Debate: Sexy Halloween Costumes-If you've got it flaunt it?

Flaunt it!
By Sheika

Growing up, I was one of those jeans and t-shirt girls with a no-nonsense ponytail. I had skinned elbows and chapped lips and all I cared about was wrestling with the boys. Video games? Check. Plastic swords? Check. Skateboard sketched all over with Sharpies? Definitely check, dude!

But I had a dirty little secret. I enjoyed the silly teen movies my girly cousins made me watch, especially the ones where the dorky girl everyone laughed at took her glasses off and became a beauty. I joined the boys in throwing bugs at the prissy preppy girls at school but secretly envied their pretty braided hair. All too soon, high school came and one by one my guy friends fell prey to feminine wiles.

I was left all alone to traverse the jungle, unskilled at the weapons of lipstick and eyeshadow. Black nail polish was a familiar friend but beyond that loomed the mysteries of mascara. The first time I picked up a pair of tweezers, I almost poked my eye out! No way was I trying that again. In fear, I ran back to my comfort zone and staked out the only style I could pull – natural, “bare faced” beauty (aka. I have no clue how to put on make up so I won't even try!) and comfortable clothes (read: jeans and a plain hoodie.)

Then it hit me like a 2 pound hairdryer. I scoured every store I could find for the perfect outfit. This turned out to be a gaudy sparkly thing in red and gold. To match was a pair of raggedy gold foil pompoms. That's right. I was a blond, pigtailed cheerleader for Halloween! My knobby knees stuck out from under the short pleated skirt and my awkward stick arms looked ridiculous waving the pompoms around. I got some funny looks and a few good laughs. Some said I looked weird, others crazy and some even called my outfit slutty. I was something completely opposite of what I was. I had transformed into someone I'd always been terrified to be, just like my little brother who chose to be Dracula that year.

To this day, I have worn fairytale outfits like Red Riding Hood or classic favorites like Dorothy from Oz. Who can resist those glamorous red shoes? Even tight vinyl Catwoman suits and spandex Wonder Woman costumes have seen their share of spotlight. I couldn't pull off a down-to-there cleavage shirt while grocery shopping and 6 inch heels would kill my feet. Fishnets have a tendency to snag on my toes and there is no way I'd go in to work with long red vampire nails. I may still be that awkward tomboy who wouldn't know lipgloss from blush, but for just one day I can be as silly and goofy or even slutty as I dare!

Learn more about Sheika here. :)

Dressing Up For Halloween: You’re Doing It Wrong
By Lux

Maybe I’m wrong on this one but isn’t it a bit disturbing that adult Halloween costumes appear to be getting skankier and skankier every year? I can’t be the only one bothered by this. Since when did a holiday that is so child oriented turn into a porn fest? Why did Halloween become an excuse to flaunt your body parts? True, there are places and times for such attire. Exotic Erotic in San Francisco is one example. If you’re going to a place like that then shit, do what you want. Private parties are another. But someone tell me why I’m seeing women wearing this crap to work on Halloween. Someone please explain to me when it became OK for moms to take their school age children trick-or-treating in these poorly made, mass produced getups. It just reeks of low self esteem and no self respect. I guess I’m just old fashioned. I guess I’m just a person that believes one doesn’t have to put oneself on display in this way to get noticed. It is a far more confident, interesting and intelligent person who can command attention while dressed modestly. Just look back through history. A great example of such a person was Jackie O. She never looked anything less than classy and put-together. Now she is remembered as a fashion icon. I’d be willing to bet money that it would have never occurred to her to put on a 5 inch long plaid skirt with a white crop top and try to pass it off as a legitimate costume.

Shouldn’t we strive to be like Jackie O.? Shouldn’t that be the example we set for young girls? Instead, one can walk into any Halloween store and see the same cheap costumes available for mass consumption. Choose from slutty cop, slutty maid, slutty school girl, slutty nurse, slutty angel, slutty mermaid, slutty girl scout (OK that’s just wrong!), slutty Alice, etc, etc, etc! Basically any profession/fairy tale character/archetype can turn into some perv’s fantasy. But wait, there’s more! If that isn’t enough to get your eyes rolling or your stomach turning, take a stroll over to the pre-teen section and see the same freaking costumes. Sure they’re a bit toned down and made to fit underdeveloped bodies, but they are basically cut from the same cloth so to speak. We’re training them young these days aren’t we? Training them to believe that attention from the opposite sex is the most important thing and that to obtain this they must present themselves as sexual objects. You may say: “But Lux it’s only once a year. Shouldn’t people be allowed to live a little?” Wrong, it’s not just once a year. This garbage is all over the media year round. We have some celebrity or other’s coochie making headlines every few months. What does that have to do with slutty costumes? Well the costumes may be a once a year occurrence, but they are symptomatic of a bigger issue. One that sadly doesn’t end November first.

But let’s put this aside for a minute. Let me now ask what do these mediocre rags have to do with Halloween? How do they celebrate the spirit of the holiday? Halloween is supposed to be about having fun with friends. It’s supposed to be about enjoying the sensation of being frightened. It’s about trick-or-treating, telling scary stories, watching horror movies and spending hours on a costume you’re sure no one else will be wearing because you put so much time into it. It’s not about uninspired hooker uniforms that would be better off left on the rack. Although, seeing 30 chicks in a row showing off their panties in the same slutty Snow White costume is kind of scary. I do not need or want to see your ass cleavage. If your nipples are this close to popping out of your top, you’re doing it wrong. If one can clearly make out the line where your thighs meet your butt cheeks, you’re doing it wrong. If the trim of you bikini line can be seen through your outfit, you’re so doing it wrong.

Maybe I’m a buzz kill. Maybe I‘m taking this all a bit too seriously. Or maybe I’m a sane person in an insane society. When you’re a mother of two little girls like I am, you tend to think about these things. I sometimes wonder what I will say when the day comes that one of my daughters tries to leave the house in a costume that barely covers her ass. But then I relax knowing that that day will never come because her mama will have raised her better than that.

Where do you stand?