Halloween Horrors

The other day, I went to my local (seasonal) Halloween store to get some highly appropriate Halloween junk.  I like Halloween as a holiday, where all the little kids dress up in cute little outfits and go door to door, getting candy.  I don't care for the gory, scary costumes that scare my dogs.  Those kids always get the bad candy when they pop up out of no where and scare one of my dogs out of their wits.  But, relating to women's roles in society, I was most disturbed this year by the decidedly revealing costumes found in abundance at the Halloween store.  Nurses, firefighters, Cleopatra, cheerleaders, and even bunnies have been degraded to this status.

These costumes don't help women achieve recognition for who they are or what they can do.  Instead, they call attention to what pop culture tells us the most important part of a woman is; her body.  I looked and looked and looked some more for a fun, non plus-sized costume that wasn't equivalent to a skimpy nightgown, but I couldn't find one.  In light of the fact that the women's movement has taken centuries to reach even realization, I think that any woman who puts on one of those outfits needs a good talking-to.  From her grandmother.  Have a little respect for yourselves, ladies.  There are children around.

However, the sheer number of these costumes suggests their popularity.  As with everything else that has changed for women, it's going to take time and talking to young girls about things like self respect and pride in not how one looks, but in who one is.  Until then, I'm beginning a boycott of the Halloween store.  It's much too scary.

In case you were wondering, these are my beautiful dogs.  Myles (left) is two, Fergus (middle) is 10 months, and Hunter (right) is 7