Get geared up for casual feminism: the Halloween edition.
Each and every single year, there are hundreds of MSU girls dressed up in costumes that show a lot of skin. And you know what? That’s OK.
I know this might sound a bit shocking, but women have boobs. We have butts too. And if we want to, we’re going to wear things that are going to accentuate them, especially on the one day a year it’s socially acceptable to be a mermaid and wear a clam bra in public.
Yes, we know it’s going to be cold, but we can brave the 20-minute walk to the frat house or apartment party and proceed to sweat all our makeup off dancing inside.
Now, there is the argument that “modest is hottest.” This tells women that they are only dressing for the approval of others. Other people are only going to like you if you’re beautiful, and you’re only going to be perceived as beautiful if you dress modestly. That idea is absolutely archaic.
Instead of basing what women should wear around what men want them to wear (and let’s be real here, many men would prefer that girls wear skimpy outfits), women should be encouraged to wear whatever makes them feel confident.
Women have the freedom to dress how they want on Halloween, and every other day of the year. Wearing what we want to wear empowers us — despite what anyone else may think.
And if a girl is wearing a costume because she wants to attract the attention of men, so what? Wow, women like casual hookups too!
The only valid argument I could come up with is that sexy versions of Halloween costumes don’t accurately portray whatever someone is trying to dress up as. I understand that. But if everyone stuck to a certain format, it would ruin the creativity behind the outfits.
Wait. It’s “slutty,” you say? I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that the clothes I wear define my sexual promiscuity. The girl (or 10 girls) wearing a sexy kitty costume on Halloween sleeps around, right? You can see her thighs and her shoulders, after all. I bet her parents don’t love her. I heard she has an STD, too. Slut.
Calm down. Wearing a sexy Halloween costume is getting into the spirit of the season. It has nothing to do with a woman’s sexual activity, which, by the way, is absolutely none of your business.
Ladies, if you want to wear a revealing Playboy bunny costume a la Reese Witherspoon in “Legally Blonde,” wear it and rock it and who cares about what anyone else says. If you want to go with something more modest, all the power to you. It’s your choice and nobody has a right to take it from you.
Full disclosure: I’m going as a (you guessed it) sexy version of Luigi and my boyfriend is going as Mario. I chose the sexy costume because I like how I look in it and the normal costume looks absolutely ridiculous on me.
It’s a person’s choice to wear whatever the hell they want on Halloween. That’s kind of the point of the holiday.
Emily Jenks is the features editor at The State News. Reach her at ejenks@statenews.com.
