Halloween Hardcore

While I was somewhat disappointed that I was laid up in bed sick for the festivities of the Halloween weekend this year, I was somewhat relieved that I decided not to venture beyond my home for the holiday. I tend to love Halloween because I love to dress up in ridiculous costumes, although I hardly restrict myself to one or a few days a year to engage in this activity. I'm always somewhat ambivalent about Halloween due to a sexualized phenomenon that by now has become an American cultural cliche. Taken straight from a line of one of my favorite 21st century teen cult classic movie "Mean Girls": 'in the regular world, Halloween is when children dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In girl world, Halloween is the one night of the year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.'

Don't get me wrong. I'm of the opinion that women and anyone for that matter should be able to wear whatever they want without being held to a sexual standard. I also personally abhor the blame the victim rhetoric of sexual assault that claims: 'well if she was dressed like that she must have been asking for it.' But there's something that makes my stomach turn when I see streets flooded with women in costumes that consist mainly of 'some form of lingerie and animal ears.' My ambivalence I don't think is driven by the amount of skin or overt sexualization of the outfits (and more and more I believe this argument can be directed at both straight and gay men). Rather, I think I am disturbed by the way that certain holidays and festivals (Lovefest comes to mind and to a certain Folsom Street Festival as well) become excuses or a one-time deal venue for the acceptance to dress up 'like a total slut.' I don't even have a problem with someone presenting themselves as a slut. To me that signifies a committed ownership to one's sexual agency, whether that express itself through promiscuity or celibacy. What bothers me is the way that society at large accepts that people are dressing like sluts, for a one time occasion.

Rather than celebrating the body and sexuality as a form of liberating ourselves from the sexual structures of heteronormativity and patriarchy, I believe that this tradition only serves to strengthen the double standard still in place for women. By acknowledging a holiday or festival to be a time and place where these inversions of the norm become acceptable, tolerated and generally expected, I don't believe anyone is making a radical commentary on the rules of bodily conduct that restrict how we dress and act on everyday basis. At least I can always count on the creative folks who generally make their own costumes that have some interesting pun or concept to them to be the highlight of my Halloween adventures. However, while I do love the Halloween costume industry for providing extra cheap costuming accoutrements AFTER the holiday is over and done with, I'm disturbed by the way people can easily purchase 'slut in a bag' themed costumes that only serve to consolidate the acceptance of a standard of sexual behavior that supports double standard for women in our society. When women should be allowed to express their sexuality or display their bodies however they choose without ramifications for violence or stigma (especially from other women), then that will be the day when I think I can haunt about Halloween without wanting to hurl.