Sexualization of Halloween

October is quickly coming to an end and we all know what that means, Halloween!

It’s that time of year again when everyone frantically figures out what or who they are going to be on this annual holiday. Some go to a costume shop and buy ready-to-wear outfits while others enjoy making their own. All in all, it doesn’t really matter how or where they got their costumes, all that matters is they dressed up.

Choosing a costume can be hard to figure out, especially for guys, but for girls, it seems easy. “I don’t know. I just have to wear something sexy,” said one of my friends. As I spoke to more girls about their costume ideas, something dawned on me. Every article of clothing that these girls said they were going to wear are culturally perceived as ‘skimpy’. I never really thought about it until then but I realized that most girl costumes are highly sexualized. What happened to the days when Halloween was about goblins, ghosts, zombies and vampires? Was it ever really like that to begin with? Nonetheless, it seems to have become a social norm for girls to wear provocative outfits this time of year.

“I don’t think girls are any sluttier now than before. I think girls just want to have a better costume than everyone else and being sexy just comes with the territory,” said Susanna, one girl I spoke with. On a daily basis, most girls watch what they wear because they are scared of what others think. If they are going shopping, for instance, and are wearing something that shows a lot of skin, they could be subject to moral criticism. But on Halloween, it gives them a chance to show off all the skin they want without worrying what others think due to the nature of costumes.

“It’s the one day of the year where I can wear whatever I want without people judging me for it” responded Ashley. Perhaps not all girls wear provocative costumes to gain the attention, most do it because it’s something fun to do and it makes themselves feel good.

Conversely, some males think girls are judged more for wearing more clothes than wearing less on Halloween.

“You can’t expect a girl to go out in a fully-robed costume like the Grim Reaper anymore. If they did people would be like “what the hell”,” said Tom.

Halloween has always been about scaring others and getting free candy, but maybe I’m just being naive in thinking Halloween is still about that. As a child, Halloween is mainly about trick-or-treating and candy, but as we get older, the meaning of Halloween changes. The sexual appeal of Halloween becomes a more prominent feature.

Personally, I do not object to the sexual nature of girls’ costumes.

Photo from www.elephantjournal.com

About the Author: Eric Yip

Eric is a 3rd year Communications student at SFU. He listens to everything that is out there as long as it sounds good (don't believe it? check out his ipod). He can play the piano, drums and is learning the guitar. He's a huge sports fan and can talk to anyone about any sports out there, even cricket! Sadly, he watches more sports than he plays but he does play hockey and tennis pretty well. He hopes all his sports knowledge comes in handy one day as he wishes to be a sports broadcaster in the future.

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