The article raised the idea of Halloween as a Ì¢âÂÒsafe spaceÌ¢âÂå in which women can play with sexuality. But exactly how safe is this space if the costume industry has evolved to the point that it only manufactures costumes for women that are Ì¢âÂÒsexyÌ¢âÂå or Ì¢âÂÒsluttyÌ¢âÂå, thereby forcing women to either buy one of the Ì¢âÂÒgood-girl-gone-badÌ¢âÂå costumes or make her own? To what extent can women Ì¢âÂÒplay with sexualityÌ¢âÂå in a healthy way if catalogs and stores only sell costumes that seem to say, Ì¢âÂÒthe more skin you show, the betterÌ¢âÂå? Rather than being a safe space, I think that Halloween has become a very judgmental space in which women, especially adolescents and college-aged women are expected and even encouraged to look scandalous and playful. For men, however, this does not seem to be the case. Furthermore, current costumes on the market, according to the Times article, allow women to appear Ì¢âÂÒfeminineÌ¢âÂå, Ì¢âÂÒsexyÌ¢âÂå and Ì¢âÂÒsluttyÌ¢âÂå, but there are very few costumes that enable women to assert their intellect and strength in a non-sexual way. Thus, by making Ì¢âÂÒdress-upÌ¢âÂå for women solely into a sexual act, the costume industry is devaluing womenÌ¢âÂã¢s intellect and significance as more than eye-candy.
Women dress up on Halloween for different reasons. In my opinion, celebrating Halloween as an opportunity to look Ì¢âÂÒsluttyÌ¢âÂå for a day because our culture says it is acceptable to do so is an invalid reason. More importantly, I think these women should ask themselves (or perhaps someone should ask them) why they feel the need to play with their identity on a designated day of the year. Why not explore their sexuality and clothing preferences on any random day of the year? I suppose this speaks to the power and influence of American culture and the Halloween industry.
The article raised the idea of Halloween as a Ì¢âÂÒsafe spaceÌ¢âÂå in which women can play with sexuality. But exactly how safe is this space if the costume industry has evolved to the point that it only manufactures costumes for women that are Ì¢âÂÒsexyÌ¢âÂå or Ì¢âÂÒsluttyÌ¢âÂå, thereby forcing women to either buy one of the Ì¢âÂÒgood-girl-gone-badÌ¢âÂå costumes or make her own? To what extent can women Ì¢âÂÒplay with sexualityÌ¢âÂå in a healthy way if catalogs and stores only sell costumes that seem to say, Ì¢âÂÒthe more skin you show, the betterÌ¢âÂå? Rather than being a safe space, I think that Halloween has become a very judgmental space in which women, especially adolescents and college-aged women are expected and even encouraged to look scandalous and playful. For men, however, this does not seem to be the case. Furthermore, current costumes on the market, according to the Times article, allow women to appear Ì¢âÂÒfeminineÌ¢âÂå, Ì¢âÂÒsexyÌ¢âÂå and Ì¢âÂÒsluttyÌ¢âÂå, but there are very few costumes that enable women to assert their intellect and strength in a non-sexual way. Thus, by making Ì¢âÂÒdress-upÌ¢âÂå for women solely into a sexual act, the costume industry is devaluing womenÌ¢âÂã¢s intellect and significance as more than eye-candy.
Women dress up on Halloween for different reasons. In my opinion, celebrating Halloween as an opportunity to look Ì¢âÂÒsluttyÌ¢âÂå for a day because our culture says it is acceptable to do so is an invalid reason. More importantly, I think these women should ask themselves (or perhaps someone should ask them) why they feel the need to play with their identity on a designated day of the year. Why not explore their sexuality and clothing preferences on any random day of the year? I suppose this speaks to the power and influence of American culture and the Halloween industry.