It’s that time of year again. When all the “ghouls and goblins” come out to play. Or, should I say “sluts and sex–crazed men” come out and frolick about. Slut shaming has become a very negative stigma centered around Halloween time.
In today’s society men and women are shamed for dressing the way they wish. We are degraded for showing too much skin, and degraded for showing too little. It seems as though women and men can never quite look the part that society so desires. Halloween offers the opportunity for self-expression and imagination. Some of us like to dress up in costumes because being someone or something else for a day can be a breath of fresh air. However, with this “liberty ” to dress as one would like, also brings along many negative spectators.
Despite the negative stigma surrounding Halloween, do we choose costumes to represent aspects of ourselves, or is it to represent something we want to be? That being said, if we choose to wear more provocative clothing for Halloween, is it related to the need for release due to slut-shaming that occurs in women and men’s everyday lives (because dressing in less is more “socially acceptable” during this one day of the year), or is it because we all deserve and desire to feel sexy, mysterious, and not diminished by unobtainable and undesirable social norms?
I intend to wear whatever I wish this Halloween, and I intend to ignore any negative stigma sent my way because someone disagrees with my choice of costume. While what I am wearing may just be a costume, it resonates much deeper than that with me. It is my chance to dress-up, and be whoever I want to be. Have fun and be who you are and true to yourself. Let loose and have a good time!
Unruly Bodies 
This post is one of those things that reveals how privileged I have been in the past. This Halloween is one of the first that I have been overtly affected by gender norms in my costume selection and the difficulty I am having is that it is coming from my partner. I feel the nature of our relationship means that I have to lend her opinion more weight, but at the same time I want to follow what you have said, letting loose and having a good time. Thank you for your perspective and I think it may tip my decision on my costume.
Gender norms do play a huge role in Halloween. It is expected for guys to wear masculine outfits and for girls to wear provocative ones. I find it interesting how our society has managed to critic everyone who doesn’t satisfy those norms even on a day that has no restriction to sex, gender, class, and orientation. The true meaning of Halloween is as you said to go out have fun and be comfortable and true to your self