Friday, October 28, 2011

Halloween: Meh

We got a Halloween costume flyer in the mail a few weeks ago and I was not surprised to find that, as a woman, my choices were limited to whatever sexy object I wanted to be. This trend (which merely requires that girls wear beachwear and heels and come up with a creative/alliterative label like Naughty Nurse, Sexy Sailor, or Foxy Firefighter) is not new or strange to me. It's still a little upsetting and I understand why people hate it, but honestly, I'm over it. Getting my undies in a bundle over what girls wear on Halloween feels a little cliche at this point. We get it; it's sexist. Here's a redeye article that discusses it further, and this Jenna Marbles video makes a good point as well.

Even though I'm not in the mood to get on my soapbox about holiday gender stereotypes, I'm still not crazy about Halloween itself. I've thought this through, and it really has little to offer me. You don't get the day off from school or work, there's no giant meal involved, you only technically celebrate for three hours, and the celebration requires you to do most of the work. Plus, if you live in Wisconsin, you have to wear a winter coat over your costume.

As an adult-type person, I feel like I'm supposed to enjoy Halloween even more than a child, because even though many adults don't go trick-or-treating, they still get to have parties and dress up. Here's the thing: I don't see how that's any different than any other weekend in an adult's life. I could host or attend a themed party every day if I really wanted to. As for the trick-or-treating, I can eat candy whenever I crave it. And if Halloween is really about letting your freak flag fly, well then let's be honest: I never take mine down. If I want to dress up, I kind of just do. All jokes aside, I'm a grown woman. As long as I'm paying my bills and not hurting people or evading taxes, I can do whatever I want.

Except eat with chopsticks. Can't figure those things out for the life of me.

1 comment:

  1. Bravo rkaiser! :) There've been several years where this really bugged me, but I, like you, am over it. What is getting annoyed going to do anyway? If women want guys gawking awkwardly at them, or treating them like a piece of meat, then they have the right to do that. I love your take on it, and I'll check out the vid later. :) Thanks again!

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