Dear Costume
Craftsmen,
Halloween is
right around the corner and as a college student I can say this holiday is
greatly anticipated within college culture. Halloween isn’t limited to just one
day for us students, but typically a full weekend event.
With this
being said, multiple costumes are needed for those who want to dress up as
something different for each night of these weekend festivities.
This is the
time of year to go all out and be that movie character you’ve always admired or
even that comic book super hero!
Although,
when the time for costume hunting begins these ideas are easier said than done.
When
shopping at local Halloween stores there are only some aspects of the original
character costumes that make the cut.
For example,
when searching for a Police officer costume one typically expects to find
something like this,
Here we have
a perfect representation of an actual police officer costume for women.
But unfortunately
when shopping it is almost impossible to find a costume of this degree for
young women to purchase.
Instead the only police costumes that are
readily available are typically ones that look a little more like this,
Halloween
use to be about impressing people with how well you capture a character’s
persona, but it now seems to have evolved into impressing people with how well
a women can show off her body.
Don’t get me
wrong, I do enjoy dressing up and feeling flirty and going out to have fun. But
this has become a contest for young girls to see who can look sexier or who can
grasp the most attention on social media.
These
costumes set a bar for over sexualizing women by providing a surplus of racy
costumes to buy and a lack of more generous costume options.
So please
with your help we can bring the main costume focus back from who shows the most
to who’s the best ghost.
Sincerely,
A women who
doesn’t want to dress up in lingerie
I completely agree with everything you said in this post! As a kid I used to love Halloween. As a college student I absolutely hate it. I've spent every "halloweekend" in college at home because I feel uncomfortable being subjected to that. If I were to go out and dress up, I would feel pressured to wear something revealing. Halloween has turned into a contest of who wears the least amount of clothes, and that is something I do not want to be a part of.
ReplyDeleteScience fiction and comic conventions have a rule for their Masquerades: "No costume is no costume". Meaning, you won't win any awards for showing skin.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like the sorts of costumes that are available for sale, then make your own. Or wait a few years until 3D printers are able to make clothes.
But to be fair, shouldn't the costume manufacturers have more conservative options for women who aren't comfortable with the more risque costumes? Sure women can make their own costumes if they aren't happy with the options in the store, but if men don't have to create their own costumes to avoid showing skin, then why should women? The more options the better I say. There should definitely be more costume options for women that don't want to focus primarily on the sexiness.
DeleteFeel free to start your own costume manufacturing company. At which point, you'll discover why risque costumes are more prevalent than modest ones.
DeleteTo put it another way, the answer to most questions that start with "Why doesn't somebody do..." is "Money."
I'm surprised that college students can afford to buy or rent costumes! The last time I checked, which was several years ago when my husband and I wanted something special to wear to a Halloween party, the prices were outrageous! It takes some time and ingenuity, but I think handmade costumes are best. . .and so much more affordable! But I DO agree with everything you say about the way the costume industry produces costumes. I find some of the ones for little girls especially disturbing.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! Halloween in college has become all about attention. I also agree with General Jackie Bahamas' post. I have not participated in any "Halloweekend" activities either since I have started college because I feel completely uncomfortable having to dress up in a revealing costume. It makes me felt left out going home on Halloween weekend, yet, I know that I am better off following what makes me feel comfortable. Plus, I do not want to have pictures of myself on the internet in such costumes because future employers may see them and think of me in a negative way.
ReplyDeleteIt should be mentioned-- the fight for gender equality encompasses both modest women and women who prefer to show skin. The issue here comes from the lack of nonsexualized women's costumes-- even for tween girls. Men can find sexy costumes and "normal" costumes-- women can't. "Sew your own or wait for a 3D printer" isn't really a viable option for many and isn't fair-- sounds a lot like "the options aren't equal? Suck it up, if you put in three times the effort of the other group, you can make things almost equal".
ReplyDelete"Modest women" tend to have a different view as to the definition and value of what feminists consider "gender equality."
DeleteI love the way you went about this tricky topic. Most people just go along with the social norm of except the fact that when you grow up your costume gets more and more revealing. At almost every college party you see more skin then you would expect. Halloween to me used to be about candy and getting to dress as someone new, nowadays its "oh your wearing that, you should make it shorter, or pop another button". Your piece captured this nicely.
ReplyDelete