The sexualization and objectification of women has gotten worse over time. Hyper-sexualization of women is prominent during Halloween, when the majority of female costumes are provocative. Sexy Halloween costumes have become expected each year, examples being sexy nurses, police officers, and even nuns.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s pretty widely known that sex sells. In attempt to make money, companies have begun to sexualize much more than just nurses and police officers. Cartoon characters, and even characters from children’s shows are now becoming sexualized for the sake of Halloween costumes.
I came across one of these sexualized children’s characters when I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and an ad for a sexy Mr. Rogers costume appeared. My first thought was “Why?” Out of all the things to make “sexy,” why did this company have to choose my childhood friend, Mr. Rogers? It’s a strange concept because the thought of a sexy Mr. Rogers is comical. I’m not sure how many women looking for something sexy to wear will be rushing to buy it.
Curious as to what kind of company would make this, I went to their website. I saw they had a male version of Mr. Rogers that was completely appropriate and resembled the character. These findings made me question what woman would want to wear one of these costumes. I fully support a woman’s choice to wear a sexy Halloween costume, but at what point should companies draw the line, if there is any?
Although there are other options to choose from, the amount of sexualized female costumes have begun to outnumber the amount of appropriate costumes, pressuring women to buy the sexualized version.
While not necessarily a company’s responsibility to try to stop the over-sexualization of women, one could argue they could help by providing more appropriate options for female costumes.
Halloween isn’t to blame for the objectification of women, the issue exists outside of the holiday itself. Society seems to have developed a vicious cycle where it’s become normalized for women to wear overly sexualized costumes, therefore creating an even larger variety of sexy costumes on the market each year. If society could start to view women as more than sexual beings, perhaps the ridiculous amount of inappropriate costumes would decrease.
