What Are You Going to Be For Halloween? Part 3 of 3

People who know me as a feminist will ask, “What do you think about the scantily clad costumes females wear during Halloween? Do you think that that is okay?”

An individual woman who makes a choice to wear something that is revealing is not the real issue.  The sexy costumes that societies make a pitch for, manufacture, and manipulate females into believing they have to wear is the main issue.  Any woman can and should be able to choose how they want to present themselves on any night of the year, including Halloween.  However, society values an aesthetic that highly sexualizes her in order for her to be seen as appropriate.  How can we then blame her for choosing something that we have manufactured (both in clothing and in value) for her to wear?

I don’t have a problem with women choosing to wear scant clothing on Halloween.  They are adults and should be able to make their own choices.  However, girls who are dressed, usually by their parents, in princess costumes are more of a concern to me.  These seemingly innocuous costumes are pretty and sweet, but what messages do they convey? 

Princess costumes remind me of the traditional ideal of being female.  She should be docile, quiet, and needy.  They also remind me that they all need a man in order to be fully alive, like in Snow White.  Is that the message we want to imbed in a female’s mind?  Some may say, “Yes!”  I, think not.  That is a more dangerous outfit than that of a sexy cop. The sexy adult female cop is able to make her own choice, whereas a little girl has no power over the commercial, societal, and parental pressure.

 Speaking of pressure, boys are pressured into some sort of action hero by most commercialized costumes.  While sitting in Times Square a week ago, I noticed several ads for girls dressed in princess outfits and boys dressed in action heroes from recent movies.  Do boys have to be action oriented, aggressive, and angry?  I think not.
 
To sum it up, women who wear sexy costumes can make their own decisions within the limits of what society offers, unless she were to sew her own outfit.  Either way, I don’t have a problem with whatever she wants to present herself in.  Princess outfit for girls are a no go for me, unless we also offer a more balanced choice including action oriented, heroines.

I am not dressing up for Halloween this year as I spent most of time thinking about this blog.  What are you going to be for Halloween?