Costumes For Trick-Or-Treating Or Turning Tricks?
Posted by: Annika Harris
Filed in:
news
10:45AM, Monday October 12th 2009
Halloween is the one time of year when grown women let their hair down and bring their hemlines up as they become risque revelers at parties and parades across the country. But raunchy costumes aren’t only for those above the age of consent this year. A growing trend at costume stores and websites is offering risque costumes for tweens. The Dark Angel Tween Girl’s Costume, sold at SpiritHalloween.com, comes with a lace bustier, fishnet footless tights, and fishnet fingerless gloves. Similarly, Devil Delight Tween Girl’s Costume has a butt-skimming miniskirt and chest-baring bodice. The site also encourages the tween to be bad, saying: “It’s fun to look cute and be bad, you naughty girl!” Even the come-hither poses of the models are inappropriate. Would you believe some of these costumes are already sold out?!
The fact is pre-teen girls aren’t ready for the attention these and other costumes will bring, despite the images in pop culture, like Miley Cyrus pole-dancing at the Teen Choice Awards, that say otherwise. I know why companies are offering costumes that make fifth-graders look like street walkers—they’re in the business of making money. But what would motivate parents to allow their daughters to walk the streets in sexy Halloween costumes is beyond me.
What are your thoughts on this trend? Are these simply costumes or something more? Would you allow your tween daughter to wear a sexy costume? Let us know in the comments.
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Rose
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 09:52 am: [report]
Funny, I was out shopping with my 9 year old yesterday (target market for these things) and she said “Those costumes are pretty inappropriate, aren’t they Mama?”. She’s going to make her own costume out of thrift store clothes.
Alexa
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 10:42 am: [report]
Once again, we have to endure the annual ritual of people whining and bitching about slutty costumes for Halloween.
Who gives a #&@$%? If you don’t like the costumes, don’t buy one for your child. This has been going on for YEARS now and it’s not going to get any better. So suck it up and go on with life. Complain about something worthwhile. Jesus.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 10:44 am: [report]
It’s the same thing every year. They want to look older. I blame the older women trying to look younger for this phenomenon.
SCRMOM
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 10:50 am: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse: What do you mean by “older women trying to look younger”? I can’t think of any non-celebrity woman over 30 that would think it was appropriate to wear something like that in public. The adult versions of these costumes are modeled by size 0, 20 year olds in the catalogs. As far as young girls dressing older than their age, it’s not just something that happens at Halloween - look at the clothes marketed for them all year ‘round.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 10:53 am: [report]
@SCRMOM: Slutting it up then.
spatula
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 10:55 am: [report]
I wouldn’t even let my HIGH SCHOOL daughter wear something so adult
my hypothetical high school daughter..i’m 25. But still. Slutty costumes, slutty anything, is for adults.
Humble Bee
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 10:58 am: [report]
lol. I bought the exact devil costume in the picture for my 12 year old sister, my mom was furious!
SCRMOM
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 10:59 am: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse: There are several ways to interpret that, so I’ll just ask you to clarify what you mean.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:03 am: [report]
@SCRMOM: The fact that you’re a mom distances you from this conversation. Of course you don’t want your child dressing like that. However the envelope is pushed further every year.
Some people are of the school of thought that to “get” a man/date/attention is to be/look/act slutty. This is started at the top and trickles down to the kids because they see it and attempt to emulate the behaviors.
PinkRanger
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:07 am: [report]
@alexa: I definitely think it’s worthwhile to discuss why children are constantly sexualized.
You could argue that a lot of disagreeble things will “never get any better” but does that mean we should never talk about it? I guess everyone should stop whining about rape and murder. It’s been happening for years and it’s “never getting any better”.
Alexa
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:09 am: [report]
Oh, yeah, of course. Murder and crime are the same thing as dressing up once a year for a holiday. My bad.
PinkRanger
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:13 am: [report]
@alexa: got your attention didn’t I?
My point is that just because things aren’t changing, doesn’t mean it’s stupid to talk about them.
hell, this sexualization of children can definitely lead to inappropriate situations and even crime.
I don’t like that little girls are conditioned at even that young an age to be sexual objects. When grown women want to slut it up for halloween, I say more power to you! Because they are making that conscious choice themselves to be sexual, children don’t understand those connotations.
silver_dragon_girl
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:15 am: [report]
I’m 22 and I wouldn’t wear either of those. There’s a difference between “sexy” and “skanky,” but neither of them are appropriate for pre-teen kids.
Alexa
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:19 am: [report]
Yes, the sheer lunacy of that analogy did indeed get my attention.
I believe in my first post I indicated that if a parent didn’t think it appropriate they shouldn’t get one of these costumes for their child. Whining and bitching about this sort of thing that happens once a year vs. the overwhelming amount of stuff that is available on a year round basis is pretty much pure lunacy, IMO. The whole point of the holiday is about dressing up, so to frame it as some sort of massive slutting up of the child or teen population is just a bit more than it needs to be really.
Not only that, but there’ll be (if there’s not already) all of the feminist blogs whining about even adult women being able to slut it up for Halloween. All of it is a bunch of useless drivel that does nothing to solve ANY of it - it just allows people to feel better I suppose to bitch and moan about something. In this case, something wholly pointless to bitch about.
secretsquirrel
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:23 am: [report]
The problem is that there is little choice out there. If you google “tween costumes” which I did in a desperate search for something for my 13 year old daughter, you would see that there is almost nothing available that isn’t on the verge of pornographic. Leggings do not make the costume less slutty.
