Opinion: Dressing for Halloween
I don’t know about you, but Halloween is my favorite holiday. It’s a day in the year (or weekend for us college students), that no matter the weather, you spring out of bed craving something warm and gooey, and look out of your window to admire the mismatched colors of the turning leaves. It’s the day I personally get most excited for; my creative juices are flowing, I have an excuse to eat candy, and, most importantly, I feel abundantly empowered and confident. As a female, who identifies as a feminist, I look at Halloween from the perspective of someone who attempts to go against hetero gender norms, social scripts, and hegemonic masculinity to question the holiday and messages that lie beneath it.
On this particular day, I often wonder if I dress up for myself or for the sake of catching a male’s eye. Am I subconsciously seeking affirmation, or do I really just like the way my chest looks in this silver tube top I’m wearing? Or is it the way my legs appear toned, muscular, and fit when I wear 5-inch go-go dancer boots? I really have to think about this answer. Yes, I feel empowered as a female who is unafraid of judgments from society — because sadly, we live in a world where men and women feel intimidated or uncomfortable by a person who is confident in their skin — but is that really it? Am I truly doing this for myself?
I searched “female Halloween costumes” and then “male Halloween costumes” on Google Images, and it is safe to say that female costumes objectify women and that male costumes don’t follow the same standards. After a simple five-second observation, it is obvious that the tight skirt, fishnet, belly shirt aesthetic is a classic look for a female and that no matter if she decides to be a nurse, a nun, a cop, or even a zombie, the costume must be revealing or somewhat sensual. Even if she chooses to be a large pink cupcake where the costume covers her chest and stomach, the pink cupcake costume is advertised with the model’s knees showing — and the way she is posing could be deemed provokingly sexy (especially as she balances her body onto one leg wearing her high white stiletto heels). But if we were to take a look at the male costumes, we could find a male Genie with a “spout” protruding out of his pants zipper area with the words “rub me” on it, insinuating a cheap sexual innuendo; a man who is wearing a large magnet with “cats” placed upon it, representing a “deeper” message (he’s clever, huh?); or simpler costumes of males embodying an occupation, like a doctor, a firefighter, or even a priest. So, I’ll reiterate: Are we females really dressing for ourselves, or are we just pleasing our hegemonic masculine society that states that females will dress as the ‘corporate hoe’ and males will be the CEO?
Think about it. It’s the end of October. The weather is typically in the low 50s, and maybe in the low to mid 40s in the evening. Even if I’ve been longing to wear my costumes that show off my belly and fit physique after months of intense workouts in the gym and strict dieting, can I truly say I do all of this for self empowerment? Are we really comfortable wearing sleeveless tops and panty hoes, shivering in the streets as we bop from house to house? I don’t have an answer to this. I am genuinely just asking.
But then I also think about how Halloween seems to be one of the only times we have the “permission” to dress however we please. For some of us, wearing less clothing, dressing up as our favorite movie character, or caking on makeup is what makes us feel comfortable. If Halloween is the only time in the year that society makes these practices socially acceptable, we must start asking questions. In addressing this issue, we must look at Halloween in the context of different communities: the state, the school, the city, the social group, etc. Understanding gender norms and social scripts on this particular day can only be accurate if we take these factors into consideration. From my observations of Ithaca College students who partake in the hookup culture and tend to party two to three times a week, it seems evident that Halloween is a time where women justify provocative and sexy apparel. People throw parties with sexist themes and make excuses for accepting social scripts (ex: lax bros and yoga hoes). I am not questioning those who partake in this holiday and participate in the type of Halloween described above, because I admit that I am completely guilty of it. But is it okay to use Halloween as an excuse to deem it socially acceptable to potentially offend one another, to look past gender normatives instead of arguing with them, and to dismiss every day societal expectations of making one another feel comfortable?
What if I showed up to class dressed like a hot dog? Most people would look at me and either think my outfit is funny, amusing, offensive, and/or inappropriate. It would definitely be out of the ordinary; but suppose I didn’t consider my outfit a costume? I decided to wake up in the morning and throw on that hot dog outfit hanging in my closet. What gives me the excuse to dress like a hot dog on Halloween but not in class? Because it’s festive? But what if I argued I wasn’t being festive on Halloween, and I just happened to wear that hot dog outfit because I felt like it? What even makes this hot dog thing I am wearing a costume?
What about if a heterosexual male cross-dressed as a female to class? Would that make you uncomfortable? What if he cross-dressed as a female on Halloween and called it a costume? Does this make you less uncomfortable because it has been labeled as a costume? If it were socially acceptable to wear a large T-shirt to class with just my underwear underneath it and slippers on my feet, I would never hesitate to make this my everyday, go-to outfit. But let’s say I wore that outfit, called it a costume, and titled myself “A Sleepy Person” on Halloween. That would be okay, correct?
I’m questioning these ideologies and concepts because I wonder if we don’t live for ourselves, and we simply live for others. As a female who states that I dress up for the sake of my own satisfaction, confidence, and empowerment, I have to question the underlying hegemonic masculine world we live in, and how I’ve been socially scripted to believe that dressing explicitly is acceptable on this festive holiday. I may be dressing this way because it is my only time to do so, since it is not commonplace and makes others uncomfortable on an ordinary day. I could go against this notion, rebell, and identify my risqué apparel on Halloween as not a costume, but just an outfit I pulled together. And if the guy next to me who dressed up as a cat stated that he just really likes cats and his outfit wasn’t a costume, either, what would happen?
We do things to make society comfortable, to please the social construct and society we live in — we are social objects, working with ideologies, thoughts, and concepts that are socially implemented within our society. Halloween has become our excuse to rebel, to be our semi-selves, or to be ourselves in disguise. It also sometimes acts as an unhealthy alternative that we hide behind, permitting ourselves to ignore societal implications. Here’s some food for thought: If we didn’t label our apparel on Halloween as costumes, would we feel the need to justify the way we dress in our everyday lives? Are we dressed in costume, or are we just dressed?
