Everyone is familiar with the phrase “sex sells”, especially Halloween marketing agencies -Phoebe Lefebvre
In the first half of the 20th century, Halloween costumes were originally designed to be scary and ghoulish in order to ward off ghosts. Celtic people believed October 31st to be a day in which the line between human and supernatural worlds were blurred, and in order to scare off ghosts and spirits they had to frighten them. Being terrifying was considered an essential part of a costume.
American influence had a large impact on how costumes have changed since then. Halloween started becoming more commercialized in the 1920’s and 30’s with pop culture costumes like Mickey Mouse, and that influence only increased over time. By the 60’s, costumes were completely dominated by pop culture, and costumes moved from scary disguises to full on exhibitionist displays.
Big capitalist companies were mainly profiting off Halloween costumes geared towards kids, since Halloween was marketed as a kids’ holiday. When adults started dressing up too, companies saw a new opportunity to increase profit.
Everyone is familiar with the phrase “sex sells”, especially Halloween marketing agencies.
All costumes have gotten increasingly graphic over time, but women’s specifically have been completely sexualized. Characters like nurses, nuns, cartoons, and even characters from kids shows. This includes underage characters, some of which are played by minors.
When you look at Halloween costumes both online and in stores, it’s not hard to see the imbalance of sexualized costumes between men and women. Most men's costumes show little to no skin, and emphasize agency and power rather than sexiness, women’s costumes are the complete opposite.
Cleavage and skin tight stereotypes completely consume women’s store bought costumes, and with less and less reasonable options, alongside the extremely gendered marketing, women feel more pressure to go for a “sexy” option. It also reinforces the stereotype that women are more submissive, and men are more dominant. This can have a really negative effect on self esteem, especially for a younger audience.
Growing up seeing these patterns of oversexualization can be extremely confusing for kids. Costumes like this can make younger people feel the need to ‘grow up too fast’ and conform to the expectations of hyperfemininity, hypermasculinity, and unrealistic body expectations.
Halloween is a time for being whatever you want to be, not for projecting negative ideals on kids.
American influence had a large impact on how costumes have changed since then. Halloween started becoming more commercialized in the 1920’s and 30’s with pop culture costumes like Mickey Mouse, and that influence only increased over time. By the 60’s, costumes were completely dominated by pop culture, and costumes moved from scary disguises to full on exhibitionist displays.
Big capitalist companies were mainly profiting off Halloween costumes geared towards kids, since Halloween was marketed as a kids’ holiday. When adults started dressing up too, companies saw a new opportunity to increase profit.
Everyone is familiar with the phrase “sex sells”, especially Halloween marketing agencies.
All costumes have gotten increasingly graphic over time, but women’s specifically have been completely sexualized. Characters like nurses, nuns, cartoons, and even characters from kids shows. This includes underage characters, some of which are played by minors.
When you look at Halloween costumes both online and in stores, it’s not hard to see the imbalance of sexualized costumes between men and women. Most men's costumes show little to no skin, and emphasize agency and power rather than sexiness, women’s costumes are the complete opposite.
Cleavage and skin tight stereotypes completely consume women’s store bought costumes, and with less and less reasonable options, alongside the extremely gendered marketing, women feel more pressure to go for a “sexy” option. It also reinforces the stereotype that women are more submissive, and men are more dominant. This can have a really negative effect on self esteem, especially for a younger audience.
Growing up seeing these patterns of oversexualization can be extremely confusing for kids. Costumes like this can make younger people feel the need to ‘grow up too fast’ and conform to the expectations of hyperfemininity, hypermasculinity, and unrealistic body expectations.
Halloween is a time for being whatever you want to be, not for projecting negative ideals on kids.
