“Dear Arum” October Submission
A monthly column of borderline-unsolicited advice from The Owl’s own Arum Jefferson.
Why do girls use Halloween as an excuse to dress slutty?
Dear Reader,
Halloween traditions are filled with sweet candy, scary masks, and yes, the occasional scantily clothed girl. Slutty Halloween costumes have become a staple of this holiday that can be explained through a Cady Heron’s quote: “In the real world, Halloween is when kids dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut, and no other girls can say anything else about it.”
To summarize, women should be able to dress however they wish, yet our societal rules dictate that the consequence for dressing in a provocative manner is to be crucified and labeled as a “slut” or other misogynistic term.
On Halloween, however, these constraints are suspended, allowing those of us who wish to find empowerment through our no-longer-repressed sexualities to do so without facing the backlash of outdated mindsets.
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t ridicule women for their sexuality and the many ways they express it. Unfortunately, this has become an ingrained aspect of our culture, taught to young girls in an attempt to protect them from being overtly sexualized at an inappropriate age.
So, dear reader, I encourage you to empathize and understand that times are quickly changing. Our era of #MeToo has laid down the foundation for a path to societal acceptance of gender equity, burying beneath it the slut-shaming attitudes of our parents’ generation.
So rather than judge or gawk at the sexy nurse you see at one of our many local Halloween parties, understand that this is an act of bravery and defiance within itself.
Be safe this Halloween, eat grotesque amounts of “fun-size” candy bars, stop by the Boulder High Haunted House, enjoy all the festivities of this spooky holiday season, and don’t shame women for the decisions they make about their bodies.
— Arum
