Halloween and Gender
As one of the comedians at Boiler Gold Rush this year, “Halloween is an excuse for girls to dress like sluts.” For a few years now, I have noticed girl’s costumes become skimpier and skimpier, and guys dressing up to look more and more outrageously. When I was walking down the fraternity street at night, I saw how many girls were wearing barely any clothes, and even a few guys cross-dressing and making the biggest scene they possibly could. As I have gotten older, Halloween has become a much different event, in that before it was all about candy and fun, now it seems to have been taken over by the idea of who can basically get the most attention.
Halloween represents gender, where the visual form of costumes represents the genders in today’s society. The sexier looking the girl’s costume generally, the more attention they get. It is probably one of the few days of the year where they can “get” away with dressing as such. I think the look is an expression of what girls are expected to be and do in society if there were no rules or morals holding them back. The skimpy costumes objectify women as sexual objects in society, with looks being the only thing to separate the girls.
With guys, it is a whole different story. It usually is a match to see how ridiculous one can dress up, usually in the form of cross-dressing. Again, the more ridiculous the costume generally, the more attention garnered by the guy, hence the idea of superiority and the, “I’m better than you,” attitude. For guys, it is almost like a competition relatively speaking to see who can be the “coolest” and most outrageous kid who stands out from everyone else. In society, guys are generally very competitive, and usually are the ones who receive the most attention in terms of work, class, etc. The one who wins gets the most attention, feels the most important and wanted, just like how the Halloween costumes play out.
Even if Halloween represents all of this, it is still a time to have fun and enjoy yourself while you look at laugh/stare at the awesome/sexy outfits…
Halloween represents gender, where the visual form of costumes represents the genders in today’s society. The sexier looking the girl’s costume generally, the more attention they get. It is probably one of the few days of the year where they can “get” away with dressing as such. I think the look is an expression of what girls are expected to be and do in society if there were no rules or morals holding them back. The skimpy costumes objectify women as sexual objects in society, with looks being the only thing to separate the girls.
With guys, it is a whole different story. It usually is a match to see how ridiculous one can dress up, usually in the form of cross-dressing. Again, the more ridiculous the costume generally, the more attention garnered by the guy, hence the idea of superiority and the, “I’m better than you,” attitude. For guys, it is almost like a competition relatively speaking to see who can be the “coolest” and most outrageous kid who stands out from everyone else. In society, guys are generally very competitive, and usually are the ones who receive the most attention in terms of work, class, etc. The one who wins gets the most attention, feels the most important and wanted, just like how the Halloween costumes play out.
Even if Halloween represents all of this, it is still a time to have fun and enjoy yourself while you look at laugh/stare at the awesome/sexy outfits…
posted by Anonymous at 6:48 PM
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