. Halloween costume designers have clearly erased the line between women and girls. Not even considering the weather, the dresses are so short and the necklines are so low that these kids must wear an entire outfit under their costume. Or, at least, they should.
I cannot count the times I have (out loud in full-on, grandma-style) gasped while looking through costumes for the girls. I am working on a future piece about the new documentary, Miss Representation, which is about the degree to which media and society dictate a woman’s identity and values. A large part of the film was dedicated to the topic of the sexualization of our young girls. I think these Halloween costumes are a prime example of this.
On this week’s episode of The Middle, the 9th grade daughter – who, let’s face it, is kinda on the geeky side – was a dressed as a die for a Halloween party. She soon found herself in a dilemma trying to decipher what exactly is "Halloween cool." As the other girls (in their revealing duds) chatted with boys, she was ignored in the corner and even used as a table for soda cans.
At one point all girls go through this moment of realizing we are judged by how we look and what we wear. Some begin to recognize this at seven, others get to hold on to their fashion innocence a while longer. Again, that topic is deserving of its own space. But honestly, did the sexualization of our girls have to even take over the fun creativity and spookiness of Halloween? Instead of trying to be the most gross and most ghouly, girls are supposed to shoot for prettiest and most suggestive.
I suppose in a society with Toddlers and Tiaras, thong underwear in child sizes and words like "Sexy" or "Hottie" embellished on the butts of tween sweat pants, can we really be surprised with the Provocative Kitten ensemble for 12-year-olds? But as much as what we, as a society, allow and accept remains a primary cause of this icky display, it really boils down to the parents. And I will never understand a parent who is okay with their young daughters demonstrating sexuality as they go door-to-door asking for candy from strangers. As they say on online: SMH.
I've got to agree with Heather here...girls should NOT be dressing like this at anytime much less for Halloween.
"At one point all girls go through this moment of realizing we are judged by how we look and what we wear." Having been a 'boy' myself once upon a time, I can say from experience that only the boys who are IDIOTS judge this way and are attracted to such girls, which unfortunately seems to be a majority of the boys out there. And also from my experience, those seem to be the boys that most girls are attracted to – even the ‘geeky’ girls. You girls have no idea what that does to the self-confidence of us less popular guys! Personally, I was always attracted to the often ignored, 'geeky,' and modest girls over the skanky/slutty girls. But I was always too scared to let them know that. So, I can only surmise that the same must be true today as well. Perhaps a bigger part of the problem is that many girls, for whatever reason(s), envy and try to attract the attention of the wrong boys.
I'm also a little confused here about the point you're trying to make. I believe that you are implying that you believe HRG to be an extreme feminist, by the way in which she hyphenates her last name. However, most associating with the extreme feminist movements of today (ie – slut walks/marches, etc.) would support and defend such Halloween costumes. So, I'm not so sure that your point exactly makes sense here. Instead of trying to tell us what you believe HRG’s inner thoughts and motivations to be, why don’t you try sharing with us your opinion and thoughts regarding such costumes, as we’d love to hear the Angry White perspective on this! BTW – Let’s all give AWD a pass on this one, as he was emotionally compromised due to O’Reilly calling David Duke a pinhead on the Factor tonight.
For the record, my name is not hyphenated. Rayne is my middle name. I have several reasons why I use my full name, but the explanation is quite boring so I will spare you.
How about people who do not think it is appropriate to dress girls this way on Halloween tell not only the kid but any parents who happen to be around that they won't be getting any treats because of the way they are dressed? I'm conflicted as I say this because the kid thinks it's cool and the parent said it's ok. But going by the saying "it takes a village to raise a kid" don't we in the village have some say who gets the treats? Hmmm.....
Got it! I was just working off of AWD's assumption in trying to figure out what he was trying to say here - and I still can't figure it out! As I said though, I think that he deserves a break on this one, as I believe that AWD was emotionally compromised due to the thrashing that David Duke took on the O'Reilly Factor last night :-)
OMG!
That thong story ruined my appetite. I suppose i should thank you with all this candy around!!! :)
Or give them a rubber bug or similar. Young kids may actually prefer to get the spider ring. I exercise full editorial control over costumes. Really good costumes get double the candy and the spider ring.
Since you did sew them costumes, save them for next year. Bits and pieces may be reused, altered, or used to make a very different costume the next year.