Sexy Costumes Still Reign
by Candice Watters on 10/31/2007 at 12:01 AM
"When I was their age, I was a bunch of grapes." So said Cheryl Cirenza, noting the contrast between her pre-teen Halloween costume and the trashy lineup her daughters are sorting through. Consider: Playboy Racy Referee, Sexy Super Girl, Funky Punk Pirate, Fairy-Licious Purrrfect Kitty, Devilicious, the list goes on. So reports the Washington Post in Preteens Trading Fairy Wands for Fishnets.
The controversy continues. According to the story, Cirenza's grapes get-up dates back to...
the days when Halloween was still a homemade kind of holiday, when an old sheet with eye holes was a perfectly acceptable ghost and clumsily carved pumpkins on the front porch were about as elaborate as the decorations got. Now, Halloween is big business. Americans are expected to spend upwards of $5 billion this year on candy, ghoulish decorations and costumes. And the hottest trend in costumes, retailers say, is sexy. And young. Fishnet tights, once associated with smoky cabarets or strip joints,
now come in girls' sizes and cost $3.99.
I cringed as I read the reporter's first-hand account of watching parents, mostly mothers, battling with their pre-teens about which costume to get. Sadly most of the moms eventually caved. And so we'll be turning the lights off Wednesday night and skipping the candy giveaway. No sense opening the door on so much sin, ah, skin.
1. Bethany M said the following at 12:24 AM on Oct 31:
On the chance that you were feeling old, I'm only 21 and still remember the days of awkwardly carved pumpkins and homemade costumes. Laura Ingalls Wilder, box of popcorn, rabbit, mime, cowboy, bandit, doctor, skater -- you name it, and we pulled it off with minimal expense (or skin!) To see how provocative this holiday tradition has become is truly a shame. I have a paper due Thursday anyway, so now parties, costumes, or candy for me this year. I can't say I'm crushed.
2. Jess @ Making Home said the following at 2:45 AM on Oct 31:
A bunch of grapes. That totally cracks me up- I can remember innocent costumes like that... piecing together clothes to be a "hobo" or designing some silly costume that included foil or spray-on hair glitter.
I can't imagine trying to be "normal" when "normal" means slutty. I can't imagine trying to be a kid or teenager in today's society. And I'm only 28. It's not like I'm some 50-year old person who went to school decades ago. I'm just 10 years out of high school. And it's unfathomable to me.
~Jess @ Making Home
3. Keb said the following at 6:26 AM on Oct 31:
While I agree that little kids dressing in revealing clothing isn't right, I think that it's a poor reason to skip out on the chance to interact with neighbors, offer a positive and fun role model, and enjoy yourself.
Just because the costume companies are selling certain fashions doesn't mean you have to buy them. There's lots of ways to dress up on Halloween that don't require spending a cent. I enjoy the chance to make and show off costumes that aren't the same old thing everyone else has.
While I wouldn't advise anyone to go against their conscious in celebrating Halloween, I think that it offers a unique chance to celebrate imagination, creativity, and community that is becoming increasingly rare. Vandalism isn't encouraged as it once was, and parents use Halloween as a chance for kids to practice their manners ("Say thank you!") and practice restraint ("No, you can't eat the whole bag of candy tonight, you'll get sick.")
Halloween doesn't have to be about blood and short skirts anymore than it has to be about vandalism or satan worship. It can be about meeting the neighbors you wouldn't see any other time of the year, admiring the creativity they choose to show, and exercising your own imagination for the sheer fun of it. I think it's a shame that someone would cut all that out of their lives simply because costume designers don't share their values.
4. Loris said the following at 7:35 AM on Oct 31:
When I was in fifth grade or so, I dressed up as the Statue of Liberty in a green sheet, cardboard crown, and flashlight covered in red and yellow cellophane. I still love to dress up and trick-or-treated through college, but I find that if you want a creative costume that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, you have to make it yourself. Good thing I sew!
5. Holly said the following at 8:14 AM on Oct 31:
You're going to close the door and refuse to interact with your neighbors based on a Washington Post story? WOW.
