Dear Women of Tucson,

Halloween is coming up, and temperatures are dropping. Yet, suddenly we find ourselves as women shedding the clothes that were made to keep us warm.

We all know it’s sexy. We all know guys will want to talk to the girl who wears her Victoria’s Secret bra and matching panties cleverly (or not so cleverly) disguised as a Halloween costume — and probably not want to talk to her for very long.

But it is pretty spooky that we have turned half-nakedness into a Halloween tradition. Isn’t this the one holiday specifically devoted to disguising ourselves?

I guess there are two sides to this idea. First, that during Halloween, we’re actually not disguising ourselves, but rather totally revealing ourselves and being completely blunt about it. Skimpy-costume wearers are screaming to be consumed visually, totally uninhibited by societal judgment. And it’s likely that Halloween is like that for everyone, female or male: a cathartic experience in showing your inner desires, disguised as a disguise. Why is it so bad to show what you’ve got, moreover, advertise it? For once we have a time where we don’t have to lie that this is what we want.

But then it’s also possible that we are missing the real point of Halloween: where’s the mystery? Where’s the fun in keeping our identity a secret? It seems that we might want to keep ourselves hidden and pretend to be someone else. And in that case, why not take Halloween a little more seriously? Keep the mystique up. It’s likely a guy might be more interested in seeing what’s underneath the costume than if you had it all out there upfront.

Sexy lumberjack woman? Sexy tin man? It’s all a joke, let’s face it. Perhaps a real Halloween costume would just be sexy naked woman. It would be honest, at least.

Either way, Halloween is going to be a blast, whether you’re screaming to get laid, wearing a neurotically detailed replica of your favorite movie character or just enjoying being a pagan hedonist without society yelling at you (except out the windows of their cars). But just a warning: bring a jacket. It’s going to be a chilly weekend.

Warmly,

Kellie Mejdrich is a junior majoring in journalism and English. She can be reached at arts@wildcat.arizona.edu