(This is cross-posted at BlogHer.)
Dressing up in a sexy costume for Halloween isn’t anything out of the ordinary. In fact, if you’re looking for a pre-made costume instead of putting something together yourself, it can be difficult to find something that isn’t sexy. For many women it’s all about short skirts, plunging necklines, high heels, peek-a-boo cutouts, and clinging fabric.
Before this year, it had been so long since I’d been in costume that I don’t remember how old I was or what I’d worn (but I know I was young and I had strict parents, so I’m sure the costume covered everything that should have been covered). Even though wearing a sexy outfit isn’t anything new or original, I still gravitated that way when I was looking for ideas.
In my case, wearing a sexy costume felt different and exciting because it’s not the way I normally dress. Although some ladies can take the idea of sexy a little too far (revealing more than a lot of people are comfortable with), I would hypothesize that most women in sexy costumes are dressing that way because — for one night, at least — they can.
On Halloween, if you’re wearing a dress that juuuuust covers your behind? Most people will assume it’s a one-time fun costume deal, and not something you wear all the time. They’re less likely to make assumptions about your personal life and/or sexual habits based on the way you’re dressed. On Halloween, you’re allowed to be someone you’re not.
I went to an 80s-themed party the weekend before Halloween, so I used the same costume when I went out on Halloween night. When I was putting together my costume, I had to go out and buy some black high heels (to go with my hot pink minidress) because the pair I already owned were too “work safe.” I also bought fishnets, which were something else I didn’t already have. (Completing the 80s costume? Star-shaped earrings, hot pink fingernails, glittery blue eyeshadow, side ponytail.)
And you know what? It was fun. I didn’t want to be a superhero or a cartoon character…I just wanted to step outside my normal life for a while. For a few hours, I didn’t care if people stared.
Hayden agrees that Halloween is the time to be someone you’re usually not.
While I harbor an extreme dislike of this [sexy costume] trend for children, I see no problem with it for adults.
Halloween is the one time of year where you can be anyone, dress up anyway you want to. Is it any surprise that so many women pick ‘sexy _____’ when so many women are struggling with their body image? It’s the one time of year when someone can be exactly who they want to be without worrying over someone else’s judgment.
Erin thinks that some people go too far with their sexy costumes, and Halloween shouldn’t just be “an excuse to wear lingerie in public.”
In actuality, I found it very sad. Sad, that innocent costumes like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz or cute bunnies, bumble bees, angels (?!), and respected professionals turn into girls selling themselves out for attention. I have never seen so many bums hanging out of skirts and shorts in my life. It is sad that the messages we send women are that being sexy is more important than anything else, and that careers dominated by women (nursing, cleaning, teaching, etc) are opportunities to show some leg.
If you don’t want to dress in a sexy costume, it can be difficult to find something tame. Sarah at The Mom Chronicles had this problem.
Halloween tomorrow – got a last minute invite to a party requiring a costume. Fantastic. Not many options if you don’t want to be a slutty nurse, or a slutty… anything. I think I may just try to find some cat ears, wear all black and call it good.
Liz at I’m Just Saying… went looking for a non-sexy outfit but had a hard time finding anything suitable at a costume store.
Yes, there were lots of costumes for women, but I kid you not 95% of the costumes for women were slutt-i-fied. Sexy nurse. Sexy police officer. Sexy baseball player. Sexy football player. Sexy ladybug. Sexy bumblebee. Sexy Snow White…you get the idea. [...]
Perhaps the best part of the evening was the number of women trying on all those costumes while we were there. People really do buy them!! Shocking.
What’s your opinion of sexy costumes?
14 Comments
Hmmm… I’m not one for wearing the sexy ____ costume. 4 kids’ll take that right out of a girl;) You sure looked cute in your costume though!
I am not big on it – mine wasn’t that sexy, I could have sexed it up some – but its not me. Your costume was actually very tasteful and sexy at the same time.
I think there’s a thin line between cute and maybe a tad flirty and downright obscene! I think it’s also a practicality thing. In bigger cities where you’re using public transportation, it’s just not smart to be half naked on the subway. Doesn’t seem to have stopped most, but I think about it when I’m picking out what I’ll wear.
