NY Times Columnist on Halloween Costumes

Happy Halloween, All!  FYI, John Tierney of the NY Times wrote a column about the current fad for "slutty" Halloween costumes for girls and women:

"In principle, I have nothing against women in vinyl thigh-high boots, leather corsets, French maid micro-dresses or dominatrix gear. If American women are determined to set aside one day a year to go public with their inner vixen, I believe it is men’s solemn duty to respect their wishes.  But should that day be Halloween?"

"This is the great question facing our nation now that Oct. 31 has become known as Slutoween and Dress-Like-a-Whore-Day, much to the distress of moralists on both the left and right. When I see fundamentalists and feminists jointly denouncing something, my knee-jerk libertarian response is: bring it on! If the stores are stocked with nothing but slutty costumes, this must be what customers want. The market has spoken."

Read the whole thing, Tierney definitely has misgivings about "Slutoween."  He recounts finding out - at a Gettysburg re-enactment, of all places - that some outfits are more appealing than a sexy witch getup.

"...after we got used to the re-enactors, we started seeing our fellow spectators differently. Next to the soldiers, the guys in shorts and tank tops looked like hairy slobs. Next to the 19th-century ladies, the women in skimpy blouses and miniskirts looked like cheap tarts."

"The costumed re-enactors didn’t need personal trainers, washboard abs or breast implants to look good. Their midriffs weren’t displaying pierced navels and rolls of flesh. They had managed, for a weekend, to rebel against the American obsession with fitness and hotness. The uniforms gave a certain gravitas even to the fat soldiers. The hoop skirts gave a graceful hourglass curve to any woman. The women were subtly sexy.  “When you walk in a hoop skirt, you don’t want to wiggle or bounce,” one woman explained to us. “You float.” Then she got back into character, back into her fantasy. She glided off into the 19th century, floating more serenely than any sexy witch."

Yup, he's onto to something here, in spite of his belief that the free market prevails.

Comments

[Christine the Soccer Mom]

If they think the adult costumes are bad, they should see what's out there on children these days! I ranted at domestic-vocation.blogspot.com on what I saw while trick-or-treating with my 8 and 5 year olds this afternoon. (We went at Hubby's office.) Hubby and I were simply SHOCKED at what people put their kids in - or let them put on.

[wendy]

Christine, I really liked your piece. It's hard to know which is scarier, the monster masks or the girls' outfits!

[Jeannine]

Looks like the friendly fuggers aren't too happy about Halloween either...

http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/go_fug_yourself/2006/11/fug_curry.html

I have to agree with them, NBC New Correspondent Ann Curry had a mishap with Halloween...

[EPC]

I'm just curious about your comment about the free market. Could you elaborate please?

[Christine the Soccer Mom]

Thank you, Wendy. That costume was actually a lot tamer than the one I saw. It was pretty sad! Sometimes I wonder how I'll protect my girls as they grow up in this world!

[wendy]

Christine, it sounds to me like you're doing a great job. I think the key is just not to give up. So many parents seem to think that since the culture's so bad, why even bother? I hear that a lot. Personally I think that's a reason to try harder, not to give up.

EPC, I am also curious what Mary thinks about the "free market" argument. I am a staunch supporter of the free market but it's interesting how some people trot out 'it's a free market' to signal the end of discussion. But what about my right to free speech?