exercising the right to be sexy

Halloween season has begun. Today, I went to the brand new Halloween Store that opened two metro stops away from campus with my friend Lauren, and I did a tally of all the “sexy” things I had the option of being for Halloween: saying them, of course, as I walked past, in a sultry seductive voice (it drove the people in the store nuts). I had the option of being a sexy cop, a sexy robin hoodette, a sexy taxi cab driver (really? Are some taxi cab drivers particularly sexy? Not in my experience), a sexy bumblebee (again, last I checked this was not a sexy thing), a sexy ladybug, a sexy supergirl/catwoman/spiderwoman, a sexy mobster, flapper – you name it, I had the option of being a sexy version of it. But my personal favorites were the woman dressed as a sexy pie and the male counterpart: the winner of a pie eating contest.

The “pie” here is a clear reference to this woman’s vagina; and the male in question has clearly “eaten her” – she is an object, he is a winner. He’s won the prize of this woman’s vagina, and now she’s his. 

Now am I reading too much into this? Perhaps. Being in college, I’ve seen this phenomena for 2 full years now: Halloween is the “excuse to dress slutty”, the only time of year a girl who is usually normally dressed and calm can go crazy and dress like a complete “whore”.

My question is whether this is a good thing or a bad thing as feminists. I mean, there are two ways of looking at this: A woman can get dressed like this without being shunned for showing her legs or arms, unlike people in so many religious Middle Eastern countries. We have the freedom to dress however we want, which is certainly a feminist victory. 

On the other hand; these outfits totally objectify women as sexual figures; and so often as things. Some people feel that a girl’s suggestive Halloween costume is an invitation to hit on her, or worse. It can make some think of women as sexual objects, and isn’t that something we should worry about? 

Personally, I can’t say I’m 100% sure either way. But I can tell you I’m excited for Halloween –  I’ve got plans to be Kat from 10 Things I Hate About You (THE MOVIE! Never the TV Show!), and I’d say she’s one of my favorite positive female role models in the past 20 years. I want you, I need you, Oh baby, oh baby.