The true “scary” of halloween costumes.[/caption]It’s that time of year again. Leaves are soon to start falling of the trees, pumpkins will begin making their way to gardening stores all across America to be carved into jack-o-lanterns, Count Chocula is in stores as a featured item (this year in retro boxes!) and candy by the sackfull is finding its way onto store shelves in a greater frequency than usual.
That’s right. Halloween is in the air.
When I was a kid, there was nothing more that I loved than Halloween. To this day, I become a big child when October rolls around because it means I get to watch monster movies on TV (the 1941 classic The Wolfman is my favorite), the chilling air is hauntingly refreshing and who doesn’t love a little bit of free candy to look forward to?
However, there’s always been one thing about this holiday that has always bothered me; companies are promoting this holiday all wrong.
I know that companies exploiting a holiday is nothing new (Jesus gets the shaft by having His birthday exploited and others getting gifts instead), but for some reason I take particular offense to Halloween.
(In all honesty, I likely don’t take offense to Christmas’s exploitation because I benefit, and have benefited, from it.)
Halloween is supposed to be a day where a kid can walk around in a horrifying outfit, scare the crap out of some other people and get free candy. Whatta great day!
But, for some reason, costume manufacturers seem to think that grown-ups, particularly women, should dress in a sexy outfit instead of a scary one.
For a moment, let’s take the chronic objectification of women out of the equation.
It should go without saying that women are more frequently put in a position to dress pleasing to the male eye than vice versa, and that is grossly unfair, misogynistic and just plain wrong.
But, just to look at the situation from the most superficial standpoint it still doesn’t make sense. Sexy and Halloween? Why? Sexy isn’t scary.
I guess I’m lying when I say I don’t understand it. I do.
It’s because sex sells. If you put a good-looking person next to a product, of course it will sell better than placing a hideous, beast of a person next to it – guilt by association, I suppose.
But isn’t this the one holiday that should benefit by being associated with grotesquery?
The sexualization of Halloween has gone too far and simply by looking at websites for costumes, it’s plain to see that even costumes for pre-teen girls and even younger have hemlines that can be considered quite questionable.
It alarms me not only that this practice on females exists, but that it’s happening at such a young age. Besides, October is a cold month – they’ll catch pneumonia if they aren’t keeping warm in the chill of the autumnal air.
Maybe when I was a kid my parents kept my attention away from this stuff or maybe I was too concerned with watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! to notice this kind of stuff. But now that I do notice it, I am greatly saddened.
That’s why I urge everyone this Halloween – particularly the ladies – to dress up as hideous a creature they possibly can. If you were planning on being a sexy witch, ditch the short skirt and midriff-baring top and instead adorn yourself with fake warts, green face paint and a long, pointed prosthetic nose.
It’s time to take Halloween back…and this year, show no mercy.
On November 1, I invite all students who partake in the rituals of All Hallows Eve to submit their holiday photos – appropriate ones, of course, – to thexavierite@ yahoo.com.
The scariest photos will be posted by me online.
Please write in the subject line “Xavierite Halloween Photo.” Please include your full name, major as well as your year. I encourage you to go as scary, creepy, grotesque and/or disgusting as you possibly can. I invoke the old adage: go big or go home.
I implore you, let’s make Halloween scary again. Let’s restore the balance to the world of Halloween and take back what corporations have stolen!
This year, it’s Occupy Halloween.
Brian Laughran
Senior Viewpoints Editor
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