I was tagging along with one of my friends as she rushed to grab a last-minute costume for Halloween. As we walked through the confusing maze of disturbing statues and gruesome masks, we came to a room filled with the most appalling products of all. Imagine the pale, innocent Snow White depicted in the Disney films. Now chop her dress to mid-thigh length and, hey, why not add an extra slit up there. Lower the neckline by a few inches. As long as there aren't nip-slips, we're a go. Add some cute, blue, 7-inch stilettos, and you're ready for Halloween!
Everywhere I turned, there were pictures of busty, leggy women in outfits that made mockeries of Disney princesses or honest jobs. Nurses, police officers, teachers, athletes. Why is it necessary to sexualize professional, successful women? I don't see men in sexy, chest-baring costumes. Why is Halloween a holiday in which men can express their masculinity, but women are expected to become sex objects? Leg Avenue. For Play. These are only two brand names that were showcased at Dallas & Co.
My friend went to go try on her outfit and when she asked for the top, the saleswoman took out a scrap of fabric that, according to another friend, "looked like a headband." There was no denying that it was barely there. I stood there awkwardly, trying not to glare at everyone. I failed.
I glared at the gross, frat boys who couldn't keep their perverted looks to themselves, whose eyes lingered far too long on all of the costume displays for girls. I glared at the girl who was asking her boyfriend's opinion about which would look better on her, the revealing dragon princess dress (an awful rendition of Daenerys Targaryen's) or Elsa's see-through ice gown. I glared at my friend when she wasn't looking for getting me to step into this store.
Ok, I might be exaggerating here. But even Dallas & Co. doesn't want to advertise their scandalous costumes for women. I went on the website and scrolled through the multiple pictures available. There are scary masks, a patriotic Abraham Lincoln costume (for men) and zombie statues. Nowhere on the site is there a picture of mini-dresses and fishnet tights, which is surprising considering that half of their store is dedicated to this kind of merchandise.
I want to make it clear that I am not against sexy costumes. Go sexy! Sexy is fun. What I'm trying to get across is very simple. Don't let society norms govern what you dress like. You don't have to be "sexy" to be SEXY.
As an end to this somewhat intense and impassioned post, I'm gonna give a shout-out to all those women out there who showed creativity, went against the status quo, and owned it at Halloween this year. WERK IT!
My friend went to go try on her outfit and when she asked for the top, the saleswoman took out a scrap of fabric that, according to another friend, "looked like a headband." There was no denying that it was barely there. I stood there awkwardly, trying not to glare at everyone. I failed.
I glared at the gross, frat boys who couldn't keep their perverted looks to themselves, whose eyes lingered far too long on all of the costume displays for girls. I glared at the girl who was asking her boyfriend's opinion about which would look better on her, the revealing dragon princess dress (an awful rendition of Daenerys Targaryen's) or Elsa's see-through ice gown. I glared at my friend when she wasn't looking for getting me to step into this store.
Ok, I might be exaggerating here. But even Dallas & Co. doesn't want to advertise their scandalous costumes for women. I went on the website and scrolled through the multiple pictures available. There are scary masks, a patriotic Abraham Lincoln costume (for men) and zombie statues. Nowhere on the site is there a picture of mini-dresses and fishnet tights, which is surprising considering that half of their store is dedicated to this kind of merchandise.
I want to make it clear that I am not against sexy costumes. Go sexy! Sexy is fun. What I'm trying to get across is very simple. Don't let society norms govern what you dress like. You don't have to be "sexy" to be SEXY.
As an end to this somewhat intense and impassioned post, I'm gonna give a shout-out to all those women out there who showed creativity, went against the status quo, and owned it at Halloween this year. WERK IT!
I totally agree with you Joy! I don't think women should be expected to show more skin on Halloween. If people want to show skin, that's totally their choice, but it shouldn't be the expectation and retailers shouldn't semi-force it on people by only offering those types of costumes. People that wear a little more shouldn't be seen as squares or prudes either. It is pretty cool to see what everyone comes up with on Halloween!
ReplyDeleteToo true! I went with a friend to the Halloween store in the mall and all we could see were Halloween-i-fied corsets and stiletto heels. Although this is strictly my choice, I didn't want to wear "Sexy Captain America" or "Sexy Thor." (I'm fairly sure that they just recycled an America themed bikini for Captain America.) I wanted to wear what Captain America and Thor did in the movies, except, you know, 5'3" and more "me"-sized. While sexy costumes aren't the issue, there is definitely an issue when there isn't another option. Women who don't want to show that much skin have little to choose from, if none. It's upsetting, really.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Halloween doesn't have to be, and shouldn't have to be a lot of skin. I was also on this shopping trip, and Joy is definitely not exaggerating; all the costumes for women were pretty scandalous. It was especially weird to see all the "sexy" costumes that were job-related, I even saw a bellhop costume. The other strange thing was that all these tiny costumes cost a ton of money! Most of the prices were in the $40-50 range which I thought was outrageous for such a tiny piece of clothing.
ReplyDeleteI encountered this same wall-of-skimpiness at Dallas & Co this year. And driving around on Halloween weekend, I saw way too many underdressed college-aged women looking extremely cold. There's something sadistic about promoting costumes that are no warmer than your average bathing suit for a holiday where the weather is sometimes quite wintry.
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