To quote a Facebook bumper sticker: “”I can’t decide this Halloween whether to go as a slutty witch, a slutty nurse, a slutty schoolgirl or just a total slut,”” This appears to have been the mainstream mindset of young women during Halloween for quite some time.
This competition for attention seems to have taken the costume industry to new levels of bareness, and has set a new social bar on what is deemed acceptable.
When shopping for Halloween costumes, these festive frocks can be found in stores that one normally would not expect. Fascinations, a store that prides itself on selling sensual toys, gifts and intimate outfits, has ventured into the mainstream fashion industry by selling Halloween outfits with a sexy twist, said Fascinations shift manager Nick Letsom.
“”We are very slowly moving toward more open view of sexuality, especially in America,”” Letsom said. “”America has always been more closed off to sexuality than most other cultures, so we are starting to see sex as something you do not have the shun and be afraid of.””
“”I think most girls don’t like necessarily dressing that way, but they love the attention they receive,”” said pre-nursing freshman Karlee Cordova.
Psychology professor Jeff Greenberg said in everyday life people are restricted by their roles, others’ expectations of them and their own sense of how they want to be, that is, their superego.
“”Halloween provides an excuse for people to dress and act in ways that they might want to try out for fun or to see what it would be like, but normally wouldn’t because of concerns about either how they would be judged by others or reacted to, how they would judge themselves and future consequences of their actions,”” said Greenberg. “”Overtly sexy and sexual behavior is one domain in which sober people often control their impulses in normal public contexts,”” he added.
However, skimpier outfits can leave some young women vulnerable, said Creative Costumes and FormalWear owner Sandra Almasy.
“”Morals and inhibitions are going to get more relaxed with the less you have on. Men’s desires and the fact that it is right there in front of them, pull from each other, and it is like a big circle.””
Greenberg explained that because costumes can leave people feeling disconnected from their normal selves and they can lose self-monitoring, it can lead to doing something regrettable on Halloween night.
“”If it keeps heading this way, it’s like, ‘Where is this going to go?’ Then we are going to be completely bare- then what’s after that? Any mustery and fun of decoration is gone,”” Almasy said.
