do whatever they wish, women are
evidently meant to be sexy. Even pre-
packaged costumes that do not have
the word “sexy” or “slutty” in the title
still often have comparable hemlines
to their sexy cousins. Worse still is what
types of costumes are being marketed
as sexy costumes. It is one thing to
dress up as a sexy police officer or
sexy sailor: they are at least adults
(and people). People can be very sexy
so these costumes being sexy make

at least some sense. There has been
a growing desire to be dressed up as
something that is not inherently sexy
and arguably should not be seen as
sexy. These costumes include the child-
like--in the case of cartoon characters
or fairy-tales--and the offensive, such
as sexy Muslim or sexy Nun. This is
sexualizing and disrespecting something
that should not be sexualized. The very
epitome of this is the trend of dressing
up as inanimate objects. There have
been Sexy Chinese Takeout costumes,
Sexy Hamburger costumes, and Sexy
Hot Sauce costumes. This trend is a
problem because, unlike the other
trends mentioned here, it literally
makes women out to be objects. The
only thing more objectifying than
actually making women out to be an
object is forcing sexiness at the same
time.

Many feminists stand against this. Jenny
Brock also writes, “It's horrific that
when women dress sexy, some men
see that as invitation to treat those
women without a shred of respect,

as if sexy automatically equals sexual
availability. Sometimes it's just about
strutting your stuff. Not about closing
the deal.” There is also an interesting
catch 22 in this case. Halloween is the
one night where women are expected
by society to dress in slutty costumes,
yet society cannot accept this. Society
correlates “slutty” clothing with slutty
behaviour, but it also encourages the
former on Halloween while considering
the latter shameful. In many ways, this
creates a no-win situation for women
on Halloween. Anyone who does

not truly want to dress sexily feels
pressured to do so, while those who
want to feel sexy are demeaned and
criticized.

This catch 22 and the correlation
between dress and behaviour create
another societal problem: slut shaming.
This is the degradation and mocking
of women because she is expressing
her sexuality. This implies that female
sexuality is something to be ashamed

 HAUOWEEN

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of, something distasteful. It also ties in
with rape culture: that the girl gets
what is coming to her because of how
she is dressed. The strangest thing
about this on Halloween is how some
feminists react. Kyra Richards, writing
for Buzzfeed, put it best; “I find it
perplexing that critics of women who
wear sexy Halloween costumes claim
to support women’s rights and female
empowerment on the other 364
days of the year - yet they chastise
the women who have the gall to “go
there’ on Halloween.” Some people
have it in their minds that if a woman
dresses in a sexy manner, then she

is clearly nothing more than a sexual
being who “wants it.” Even in the case
of a woman who is only dressed up
like this for one night, some people
decide that she has an “inner slut” that
is just waiting to get out.

On the other side of the rape culture
mentality rests the reverse argument.
Women should not dress up in sexy
costumes because men cannot control
themselves. Chloe Angyal argues on
Thought Catalog that these viewpoints

are blatantly regressive and puritanical.

For these people, the feminine creature

is something pure, dainty, and precious,

something that must be protected
from the eyes and hands of men who
cannot stop themselves from touching,
groping, and raping, thus ruining

the purity of society's women. These

same people argue that they are
defending society's pure and innocent
young ladies from feeling pressured to
dress up as “filthy whores.” This act of
costuming as something “sexy” is an act
of degradation and should not even
be considered, let alone committed.
These would be the same people that
would argue that you cannot rape a
whore. This is rape culture in its extreme,
of course, with its victim-blaming and
the “she was asking for it” mentality. It
is no surprise that when these sorts of
people hear of a sexual assault, the
first thing they would ask is “what was
she wearing?”

None of these viewpoints are truly
right; rape culture, slut shaming, and
objectification are all wrong in their
own way. The first two place blame
on the woman and the last places
the blame on society. Each blames
someone else. Yet all of them place
blame somewhere, as though there

is somebody to blame for peoples’
choice of Halloween attire. Costuming
is a choice. Why should we blame
anyone for a choice they make that
concerns nothing other than their
own bodies? Just because someone
decides to dress sexy on Halloween
does not automatically make him

or her a slut. It does not mean they
are asking for anything. Unless they
specifically say otherwise, they do not
want to have sex with the first person

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Gemma Correll

they see. The reverse is also true. Just
because someone decides to dress up
in a costume that covers their whole
body, even in one of those comically
oversized costumes, it does not mean
they are prudish. They are not boring
or old-fashioned, they just simply want
to wear the costume they want to
wear in order to have a fun evening.

Halloween is one of the few days
where it is socially acceptable to be
someone else for a night. It allows you
to step out of the self and pretend. It
can be an escape--one that tends to
be completely harmless. This has even
happened historically. Masquerade
Balls had women pushing the
boundaries of conventional society

for one night, because they knew it
would be allowed. The next morning,
they could return back fo normal and
everything would be fine. It is the

same now. We need to acknowledge
that if someone is making a choice--a
choice which affects no one other than
themselves-we have no right fo judge
or decide what is better. It is what they
want to do and we should tell them

no different. So, on top of the usual
message of being safe on Halloween,

| bring you one that will make
Halloween parties more enjoyable for
everyone involved: wear whatever
the heck you want to wear and do not
judge anyone because they choose to
wear something different than you.