Unless your religion doesn’t allow it or you hate fun, you’re probably celebrating Halloween. Maybe you have the coolest costume ever — perhaps a clever pun, an on-point topical reference, a cute couple’s getup or a skin-baring masterpiece.
Every Halloween like clockwork, Internet pearl clutchers will lament the proliferation of “slutty” Halloween costumes. Nothing is safe, they say: There’s a sexy pizza costume, a sexy cheeseburger costume and even a sexy french fry costume — coincidentally, all made by the same retailer.
Look, if you want to be a sexy french fry, just go for it. You be a sexy french fry, and you be the sexiest french fry you can be. We saw the costume, and it’s super cute. If you want to be a sexy ear of corn, a sexy Angry Bird, a sexy Oompa Loompa or whatever, run with it because all of those costumes are hilarious.
It’s safe to say we’ve reached a point in our culture in which we can all laugh about the sexualization of everything from cartoon characters to fast-food items as Halloween costumes. The sexy costumes have transcended sexy and become a parody, and everyone is in on the joke. No one takes “sexy pizza” seriously, so calm down, “Today” show.
Halloween is about having fun and escaping the mundane routine of classes, sweatpants and Netflix for one night. It’s about binging on candy, carving pumpkins and reliving your childhood for a moment while those summer internship applications sit on the back burner for a few hours. It’s not about shaming people for their costume choices — unless they’re boring or unoriginal.
In her Buzzfeed piece “In Defense of Sexy Halloween Costumes,” Kyra Richards, a contributor who dressed in Lil Kim’s iconic 1999 VMAs outfit — you know, the long purple wig and the purple seashell pastie — wrote, “At this point a ‘sexy bunny’ or nurse or whatever is like the C-Span of costumes — really boring!”
In addition, Halloween is not a free-for-all fat-shaming spree — although a woman in North Dakota would have you think otherwise. A woman who called into a radio show in Fargo made headlines yesterday when she announced she would be withholding candy from children she deemed “moderately obese.”
The woman, who refused to identify herself, told the radio station, “I think it’s just really irresponsible of parents to send them out looking for free candy just ‘cause all the other kids are doing it.”
No! That is not how you Halloween! It is, however, the best way to ensure your house will be TP’d beyond recognition. Hope you’re looking forward to a porch full of flaming bags of dog poop, lady.
Bottom line: It’s Halloween. Eat some Reese’s Cups. Wear a skimpy costume or don’t. But don’t ruin other people’s fun.
A version of this editorial ran on page 6 on 10/31/2013 under the headline "It’s Halloween: Have fun, and don’t be rude"
