It's that time of year again. It's time for pumpkin pie, apple cider, changing leaves and, of course, the mad dash for the perfect Halloween costume. While a white sheet with two eye holes may have been a sufficient outfit a generation ago, these days finding the right costume is a little more complex.
Aside from the variety of costumes now available, there have been some notable changes since the Halloweens of generations past. Attend your local Halloween parade or peruse any of the plethora of online costume vendors, and it will become apparent that while boys can still be ninjas, knights, firemen and zombies, girls' costumes often look more suited for a peep show than trick-or-treating.
It's no secret that the media and society as a whole seem intent on the sexualization of young women. Hannah Montana's blonde wigs, high boots and sequined short skirts seem to be the trademarks of a generation of girls who, at increasingly young ages, are being taught that "hotness" is the greatest of virtues. Typically unsexy costumes for pirates, army cadets or witches suddenly come with short skirts, low-cut tops and knee-high boots — not to mention the fact that the child models featured on the Web sites that sell these costumes are often plastered with pounds of makeup and doused in a bevy of hair products.
Meanwhile, it is glaringly obvious that boys' options differ significantly from those of their female counterparts. For instance, while there are an abundance of doctor costumes available for boys, there are relatively few for girls. Nurse costumes, however (and sexy ones at that), are readily available. Girls can also be cheerleaders with skirts the size of beer cozies, pop divas with fishnet stockings or corseted fairies — all costumes that feature not-so-subtle sexual names like "Devil Delight" and "Drama Queen ScarLet."
As much as the old adage "sex sells" has become an accepted justification for many trends in modern culture, the Daily finds it worrisome that we increasingly support selling sex appeal as an identity to some of the most impressionable members of our society.