One of my dear friends came to Christ at age eleven. A family down the block gave out really good Treat bags on Halloween, complete with gospel tracts. Not idiotic Chick tracts, but a really good one. The beauty of his story is that he received it age eight. It sat in his sock drawer for three years. He read it occasionally and thought about it a lot. When the time came that he was ready, he went back down the block and talked to the family. Sixteen years later, he's engaged to a Godly woman and in fulltime ministry.
I wonder how many souls we have sacrificed for the sake of staying behind our closed doors, content in our righteous avoidance of "sin or skin?"
I thank God every time I see a rainbow. It represents a promise that is full of mercy we do NOT deserve.
6. Adam Sloope said the following at 8:21 AM on Oct 31:
I'd pay money to see a picture of her as a bunch of grapes! That makes me laugh. I agree that that sex has taken over this little costume frenzy. Saturday we threw a Halloween party, but the theme was cheesy costumes, so people came as chalk boards, cheap ninja's, cheerleaders, wrestlers and my personal favorite, a facebook wall (because it was mine). But on the way home I had to stare at the floor and ask God for forgiveness because the amount of things I saw as I passed the lobby of the my apartment building, in a small conference room, all I saw were short skirts and stickings. I jumped in my elevator and sunt to the floor in total disbeleif of how much these girls find it fun to dress up this way. These sexy images have caused a nation full of girls to desire to be the norm, which by the standards right now, are provactive women, when deep within their souls they really want to be respected, listened to, and loved. All these costumes do is really create a deeper problem, others viewing them as an object. I hate seeing little girls or girls in general dressed up like this because I have a little sister myself and know how it can warp a girls mind.
7. Robert J Espe said the following at 8:22 AM on Oct 31:
So maybe this is less a Halloween issue and more a teen fashion issue?
I bought a pumpkin this week, I haven't carved one since I was a kid, one more thing for my wife and I to do together for the first time.
8. nikki said the following at 8:44 AM on Oct 31:
After reading that article and thinking about the problem of too-early sexualization, I can't help but wonder if that's why we have such a problem with pedophiles. Maybe soon it'll be accepted behavior. If it's now okay for a ten year old to dress like a slut, maybe soon it'll be okay to treat her like one. It's sad and sick and disgusting, and parents have themselves to blame.
But Candice, I think it's kind of sad that you feel you have to "leave the porch light off" to protest certain costumes. Do you really think that will accomplish anything? One of my favorite pastimes is giving out candy to little kids, and I'd think it'd be more of a bad witness not to do it, than to shut yourself up inside and hope someone asks why, so you can tell them you're boycotting revealing costumes. I don't think sexy costumes are a reason to have a dark porch on Halloween; I think this is a really important time for people to interact with their neighbors (and give out decent candy while they're at it - no tootsie rolls or toothbrushes, please! :)).
9. Lucie said the following at 11:05 AM on Oct 31:
Am I the only Christian who doesn't really have a problem with Halloween? Or at least trick or treating? Every year I can count on reading the same angsty articles on the subject. For pete's sake, all these kids are doing is dressing up to go door to door for candy. I can't believe that any child I've yet handed treats to is being influenced by the devil or celebrating some sort of occultic ritual. Judging by most of their ages, I don't think they even have a clue as to what those things are. I trick or treated for years and didn't suffer any consequences, nor has anyone in my family. Candace, while I respect your wish to not observe the holiday, for whatever reason you feel appropriate, I also have to wonder how many sexy costumes you actually see in your neighborhood. Are you throwing out the baby with the bathwater?
10. Tami said the following at 4:44 PM on Oct 31:
Even as a kid, I was never all that huge on Halloween. But I just saw photos of kidlets on my (normally crazy) local paper's website, and awwwww. I can see why people like seeing the little-little ones dressed up as Cookie Monster, li'l elephants and tigers, strawberries, and such. Very cute!
11. kaj said the following at 5:23 PM on Oct 31:
On the few occasions I have needed a Halloween costume, I have dug out my "Pacific Islander" clothes from when I was a missionary teacher there.
It involves a long, modest skirt (a cloth one, not a "grass" skirt!), a t-shirt, a (silk) flower head garland and necklaces made of shells. It's quite authentic to the place I stayed at.
