Ask most women what they will dress up as for Halloween this year and you will probably hear “I’m not sure yet; something sexy.”
Sexy female costumes have become synonymous with the traditionally spooky holiday, providing a day for women to unleash their inner vixen while clad in costume. Naughty nurses, provocative pirates and seductive sailors permeate the contemporary costume market.
The degree of sexuality echoed by thousands of erotically dressed women this Wednesday makes some experts question its mirroring of society. Some deem the holiday a cultural vehicle for people to explore their alter-ego and fantasies, while others maintain dressing up is just the Halloween spirit.
“When you look at people’s sexual fantasies they are very taboo,” said MiraCosta College Provost Sally Foster, who claims that women act out their otherwise culturally unacceptable fantasies in costume.
Costumes express a person’s alter-ego coupled with a “bad girl” element, she said.
“Our day personas don’t allow full expression of all our creative urges,” Foster said, noting how on Halloween people have the “license to be whatever you want to be.”
Holly Putnam, ASUO Women’s Center public relations coordinator, said society’s obsession with sexuality makes risqué costumes popular.
Forplaycatalog.com, a leading Halloween and sexy costume manufacturer, revealed that this season’s trends show an overwhelming consumer response to villain-themed costumes, including sexy pirate and mobster costumes, according to a press release. Playboy even crafted an exclusive line of naughty getups this year, including Buccaneer Beauty, Racy Referee and Sexy Senorita, many that have sold out on online costume retailers.
Gabriela Martinez, University assistant professor who explores topics like women and media, pointed blame to advertising for establishing the idea that women should look sexy, she said.
Many cultures have a holiday to celebrate the art of masquerade, such as Italy’s Carnevale, but America has found a way to capitalize on women’s fantasies, reinforcing sexism, Martinez said.
Foster further suggested the holiday reflects the ill-advancement of societal double standards.
“Because there is more an injunction on women to not be that bad, naughty girl, that’s what comes out,” she said. “We think we are this really liberated gender, but these costumes and these behaviors tell us something different.”
The question to ask is who women dress up for on the holiday, Putnam said.
“If they’re dressing for themselves then it could be a really good declaration of sexual power and comfort with their body,” she said. “But it’s almost just as possible that some women don naughty outfits because they are feeding into the image of female sexuality.”
But some students believe the costumes are in good fun. University sophomore Christine Regnier attended a Halloween party a few nights ago as a 1980s rocker chic.
“It looked sexy, but it wasn’t revealing,” she said.
Though Regnier agreed that sometimes women’s costumes can look trashy, she doesn’t dress up to impress men; it’s a girl thing.
“I do it for my girlfriends…I’m not necessarily trying to attract a guy’s attention.”
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