Roaming the streets of State College this weekend, I saw a lot of female Halloween costumes that would have probably made many fathers uncomfortable: high heels, low necklines, short hemlines, and in some cases, close to nothing at all. Despite the low temperatures, it seemed like very few girls chose comfort over fashion. I've come to accept this Halloween tradition at college, and while I chose to dress as Elmo instead of a sexy Disney Princess, I support fully the idea of women having enough freedrom and confidence to embrace their femininity through dress. The disturbing part of this weekend was seeing pictures of girls in middle school and high school wearing corset tops and "booty shorts" as costumes. Many of my friends younger sisters opted for "sexy" costumes -- many of which took innocent icons and cartoons and raised the hemline. It's scary to see how quickly young girls seem to be growing up. It's even scarier to consider what this trend could lead to.
Check out this blog by a woman who works to spread awareness of modern slavery, including human trafficking. She addresses the idea of an over-sexified Halloween and the potential consequences.
Also, consider this Newsweek article from 2007 which addresses this issue as well.
I agree that Halloween has raised hemlines everywhere. My mother came to visit this weekend and was in shock at the lack of clothing students were wearing. She told me that most of the girls look like hookers. I couldn't argue with her.
ReplyDeleteMy theory is: If you can't bend over without someone seeing your undies, your outfit is too short!