We have all heard that line from Mean Girls: “Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” While the first part might be true the second most likely is not. If a girl does dress like that, most people would have something to say about it, perhaps both positive and negative. So is it really a bad thing that girls dress this way?
Go into any Halloween store and you will see young children with their cute costumes, scary ones for men, and skimpy outfits for women. The costume store, Party City even has a section titled “sexy costumes” on their website, which is just three tabs away from children’s costumes.
So while your younger sister can be a cute Snow White, you can be seductive Snow White. Elmo becomes Sassy Elmo, Big Bird is Sassy Big Bird, and Minnie Mouse is now called Mickey’s Mistress.
Now, many would argue these are women’s costumes; parents would never allow their children to wear these kinds of outfits. However, the teen costumes really are not that much better. They may have changed the names, but the short skirts and seductive nature is still there.
So is this really a bad thing? “I’m in the middle,” says Senior Marissa Russo. “It does have a negative effect on younger girls to see outfits like this, but if you are older and you’re comfortable with your body it’s okay. It depends on where you are wearing this too. If it’s a party with other older people that’s fine. Girls should not wear these outfits trick-or-treating though.”
Junior Cori Rende has a different take on these kinds of Halloween costumes,
“it is okay to an extent, but if you’re walking out the door and your mom is yelling at you then you know it’s probably bad.”
There are two arguments as to why girls choose to dress this way. The first says that they are doing it for attention. The other says girls do it because it has become a social norm. In an article for AOL-news, dating expert Marc Rudov commented, “I expect guys to wear gory costumes on Halloween, but if women are going to be slutty, it does send a signal. You can’t say, ‘I was slutty for Halloween, but that’s not really me’.”
Do guys really think this is appealing? Junior James Sullivan says there really is no point for girls to wear such provocative costumes. “It is appealing to see less clothes but that’s about it,” thought Sullivan. “All the girls wear nothing for Halloween and they expect attention. Sure they get it for the first hour but then everyone just starts talking to the girls wearing regular costumes.”
When asked their opinion, Matt Marando, Nick Marshall, and Andrew Emerson unanimously agreed it is appealing for girls to wear such costumes. Although, they did say it was only okay if it were girls “18 and over.” Marshall went on to comment that it is only one night a year, “but it can be bad for younger girls, and some parents might not like it.”
In the end it seems that it is a lose-lose battle. It goes back to the movie Mean Girls, the main character Cady went to a party dressed as a zombie bride, and people talked about her because she was dressed scary instead of slutty. On the other hand, her friends went dressed slutty and people still spoke ill about them.
It is really a personal decision, and students agree, if you are old enough and comfortable then go for it. Just do not open the door to trick or treaters dressed in the “Holly the Heart Stopper” nurse costume.
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