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Halloween opportunity to show creativity
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Also by Nate Widboom:
- Perfect mate just a keystroke away (November 17, 2004)
- Halloween opportunity to show creativity (October 20, 2004)
- Sweet treats for fans of oral sex (October 6, 2004)
- Human hotspots: erogenous zones (September 8, 2004)
- The walk of shame (April 14, 2004)
Related Stories:
- Madison's ticket for hot Halloween gig (October 28, 2004)
- Band kicks it up for Halloween, last fall gig (November 3, 2004)
- Halloween sparks fun fashion statements (November 1, 2006)
- Evading last-minute costume craze (October 29, 2004)
- State Street not only show in town this Halloween (October 27, 2006)
by Nate Widboom
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
While doing a bit of free association for People Magazine a couple weeks ago, David Cross (“Arrested Development,” “Mr. Show”) was given the word Halloween. “A way for sexually repressed Americans to come out and pretend they’re sexy for a day,” he responded. That sums it up quite nicely. Halloween is probably the only day of the year in Madison on which it is socially acceptable to wear very revealing clothing in public.
When did Halloween become a time for people to dress provocatively? Halloween used to be about the costume rather than a lack thereof. Lindsey Lohan’s recent movie “Mean Girls” touched on this issue briefly. Her character had been in Africa, and when she returned she wasn’t aware of this cultural phenomenon. She ends up showing up at a party with pale make-up wearing a bloody white gown. Everyone else, of course, was in their finest derivations of your standard slut costume.
One reason for this trend could be that it is just a hell of a lot easier to take any costume idea you can think of, no matter what it is, and add a touch of sluttiness. Voila. There you have a costume. It’s easier than trying to come up with something creative and interesting. Another explanation for the slutty costume craze seems to be conformity. If you don’t want to stand out this Halloween, then dress like a ho. Strangely, it seems like people are more self-conscious or out of place on Halloween in costumes that actually cover themselves.
On a side note, I don’t want to give the impression that revealing costumes are only for women. Although it seems somewhat more common for women, guys can dress just as sluttish as girls, if not more so. For example, the guys who went as party boy from “Jackass” last year danced up and down State Street shouldering boom boxes in nothing but black thongs, bowties and sneakers. I also saw guys in jockstraps, superhero leotards, body paint and other form-fitting or nonexistent attire.
It’s hard not to cave under the social pressure. Recently, I went shopping for costumes with some friends of mine, all of whom happened to be female. We set out with the intention of being funny, or finding some sort of group theme.
When we arrived at the transient seasonal costume shop, we immediately began searching for costumes that would get a laugh and possibly be wearable on the big night. For example, the Spidergirl costume consisting of a full-body blue and red unitard was hysterical in the dressing room, but actually leaving the house in such attire could have been embarrassing. In the end, the girls all chose costumes that were sort of a compromise between cute, slutty and appropriate. I ended up with a compromise between ridiculous, slutty and possibly too tight.
If anyone out there hasn’t picked a costume yet, I implore you to be silly rather than slutty. Creativity in costumes always attracts more attention than a little leg, and you’ll have the added bonus of being warm to boot. I’m not trying to say it is a bad thing to be scantily clad. But a little thought and creativity go a long way towards a great Halloween night.
Anonymous (October 20, 2004 @ 7:00pm):
Really, your entire article seems like the point is that it IS a bad thing for women to be scantily clad on Halloween. Nice weasling, there.
Anonymous (October 27, 2004 @ 3:23am):
I don't think it is bad, I'm just trying to encourage people not to follow a trend. I say what I mean, and if I had meant to say it was bad, I would have, only in much more certain and stronger terms. I'm criticizing the whole idea of slutty costumes. In any case, do you honestly think that if I were strongly opposed I would have picked a slutty costume and told my friends I liked their costumes? I jumped on that bandwagon, and that is somewhat hypocritical, but I don't see how you could possibly take from this article that my point was simply that slutty costumes are bad. I mean who cares about how I feel about it anyway. All I was trying to say is that a creative costume is better than a standard slut costume or dressing for the sake of being revealing. If you had a really creative slut costume, that'd probably be even better than anything. Suck on that.
--Nate
Anonymous (October 27, 2004 @ 10:22pm):
In response to the first persons comment, you need to chill out. stop taking everything so seriously
Anonymous (November 15, 2004 @ 5:40pm):
hey I might be just a "stupid bitch" as mr. kim would hint on from time to time but I dress like a slut everyday, wso what are you trying to say that I am a ho.