When I explain what I'm wearing, it's a great opportunity to talk about my mission experience.
Back to the subject on hand, yes, I think it is sad that "sexy" costumes are being marketed to younger kids. And what's sadder still is that clothing for everyday wear, not just Halloween, is going in that direction too.
12. Rachael said the following at 7:15 PM on Oct 31:
Interesting. I used to be a bunch of grapes when I was little... And I think my mom used to add grapes to the costume as I grew taller.
13. DannieA said the following at 10:35 PM on Oct 31:
There are sexy innappropriate clothes out there too...
One has to make a choice not to buy...simple as that.
Talking with the neighbors and handing out candy is a great way to know your neighborhood. One doesn't sell their soul to the devil for passing out candy
14. RH said the following at 12:22 AM on Nov 1:
I'm definitely a fan of the more creative stuff. I didn't go trick-or-treating until my friends dragged me out with them my senior year of high school, in disbelief that I'd never gone as a kid (my parents didn't let my sisters and I go). We donned Victorian era clothes and went Christmas caroling. Much fun.
15. Robin Munn said the following at 7:52 AM on Nov 1:
I'd be very interested to hear whether people's personal experiences this year reflected that newspaper article or not. One person posting at National Review's blog said:
And suddenly, I find myself remembering yet again the fact that this was a newspaper article. And every time I've seen a newspaper article on a subject I know something about, they've gotten basic facts wrong. At this point, my trust in newspapers -- and especially T.V. news -- is at an all-time low.
So I'd really like to hear some personal experiences from people: did you see a lot of overly-"sexy" costumes this year, or did the newspapers get the story wrong yet again?
16. Holly said the following at 8:25 AM on Nov 1:
Robin, at my home, I kept notes on a little pad by the door (like you, I was curious about whether the newspaper got it right.) I entertained:
3 Grim Reapers
4 Vampires
4 Cats
1 Devil (infant, so parents picked it out)
2 Ninjas
1 Dora the Explorer
2 Teletubbies
2 Doctors
5 Unidentified cartoon characters (I guess that's what they were; I had no idea)
1 Dick Cheney
1 George W. Bush
1 Laura Bush
1 Hillary Clinton
1 Bill Clinton (the political ones came as a group)
1 Hobo
And on the extremely creative front, I had: 1 Social Butterfly (a teen with Social on a black t-shirt and butterfly wings), 1 Black-eyed pea (a boy in a white t-shirt with the letter P on the front and a black patch covering one eye), and 1 Multiple Personality Disorder Patient (a kid in normal clothing with approximately forty Nametags, each bearing a different name.)
Not a single costume was prurient or showed too much skin. I respect that decision the Watters family made to shut their door to their neighbors and participating in their community, even though, in my opinion, they lost a chance to be a witness last night. However, I was very glad that I participated. My neighborhood kids received really good candy and a gospel tract. Many are receiving little, if anything, in the way of positive experiences to associate even tangentially with the name of Christ. Candy from the nice lady down the street -- who, oh yeah, gave us that tract, too -- well, I pray it will be meaningful to at least one of them in the days to come. I believe that it will.
17. Lindsey said the following at 9:33 AM on Nov 1:
Mmm...yes, we live in a sinful world. But I am sure glad Jesus didn't say "no sense opening the door on so much sin" when he chose to love us as His followers.
Life is messy, people are sinful...but we can't be afraid to love sinners - even if our love can only be expressed by smiling and giving them a candy bar.
18. Kellie said the following at 10:20 AM on Nov 1:
No trick-or-treaters at our lit door last night. Must be because all our neighbors read Boundless. ;-)
19. Marc said the following at 11:38 AM on Nov 1:
I must say that, last night (Halloween, October 31st), I passed-out candy to the trick-or-treaters and saw that none of the guys or gals who trick-or-treated were dressed inapproapriately or whatever you want to call it.
That having been said, I think there are parents out there that need a huge wake-up call.
Parents, YOU have the authority! If you do not want your daughter dressing like a street-corner prostitute, put your foot down and say, "No"! Likewise, if you do not want your son to dress in a coustume that is gory, too "scary", or whatever you want to call it, put your foot down and say, "No"!
