I think we can all agree that some Halloween costumes make us cringe. But how come we only focus on the sexy costumes instead of the racist or down right offensive (Ebola prevention suit I’m looking at you) one’s
Halloween is my favorite holiday because I love every reason to dress up, oh it’s fourth of July? give me all the red white and blue!! RenFest in town? I needed a new corset! (why is it that I can walk around there in a skimpy skirt and corset and feel right at home but I do it on Halloween and I’m a slut??) You’re having a party? Can we have a theme? Halloween gives me a chance to do what I love most, but it’s also a time that comes with a lot of debate.
I’ll admit some female costumes are out there (like who needs sexy pizza? Pizza itself is sexy, like have you ever tried it?!) but I’m just so tired of hearing about how women shouldn’t objectify themselves by putting these costumes on. I feel like it’s a woman’s choice if she wants to wear lingerie or a bathrobe on Halloween (or any day) and people need to learn that, accept it, and maybe acknowledge women dress sexy for themselves and not just men.
I know this is true for myself. I’ve been a “sexy” fireman, “sexy” military person, etc. etc.
I’m never too exposed because there’s only so much skin I’m comfortable showing but yet I still know a fireman isn’t putting out fires In fishnets or someone who looks like they came right out of a mob movie should definitely be wearing pants and not just an over sized jacket. I don’t get a lot of backlash for what I wear, or I don’t care enough to pay attention to it, but a lot of females do. From being called sluts, to asking why they need to impress men etc. etc. I’m just tired of the assumption that what is on my body is for anyone else but myself. I dress a little more sexy on Halloween than I do everyday because it is a time to dress up and have fun, it’s a break from reality, and it makes me feel damn good about myself to let go and that is all.
Unruly Bodies 
You are someone who likes who she is and that is a big part of what makes your post soo valid!
I completely agree! Somewhere along the lines Halloween costumes began to have a “slutty” connotation with it, but also for whatever reason, Halloween is the only time this is considered “okay”? It’s a costume. This always makes me think of Mean Girls and how Lindsay Lohan showed up in the Zombie Bride costume and was upset because she didn’t get the memo that she should have dressed up like a slut. I think Halloween is fun and you’re right, it really is just a costume. It’s like being given a Hall Pass, you can dress however you want, and I’m glad you embrace that!
I love this post. I think that the problem that some people usually have with Halloween and sexy costumes for women is that this seems to be the only option in costumes that they have. I mean, when you look at the difference between costumes for men and costumes for women, it seems like the “sexy” costumes are the ones that are for women. The problem that I have at least, is why most of the costumes offered for women are this way and not something that do not objectify women’s bodies. However, I think it’s awesome if you, and other women choose to dress this way because it’s your body and you can do what you want with it. I like your viewpoint on this. Woohoo! Great post.
I completely agree that most costumes for women are marketed as sexy and that IS a problem and why I make my own costume. First costumes are eexpensive and then on top of it some are just way over the top. If women want to buy them go ahead but making my own has given me the ability to Chose exactly how sexy I was to be and be responsible for my representation
I agree that Halloween seems to be a time when women are extra policed for what they wear, but no one turns that critical eye to people wearing appropriative and racist costumes. The “sexy” costumes are a complicated thing in my opinion. Like zannaliz said, there is often little to no choice for other types of costumes if that’s not what you want to wear. But while the development of the “sexy” costumes probably had a lot to do with creepy men (don’t quote me on that but I’m making a wild guess), many women see it now as something fun and empowering. Respectability politics definitely come up here as Halloween seems/is supposed to be this free pass to dress however you like, but women still cannot escape the prude/slut dichotomy. It’s awesome that despite all of that you feel empowered and good about yourself because that’s how wearing clothes should make you feel!
I agree completely, just because you want to where something more revealing doesn’t mean that your just doing it for attention. I think the only time it becomes a problem is when those are the only costumes being advertised and sold to women.
Somewhere along the way we got “sexist” and “sexy” confused. Sexy for a woman dressing up should be about how she feels, and to the observer it is a private observation reaction, if i find something sexy no one in the universe can tell me that is wrong. It’s not their business, it’s mine. SEXIST is when something is portrayed in a comparitive way and called out as being inferior. Like two cops, male and female, running from the bad guy and she falls and rips her shirt open.
Why did the woman have to fall? and why did her shirt come open? there’s no point whatsoever all it does is present her as an objectified child’s toy rather than a strong cop like the dude who doesn’t fall.
Big difference. A female vampire wearing almost nothing and seducing the good guy isn’t sexist either- it’s a fantasy character created for a specific purpose; she’s not lined up next to a sexy male character who can seduce AND also do everything else better than she can.
Sexy can be very artistic, or it can be stupid, trashy, and gross. Fortunately as individuals we can choose not to consume content we don’t agree with.
So rock on! there’s nothing wrong with sexy halloween costumes. And there’s nothing wrong with dressing as a giant inflatable robot either. What is wrong is JUDGING the choices of others.