The not-so-new but increasingly popular trend for women's Halloween costumes are the sexified versions of old favorites: Dorothy, The Queen of Hearts, Witch, Pirate. The weirdest one, if you ask me, is Sexy Nun.What's next? Sexy Hermione?
(Actually, that's available too.)
Just when we women think we've come a long way, baby (the dumbest catch phrase ever), just when women are running everything from countries to multinational corporations to universities - it's still so much easier to attract attention with other body parts besides our brains.
My daughter and I started playing a game together as soon as she could carry on conversations with me. When we'd see girls at the mall dressed like this, we'd have this exchange:
Me: What do you think they think of themselves?
Daughter: They think they're important only because of their bodies.
We continue to have this exchange even today. My daughter never asks if she can wear shorts like this. Not gonna happen. But even the Halloween costumes for young girls have gone from fun to flirty. (Read this.) For all our diligence to raise healthy, strong girls, there will always be forces trying to tell them that they are only important because of their bodies.
So . . . may Halloween bring sweet little Dora the Explorers and Bob the Builders to your door. May the big kids who invariably show up be zombies or Hershey kisses or political candidates (because even 18 year olds need Reese's Pieces.) And may our daughters figure out that they are more important than their gypsy lips or their hula girl midriffs.
Photo by Louisiana photographer Haynes S. Ragas (1928-1998) from a New Orleans Public Library display.
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10 comments:
My son will be all covered up as Darth Vader.
When we see pictures of girls dressed like those in your examples I have said to him since he's three years old: "Don't ever date a girl that looks like that. She will not love you for who you are, but for how you look on her arm."
Now when he sees girls dressed like that he says, "I'm never going to date someone who looks like that". And I smile. God bless Mommy Mojo.
Amen, amen, amen. Preach it!
The tarted-up costumes for little girls drive me Around the Bend.
I consented to Sleeping Beauty tonight, partly because I know that next year she'll be on to other things. (Please, God, let this just be age appropriate gender identification and a lovely dress, and not about all the other baggage I associate with it...)
Thank you for putting your finger on yet another reason why this 'holiday' frustrates me.
It's so hard to let the little one enjoy this holiday when I'm so frustrated by it. Trying to find a costume for a three-year-old, there were plenty of tarty choices to be had-that's right, for three year olds!!! Besides, it's cold this time of year, even in the southeast here, so cover up!
Oh, Jan, so true!
I love homemade costumes.
I can do with out anything with writing on one's posterior.
May your Trick or Treaters be wholesome and/or funny.
Hope you're feeling on the mend...
Hermione? Really? That's just wrong.
one of the things I really hated about abercrombie (we don't even look at that store) is their clothes even for young girls are so suggestive.
comedian Jim Gaffigan has a funny little bit in his stand-up routine about this very topic; how (some) women love Halloween because it's an excuse to dress like a tramp.
Here's a link to his whole holiday bit:
http://www.jibjab.com/view/142811
Happy Halloween everybody!
I thought of you and this blog when I read this from Judith Warner this morning. Have you seen the Daring Book for Girls?
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/seventies-something/index.html?hp
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