Parents, quit trying to be your child's (or children's) friend and be a parent. They may supposedly "hate you for it", but, last-time I checked, you - the parent - are older and, for the most part, wiser.
20. Jorden said the following at 12:44 PM on Nov 1:
Well,I myself don't think Halloween has to be a bad holiday. It can be fun, and face it, who would turn down candy? I think that it can and does have it's downsides. I really like that tract idea though. O,and I saw one provocative one at a grocery store(lol),but walking around the neighborhood I don't remember any. I think this year the biggest trends were Pirates and Ninjas. Me and my gf were Harry Potter(cause everyone says I look like him) and Ginny :P. Also,We have a fall canival up at our church(Which I think is a good alternative,but going around the neighborhood is fun too) so we were helping with snow-cones and cotton candy. Then when we were done there we passed out candy at her house and did a little trick or treating for ourselves.
21. Bohan M. said the following at 1:44 PM on Nov 1:
Good call on keeping the door closed, Candice :) Appeasement for the lose.
22. Jen said the following at 2:21 PM on Nov 1:
I agree with most peoples' sentiments about costumes generally being relatively tame when it comes to kids. But this past weekend in Boston, and in general when I think back on things, there is a "slut" factor - especially when it comes to the 16-25 yr old range. Just for sake of contrast, let me illustrate:
I was in the Prudential Center sunday morning (was on an out of town trip so didn't make it to church) in attempts to replace a watch I had lost. What I didn't know was that it was the day all the kids from Boston come into the mall and trick-or-treat. It was mostly young kids, ones that probably wouldn't be able to go because they go to bed before 8pm, so the costumes were adorable. Twin boys dressed as jack-o-lanterns, a little girl as piglet and her brother as pooh. I decided to just sit and watch for a while because they were all so cute.
Contrast that with the night before, walking down the street near Kenmore Square and Boston University, multiple college-aged girls wearing outfits that looked like stripper-costumes, with skirts that were uncomfortably short, and often with weird fantasy themes to them. Then riding on the T, seeing more girls with questionable outfits. I work at a large university with a campus ministry, and the weekend of Halloween is a big party night, and a big costume night - and the girls use it as an excuse to dress as provocatively as possible. And I think they all know EXACTLY what they're doing - drawing attention to themselves, both from men and women.
So, yes, there is definitely a slutty aspect of Halloween, but I think it's usually connected to an older crowd. And in general, the motive is pretty sickening and prideful. For kids though, I haven't really seen this be the case.
I think I'll resort to my favorite Halloween costume - minnie mouse :-)
23. Karen said the following at 2:45 PM on Nov 1:
Holly, what an awesome story about your friend that ended up getting saved through Halloween! While I don't participate in it myself (almost no-one comes around in my area anyway) my uncle and aunt who live in the same town also pass out tracts with the candy they give.
One thing that saddens me is this: I overheard one man saying to another the other day "Well, now we have to take down the Halloween decorations...next thing is Christmas!" You Americans have a perfectly marvellous holiday called Thanksgiving that's going to go right down the tubes if you're not careful. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I think we should ask ourselves which is more important: a holiday that basically glamorizes evil (what else is it about?) or a holiday that promotes thankfulness, and if you're a Christian, thankfulness to God? I think we as Christians need to step up and make a MUCH bigger deal of this.
24. N said the following at 6:34 PM on Nov 1:
To those that disagree with Candice's decision:
I think some people missed Motte Brown's recent post.
25. Britta said the following at 4:27 PM on Nov 6:
I wonder if costume styles vary by area? In southeastern Pa, if you wanted to head out the door in a skimpy costume, the cold air on the 31st would have sent you right back in the door for a sweater. Maybe the weather is a factor in costumes too, at least for the door to door trick or treaters.
As a child (6-12) I remember, or have seen photos of myself in such "sexi"(has grammer gone the way of modest clothes?) costumes as a clown, a dog, a pea (like the veggie), a nurse (in my mom's baggy scrubs) and a car (with a cardboard box around my mid-section) this was in the 90's folks. Oh, how the times have changed. :-)