“Halloween is the one night a
year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say
anything about it,” Lindsay Lohan said as her character, Cady Heron, in the
movie “Mean Girls. That may be a stretch, but between fishnet tights and low
cut firefighter costumes, I have a hard time disagreeing with that statement.
Halloween is a great holiday for students. It
provides a freedom for them to convey their individuality in a creative way.
Through costumes, students can express a different side of themselves. They can
show up as a celebrity, rock star, politician, or super hero. However, as I was
observing the aisles of Halloween costumes at a store recently, I noticed one
that caught my attention. It was a costume for a woman that resembled a
construction worker and provided two orange cones to cover the breasts. It was
called, “The Home Wrecker”. According to
UrbanDictionary.com, a home wrecker is “a female (usually) who is trying
to steal a man from another woman” or “anyone on Jerry Springer.” This got me
thinking. It seems as if Halloween is often used as an outlet for inappropriate
dress and behavior.
Freshman Elise Provosty agrees.
“(My peers) wear revealing clothing on Halloween. It’s an excuse to wear
whatever and say it’s just a costume,” Provosty said.
Junior Connor Dunn, who will be sporting an angel costume, agreed.
“Some of the girls dress a little skanky,” Dunn said.
Besides the revealing costumes girls like to wear, there are plenty of
other costumes that take advantage of the freedoms of Halloween. I recently
heard a student say that they were thinking about dressing up as a terrorist,
while I heard of another with plans to dress up as “Tyrone the crack addict”
from the Dave Chapelle Show.
“It is sort of a day of mischief,” sophomore Thomas Balue said.
In my opinion, nothing can justify this offensive dress; however, it goes
almost unnoticed on Halloween, and sometimes it is even celebrated. A few years
ago, I viewed a costume contest where the first prize winner had dressed up as
a Trojan condom, which although promoting safe sex, was in obvious poor taste.
Maybe it’s the candy buzz that’s causing this over- sexualized hype.
Either way, this holiday seems to be popular with students.
Vice Principal Julie Wheeler doesn’t
seem to have a problem with Halloween as long as it’s celebrated safely.
“If kids choose to get involved and celebrate Halloween, I would
encourage kids to do it in the safe, appropriate way.” Wheeler said, “Sometimes
(Halloween) can be an excuse for going the next step further in terms of
inappropriate behavior and choices so have fun, but be safe.”
This October 31, there will be a home football game in which students are
welcome to attend in full costume. So, while the Naughty Nurse or the Dirty Doctor
look may be tempting, consider having a little class.