Slutfest!
(This was the post that I wrote yesterday that got pre-empted by my maudlin-ness. But then I saw that Radical Mama had had some of the same thoughts and I thought I’d raise a fist in solidarity — oh and I’ll sew you your costume, if you want, sister. Non-Halloween sluts, unite!)
What is it with Halloween costumes for women? My sister and I had a long conversation a couple of days ago about a party she was going to and all the women were planning on being a “cute” (read, sexy) pirate, or a cute witch or a cute vampire or a cute cocktail waitress or a cute whore. All right I totally made the last one up but what better evidence do we have of the feminist backlash than the plethora of costumes for women that spread less fabric over our bare flesh than we would normally wear as underwear? She (my sister) was toying with the idea of going as a naked woman (with a trench coat on) but after more thought, she decided to go as a baseball player. Right on. Then the Excellent Walker got held up outside some NYC party, the very description of which was self-awaredly whoremongering (“‘I make the vodka because I like having sexy times with the sexy ladies,’ the designer, who dressed as fellow clothier Karl Lagerfeld for the night, explained.” quoted from the Gossip Girls.) Um. Okay. But EW said it better than I would have: these days, on Halloween women dress up as male fantasies and men dress up as even more powerful men. A quick look at Halloween costumes for women online results in pages of costumes, most of which are pretty scanty, many of which are straight out of Playboy and some of which straddle the leather line between S and M.
Frankly, as self-aware, self-possessed women in tune with our sexuality, if we want to be sluts or dominatrices, we should probably just do that. But let’s not be all passive-resistant about it. And jeez, let’s broaden the selection and include a few slightly more creative and well-clothed choices for women — and, god help us all, for girls. And boys, while you’re at it. I know it’s too much to ask that Halloween not center around Disney-licensed charactes, but I applaud the girl in Daniel’s class who dressed up as Jack Sparrow. She wasn’t about to let a little thing like gender get in HER way, man.
Yes, yes, yes. I don’t do much dressing up these days (Halloween or otherwise) but as I help my kids find costumes I’m appalled at the choices for them & for grownups. I went yesterday to a big after-H blowout sale at a specialty store, looking for dress up costumes for the kids for the rest of the year, and all I could find were warriors and princesses. Not even any warrior princesses!
And yet the kids’ choices are better than the adults. Next year I think I’m going to have to have a costume, just so I can do it better!
Sing it, sistah! And you can make my costume anyday.
As the women at Feministe said it, these costumes are about catering to male fantasy, and have nothing to do with empowering our female sexuality. That’s the real problem. It’s sad and depressing.
I remember it being kind of fun to dress up as something sexy, before that was the only option!
I didn’t really look at the store bought costumes this year, but I saw some of the ads, and I remember a few years ago when my ex took my daughter for her costume. She was 9, I believe, and he got her a half devil/half angel costume that was totally inappropriate. It disgusted me then, and still does now.
This was the first year in a long time I’ve done a traditional Halloween, and there were lots of things that really bothered me. I need to write my own post …
But for the record, my husband and I were a 1950′s couple. So not sexy. I even wore his letter jacket!!!
Even worse is that second graders are starting to dress sexy and simper across the stage during the costume contest.
There was a great article about this
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-stein26oct26,0,7942535.column?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
Of course, I once dressed as Betty Boop for Halloween and won second place in a costume contest because everyone initially thought my ta-tas were fake (nope, their real, I just rarely wear a padded push-up bra).
Honestly, this is part of a larger problem, as evidenced by girls gone wild and all those awful reality dating shows (why is it acceptable for women to be humiliated on national television? When did that become entertaining?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9IbQtTfygw
Applause!
I’ve been a witch every single year since I was six months old–so I really have no choice about costumes at this point… And since I can’t even fake being Man’s Fantasy anymore, I have to say I was most moved by your discussion of gender and children. My son seems to pick all sorts of odd ideas that, while gendered, are so out there that most people think they are gay (and the grandparents have said as much): Will Scarlett (Robin Hood’s sidekick), a dancing Morris Man, or even something as “normal” but non-masculine (?) as Sherlock Holmes. I love that one of his female friends was a lion, another Bunnicula, one Harry Potter, etc. But GOSH it was bucking the trend!