Her dad took her to Wally World and they found a skirt that I’m going to help make into an 80s retro look. That’s about the best we can do. And it’s unfortunate, because the girls at that age want to still do fun “childish” stuff. Keeping that innocence and silliness is ok with me. Warping it into a chance to show your ass cheeks, not so much.
PinkRanger
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:25 am: [report]
@alexa: whoa, you seem to think that I think you’re dumb or am attacking you or something. What the hell is wrong with discussion? Seriously? besides the fact that YOU think it is a waste of time. And you using “feminist blogs” talking about how they don’t want women wearing slutty clothes for halloween makes no sense as fire against me since I didn’t say any of that.
If talking about the sexualization of children is “something wholly pointless to bitch about” then bitching about other people expressing their opinions on the matter is even worse.
Criticism is never pointless. Critiquing culture and exploring it’s influence is nothing new.
Alexa
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:30 am: [report]
My point is that we go through this exact same exercise every single year, with the same results: nothing. The next year, we get the same slutty costumes, for all age groups. It is pointless because it doesn’t accomplish the first thing. Obviously, people are buying the costumes because they keep selling them.
Does it make you feel better, or feel as if you’ve accomplished something by “critiquing” it? If so, blather on, I guess. You’ll be right back here next year doing the same tired old thing, I can assure you.
SCRMOM
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:37 am: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse: The fact that I’m a mom allows me to see first-hand the pressures that my daughter and her friends feel to dress a certain way. As I said in my first post, it’s not just Halloween, but so many of the clothes marketed toward young girls.
We live in the suburbs of a Midwestern city, where moms and other adult women dress pretty conservatively. The girls aren’t copying what we are wearing; instead, they are getting these images from movies and tv shows, clothing stores marketed for girls 6 and older, magazines and books, their peers, etc.
This is a battle already between my daughter and me, and she’s not even a pre-teen or teen yet.
PinkRanger
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:41 am: [report]
@alexa: seriously, this is the internet. Not a big deal. Cool your jets. You’d think I slapped your mom.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:48 am: [report]
@SCRMOM: Yeah, enjoy the next couple years.
wawmama
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 11:53 am: [report]
Stuff like this makes me glad I’m broke.
I got both my kids costumes, and the accosories for mine at goodwill. I may have spent maybe $20 TOTAL, and my little girl won’t freeze her tush off. Total win!
SCRMOM
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 12:05 pm: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse: Gees, thanks. May you be blessed with three girls, just like her.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 12:08 pm: [report]
@SCRMOM: I don’t plan on procreating.
SCRMOM
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 12:12 pm: [report]
@SCRMOM: Yeah, neither was I at your age, but people change. For the record, all of ours were planned.
SCRMOM
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 12:17 pm: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse: That was meant for you, not some crazy dialogue with myself.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 12:25 pm: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse: Hai!
@CheeeeEEEEs’s Penis: How u doin?
@CheeeeEEEEse: Doin good.
@CheeeeEEEEse’s Penis: Sweet.
SCRMOM
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 12:31 pm: [report]
@CheeeeEEEEse: LMAO, I deserved that.
fluffysue
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 01:19 pm: [report]
I’m still trying to figure out when Halloween became about slutty costumes anyway. I don’t even want one of these costumes for myself, I can’t imagine putting one on a child.
cymbelene
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 02:35 pm: [report]
so let me get this straight.
11 year old girl gets all dressed up in said skanky halloween outfit. she meets up with all of her friends to go trick or treating. all of her friends are wearing similar skanky outfits.
because they are “old enough” they don’t want any parents to go trick or treating with them, so they say mom and dad can’t go.
so this group of sexy preteens prance around the neighborhood (alone) from house to house, ringing on doorbells asking “trick or treat”...
behind some of those doors there will inevitably be sketchy single men who live for nights like this. Sketchy single man is definitely going to be having very disgusting thoughts about those little girls. Whether or not he does anything with those thoughts (god help us)—- those little girls were still practically set up for this charade. Do they even understand the kinds of thoughts these men can have? I certainly didn’t at 11 years old.
how it ok NOT to talk about how this is a crime waiting to happen?
This is definitely something that needs to be discussed year after year even if it doesn’t seem to be getting better. Because this early sexualization of our young girls not only sets them up to have sex before they are ready, but creates a stage for creepy guys to do creepy things.
On a side note: I know criminals don’t need this kind of catalyst to do creepy things, but I don’t think it helps to offer up our young girls on a silver platter. For what it’s worth, a creepy man pulled out his penis in a grocery store to show me when I was nine years old. I was not wearing something “sexy” at all (just 80s biker shorts and big t-shirt). I still thought it was my fault and of course had weird psych. issues about it for years.
MissChaotic
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 04:35 pm: [report]
@cymbelene Agreed.
Everytime I see costumes and outfits like so for little girls, I keep thinking R. Kelly and friends are watching to see who buys them.
Hurricane KC
wrote on October 12 2009 @ 09:11 pm: [report]
What ever happened to being creative and making your own costume? When I was a “tween”, my friends and I wore old 80s prom dresses (floor length, poofy sleeves, etc) and pretended to be southern belles. Other times I wore a black t-shirt and pants and the kitty ears and tail from my cat costume when I was 3. Kids try to grow up too fast, and parents let them. So sad…
CaleeKay
wrote on October 13 2009 @ 08:04 pm: [report]
I have to admit, the level of exposure has increased over the years since i was a child, i just dont recall seeing some of these on the shelves, but whatever. just tell you child this isnt appropriate and one day you can wear it if you choose to.
but, i have to say, i love dressing up for halloween in slutty costumes like these. im not into that much exposure all year, so this is my time to be a little ‘sexier’
thank you slutty girls who made this a trend. ;]