Oct. 26, 2006

What has Halloween become?

BY ERIN SIEBEL
siebele@marietta.edu

Imagine it’s late October. Leaves are turning brown, gold, red. The ground is wet with layers of muted fall colors. The air is crisp and scarves are becoming a necessary accessory. As you walk down Fourth Street taking in these sights, three girls cross your path: a French maid, a cheerleader, Marilyn Monroe. And they all look a little bit…different. Their skirts are a little shorter, the outfit a little bit more form-fitting, and everything is just…out there. This is not something you see everyday. So it must be Halloween. And these girls are just dressed in their costumes.

Opinion

Gone are the days of fairy princesses, frogs, brides, bees. Anything cutesy and innocent is a serious no-no once you hit college, maybe even high school. But it seems as if it’s out of control. The only way you can actually dress in something “cutesy” like a fairy princess is if you turn it into a fairy princess who works the corner. Otherwise you’d just look silly. But why do girls feel like Halloween is synonymous with a free night to “whore it up”?

Ask around, and it seems the general answer to this question is that Halloween is in fact the only day when girls are allowed to dress as provocatively as they choose and no one will look at them funny. Rumors won’t be started about your sexual prowess, people won’t talk about you behind your back—you simply will not be judged.

But come November 1st, you need to hang up your ears because life turns back to normal and dressing like a sexed-up French maid will definitely get your name on the bathroom wall.

It comes down to whether or not Halloween has gone too far. Should we go back to the innocent years where you could dress like your favorite animal? Or should we put our college smarts to the test and instead make amazingly creative costumes that aren’t so provocative? Or is Halloween really just a day for girls to let their true colors fly?

If looking like a sexy pirate is in fact your true colors, then I suppose Halloween is a good day to let it all out there. Everyone else is doing it. But if you want to be truly unique and stand out on Halloween, wearing something truly creative will do just as well.