by Maddie Parise
“Your costume is a sexy version of my occupation? So original.”
”Brace yourselves, the slutty Halloween costumes are coming.”
“That isn’t a Halloween costume, that is your underwear and you are a whore.”
The tag lines of many memes around the time of Halloween focus around the idea of bashing people (mostly women) for their choice of scandalous costume. I have heard fellow students complain on social media about the promiscuity of Halloween these days, and yet, they sexualize women on their own through the things they say and do.
In my experience, people love to bash a woman’s choice in clothing, but love equally as much to stare at her breasts during conversation. You can’t have it both ways, folks. If you tweeted about ‘Halloween whores,’ you better not be grabbing my butt at a party.
CMU student Shawn Fox said when a girl dresses promiscuously for Halloween it shows something about who she really is.
His friend, Justin Endicott, agreed and said, “I feel like [girls are] kind of doing it just to grab attention, just so guys will look at them.”
The over sexualization of women is very prominent, especially lately, so what’s so wrong about some of us going along with it? Last year for Halloween I went as a mermaid and my boyfriend went as a sea captain. He wore a corresponding hat with a fake pipe, and I wore a long tight skirt and a bra covered in seashells.
Despite the fact that I was very cold that night, I never once regretted my costume. I sunk about $20 into that costume (pun intended) and I rocked it. Even with the suggestion from students like Endicott that I dressed the way I did for attention, I was still proud to wear it.
What’s so bad about a woman flaunting what she’s got? I don’t dress a certain way so a guy can get turned on, I dress how I do because I’m proud of how I look. Obviously I’m not going to walk around naked, but if it’s Oct. 31, a night dedicated to dressing up, I should be able to step outside of social norms and be proud of my body. At least one CMU student agreed.
“Halloween is kind of a time where people don’t judge each other […] if girls want to [dress promiscuously], it’s their choice,” Owen Black said.
If someone dresses as a cat for Halloween, you don’t think they’re actually a cat. If a guy dresses as a police officer for Halloween, despite the fact your heart skips a beat when he comes into the party with a flashlight, you don’t actually think he’s a cop. So when a girl bares her stomach, celebrates her physical assets and is the sexiest vampire you’ve ever seen, why do you think she’s actually a whore?
I by no means am saying that every girl should dress like this for Halloween, people should have the freedom to dress how they please as long as they’re not being offensive.
If I want to dress like a sexy nurse, I’m going to. If I want to dress as a conservative pilgrim complete with a bonnet and modest skirt length, I’m going to.
“I feel like [girls] have the freedom to [dress promiscuously] even if it’s not something I would do,” student Carolyn Anderson said. “I feel like it shouldn’t be the standard [for girls on Halloween…] they should still be able to have fun without doing that, but if they want to do that that’s fine.”
Halloween is a night for dressing up like something you’re not and making memories, stop bashing your Facebook friends because they want to rock what they’ve got. If a girl feels comfortable enough with the way she looks to show it off, we should be supportive, not destructive. In a world filled with insult, let’s use a goofy holiday to build each other up instead.
