Children costumes show off girls' midriff. Google Image.

What Crosses the Line for Sexy Halloween Costumes?

Today’s fashion for young women has become increasingly provocative with trends pushing suggestive and slinky. Over the past couple decades, Halloween spirit has evolved from spooky and modest to   seductive and grandiose.

Traditional Halloween costumes originated from the spooky spirit may include witches, vampires, pumpkins, skeletons, ghosts and other creepy supernatural characters. But over time, costume selections have progressed to imitations of popular TV personalities, fictional characters, general subcultures (such as hippies), and “naughty” nurses and firefighters.

 Typical costumes today include sexy versions
 of pirates, creepy movie characters
 and uniforms.
 Google Image.

Political figures and pop culture inspire silly costumes for men and sexy for women. Pop stars, such as Britney Spears, have prompted women to steer toward a more racy approach to the holiday. Halloween has become a competition of outdoing everyone by wearing the sexiest, silliest or most unique costume.

Halloween costumes today for women, often formfitting, erotic and irrelevant to the original concept of the holiday, contrast with costumes from earlier decades, which included princesses, hippies, superheroes, witches, vampires and so on.

A flashback of Halloween in the '80s. Google Image.

I asked a psychology professor at my school what costume culture was like for Halloween in her day.

“I was a beatnik in the late ‘60s,” she said. “Back then costumes were more conventional. Popular costumes were ghosts and witches, and more conservative [than today]. It wasn’t about being provocative, but more about having fun.”

Since Halloween trends in this generation now follow mainstream culture, they tend to be over the top and give women an opportunity to emulate their favorite celebrity or turn an average job uniform into a slinky, flirtatious version. As provocative styles become more conventional, it is difficult to determine what “crosses the line” on a holiday that allows one to dress as unconventional they wish.

Occupy Wall Street

The continuous Occupy Wall Street protest that has been going on since September 17, 2011 has spread nationwide and been a topical focus for news commentators since it began. The demonstrators are picketing against social and economic inequality, corporate greed and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government. Underlying it all is a 9.1 percent unemployment rate.

The demands of the Wall Street protest remain vague and unclear. The demonstrators are demanding a broad scope of social and economic change and insist our country is in need of a revolution. Some blame the government, but most blame the banks.

I think the protest encourages middle-class America providing hope that if enough people come together and take a stand, maybe we can make a difference and head in the direction of social and economic revolution. 

It is sad that the state of our country remains ignored. Although the government assures that action is in place, millions of Americans continue to struggle. Wall Street is yet to get the message.

The protest demonstrates how fed up middle-class Americans are and instills faith in those without a chance to voice their concern. The market’s plummet over the past decade that has spiraled our nation’s economic crisis has left middle class America in a perpetual, seemingly hopeless struggle. Protestors place blame on the Federal Reserve and reckless government spending.

Middle class America’s effort to do something about our unequal economy and social class is the only shot we have at succeeding in change. If we don’t stand up together and take action, who will? Our government doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. If Corporate America continues to take all the country's profits, how will the struggle ever cease? Assembling a powerful movement toward commonwealth is the only chance this country has in ending its ongoing economic struggle.

Although the government says it is trying to equalize the playing field, so far it is struggling just like the millions of Americans. Perhaps protest is the only answer.