Halloween haunted by risqué costumes

Kathleen Kennedy | The Daily Cougar

Halloween, once a Celtic holiday, has been redefined since its inception.

What started as a day for divinations brought by dressing in animal carcasses has become a day to drink and party while adorning just enough cloth to be legally considered clothing.

As the holiday progressed, so have the costumes, specifically within the last few decades. However, rather than becoming more intricate, the costumes have simply become less. Less interesting, less fun and made with less fabric.

This year’s version of the Big Bird costume, which “Sesame Street” may file a lawsuit against, illustrates this perfectly.

Regardless of what “Mean Girls” may dictate, Halloween is not a free pass for women to look like trollops. Daily standards still apply, which means people will still be judged according to their clothing — or lack thereof.

Today, women’s popular Halloween costumes boil down to one thing: character-themed lingerie with accessories.

Oct. 31 and the days leading up to it are a skin exposé that might even trump Spring Break. Women model colorful bras and booty shorts held up with suspenders and call themselves Ernie from “Sesame Street,” and they saunter around with costumes that lack so much fabric it defeats the purpose of dressing as something or someone.

Often, were it not for the accessories, recognizing what someone is supposed to be is nearly impossible.

That is not to say women should dress like nuns or wear a costume that covers them like a second skin, but it does mean moderation and balance should be used.

If women insist on showcasing their body, they should pick one body part to highlight. Have nice legs? Wear a miniskirt and not micro-miniskirt. Have a flat stomach? Show it off. Maybe cleavage is more your thing. Go for it, as long as it is not too much. But pick one — not all of the above and more.

Five out of six of the most popular Halloween costume websites on Google’s first page have a “sexy” category, with the sixth being named “sassy” instead, providing essentially the same get-ups.

This being said, stores offer what sells — the customer dictates the product. Why do women want to objectify themselves? Being sexy should not mean being nude.

Not only are women paying more for these costumes even though they are getting less, these get-ups also lessen the fun in Halloween.

As kids, the most exciting part — aside from the candy — was just how close one’s costume was to the real thing. A woman cannot pretend to look like Big Bird without a beak or the feathery legs because chicken feet slippers just do not have the same effect.

Ladies, although it is doubtful that any of the above will change your mind, if the reason you are dressing in that Kitana costume that consists of a bra top and booty shorts with a piece of fabric hanging from the front — or any other equally scanty costume — is to be “sexy” and impress some guy, at least keep this is mind: who wants to work for something they are getting for free?

Mónica Rojas is a journalism freshman and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.