And then I do think that the “sexified” Halloween trend has totally trickled down into Halloween costumes for younger girls, and I think that’s definitely not cool. That should be totally nixed.
A few comments:
1. It comes down to personal choice, of course. If the person wearing the costume wants to wear that, it’s groovy. And, of course, I like looking at a woman in a sexy outfit as much as the next guy does. That said…
2. There has to be a choice. If the situation is that a woman can only choose among sexy witch, sexy princess, sexy French maid, and sexy devil-ess, there’s something wrong.
3. There’s also something wrong when there isn’t a parallel issue with men’s costumes. If men can find things that aren’t just Chippendale’s getups, but women have to be quasi-strippers, we have a “women exist [only] to be sexy for their men” thing going on.
There’s more that makes a woman sexy than the wearing of a short skirt or a push-up (or no) bra. We focus too narrowly.
Besides, I thought Halloween was supposed to be about being scary.
I like your views on this- that its the one day when people aren’t going to make harsh assumptions.
This year I dressed up as a Bond girl, complete with a gun tucked into my garter. It was silly but it was fun and I got some good laughs from people out of it! I think its also good for our confidence levels, to wear something a little crazy like that once in a while.
But when young girls start wearing these things, that’s concerning. And I agree with the others that its got to be tasteful and in the right context (for example, I was at a house party and wouldn’t want to be wandering around the street wearing that outfit in the middle of the night!).
I think it’s another example of women trying to be competitive with other woman. I think some of the reason might be that they are afraid to step outside the box and dare to be different than most of the girls that night. God forbid they might not get the same male attention. Just one girl’s opinion. :)
My husband and I were just having this conversation after seeing a lot of these sexy costumes Halloween night. Personally, it’s not for me. But hey, I think if it’s fun for someone, then why not? It’s Halloween and you can be whatever you want to be.
I’m not big into wearing costumes in general, but honestly, the overly-sexy (how subjective is that!) costumes do bother me. I like for women to feel sexy, but maybe not at the cost of leaving nothing to the imagination. Hm, I’m going to have to think on this some more.
A little bit is OK, but a lot of people take it a bit too far. And they’ve really got to stop making “sexy” costumes for preteens.
I do love dressing up for Halloween. This year, my costume was as far from sexy as you can get!
i didn’t end up dressing up for halloween this year, but last year i went as a football player.
or, a “sexy football player” i suppose.
and yeah, i was wearing white booty shorts. and a top that didn’t cover any piece of my stomach. but it was FUN. a lot of fun. i wore long socks and white skate shoes, to try and down-play any hoochiness, but there aren’t many times a year you can step out of your comfort zone and have fun in a different persona.
while i’m still not a fan of some costumes – the heavy makeup and dolled up hair WHILE wearing lingerie? it’s a little overboard. but like you said, it’s halloween. it’s over in a few hours and most people are back to business suits and sweatpants.
definitely a running joke around here.
if I say: Im gonna be an apple.
my husband responds wistfully: a sexy apple?
yeah, Im seeing it isnt funny when I type it but it is SO FUNNY (I promise) around herre.
This is such a fun blog! I love reading it.
As for sexy Halloween costumes, I’m all for it. It’s fun to be someone else for a night and let your wild side shine. I even wrote a blog about it -
Oops the link didn’t show up. Here’s my post about sexy Halloween costumes -
http://pennyheadsup.blogspot.com/2008/10/trick-or-treat.html
i hate slutoween. i think it’s because women don’t feel comfortable being overtly sexual the other 364 days a year, so that’s why they think it’s so fun to “dress up” sexy on the one night they can “get away with it.” i think if women want to look sexy and get a lot of attention, they should own up to it and not just pretend it’s just a halloween costume. in other words, i think women’s obsession with slutoween is indicative of their low self esteem and repressed sexuality.
except for the women who ALSO dress provacatively all year long. they see slutoween as a competition, as an earlier commenter said.