The other day, a friend and I were stumbling around the internet when my friend found a tumblr that seemed to make a rather damning case for women's Halloween costumes. The tumblr, entitled "F*** No Sexist Halloween Costumes," consisted of a series of images in which a "men's" version of a Halloween costume was presented alongside a "women's" version of the costume. "How interesting," my friend said. "Women's costumes are so sexual." This simple phrase launched us into a hefty discussion about the implications of sexy Halloween costumes. My friend was right, of course. Women's Halloween costumes are very sexual. However, I am always one to play the devil's advocate, so instead of agreeing with them, I instead replied: "Well, of course a blog like that isn't going to post any non-sexualized costumes because that would defeat the purpose of the bias. I think it's really interesting that men aren't allowed to wear sexy costumes, don't you? I mean, if a man went out wearing nothing but a thong and a cowboy hat, he'd probably be arrested for indecent exposure. Why are women allowed to wear sexy costumes but not men? And why do so many women buy sexy costumes, after all? I hear lots of women complain about it, but I see an awful lot of women that still buy them anyway. I think women like it."
Okay, okay, so that might have been a little aggressive. It really did get me thinking, though. Why do women like sexy Halloween costumes so much? And why is it that so many women are against them? Someone once told me that they felt like society seemed to pressure people into buying sexy costumes. I don't necessarily think this is true. Costume stores do present lots of sexy options, but I don't think that it's necessarily because we live in a sexist, male-dominated society where men demand that all women look slutty on All Hallow's Eve. I really think that women do like the idea of a sexy costume or two. Perhaps it's the anonymous aspect of Halloween or the opportunity to be a little "out of character" for a night, but regardless, that desire is there.
While there are undeniably more sexy Halloween costumes available for women than non-sexy costumes, I don't think the situation is as dire as some people do. There are hundreds of unisex costumes and a fair amount of non-sexualized women's costumes available to women who aren't interested in dressing up "sexy" for Halloween. The biggest issue that I see in the end is that women seem to have the sexy costume market completely cornered, whereas men have the silly/scary costumes to themselves. Ideally, I'd love to see a world where both genders could wear any costume they chose--if that means a man wearing a pair of boxers and a cape, so be it. And of course, if a woman wants to dress up as a Wookie, she should be able to without risk of mockery.
Okay, okay, so that might have been a little aggressive. It really did get me thinking, though. Why do women like sexy Halloween costumes so much? And why is it that so many women are against them? Someone once told me that they felt like society seemed to pressure people into buying sexy costumes. I don't necessarily think this is true. Costume stores do present lots of sexy options, but I don't think that it's necessarily because we live in a sexist, male-dominated society where men demand that all women look slutty on All Hallow's Eve. I really think that women do like the idea of a sexy costume or two. Perhaps it's the anonymous aspect of Halloween or the opportunity to be a little "out of character" for a night, but regardless, that desire is there.
While there are undeniably more sexy Halloween costumes available for women than non-sexy costumes, I don't think the situation is as dire as some people do. There are hundreds of unisex costumes and a fair amount of non-sexualized women's costumes available to women who aren't interested in dressing up "sexy" for Halloween. The biggest issue that I see in the end is that women seem to have the sexy costume market completely cornered, whereas men have the silly/scary costumes to themselves. Ideally, I'd love to see a world where both genders could wear any costume they chose--if that means a man wearing a pair of boxers and a cape, so be it. And of course, if a woman wants to dress up as a Wookie, she should be able to without risk of mockery.
Nice! I enjoyed reading this from a male's perspective. I'm one of the women who really get annoyed that all women's costumes are sexualized. I've looked my head off, and yet again, I'm resorting to a DIY version of something cool, neat and awesome for Halloween. I want super hero that shows a woman can be super without her ass doing the majority of the super hero job. I actually have not seen any decent women's costumes. As for men, you know it didn't occur to me that all adults men and women are basically screwed in this dept. Lol. I guess you guys have little options too.
Personally, I understand Halloween is fun for all ages, but we focus in my area, as Halloween being for the kids, so there's no way anything overly sexual would be that appropriate for anyone here going out and walking the streets in, but I did see some VERY provacative ones last Halloween.
You mentioned a few reasons why many women do actually like dressing so revealling for Halloween. It's because Halloween gives us an excuse. We can go out nude and you know what? Nobody says a thing. While it would be inapproprite to wear nothing but a pair of panties and pasties to walk the streets in most areas on Halloween night, I doubt many people would say much if it's a female. It's accepted and to be downright blunt, Halloween is one time a year where we have the "right" and excuse to do it without serious judgement. I personally don't go too crazy with the revealling costumes, but it is the truth.
Loved it, thank you!
@Kendra30752 - Haha, although I wrote a little about the male perspective, I'm female. I think that largely Halloween is for kids--obviously 21+ adults don't tend to go out trick-or-treating, although sometimes older teenagers still do. I think more often you see racy Halloween costumes at adult-only Halloween parties. I'm not exactly the master of parties, but this is what I imagine, anyways. I definitely don't agree too much with wearing a SUPER racy costume just to walk around town in!
I agree that Halloween does offer an excuse for women to dress up sexily without being judged. You're right to say that most people won't complain about a woman wearing hardly any (or even no) clothing, but they WILL judge her. On Halloween, however, it's all about the fun and illusion of being something you're not, so it gives us a chance to go a little outside of the box and explore some more sultry costumes.
Nice.