This Isn't Halloween

So it's been a while since I've gotten in a good old ginormous soap box rant.  And now I'm in the mood for a minor one.

Have you seen this?  It's been several days and I'm still kind of speechless.  Talk about something to put in the "you've got to be kidding" and the "no way no how are we ever having kids in this crazy day and age" files!  I'm not even sure how to rant about this properly.

I mean, in what world could that dress ever be considered a Halloween costume?  Other than, you know, the current "yellow bikini + orange stilettos = Big Bird costume" world we're apparently living in.  (and the whole deal where the only costumes they sell for women cut and cut and cut out fabric to the point that you seriously can't even tell what they're supposed to be is a whole 'nother rant that I shall not get into this year)

Anyway.  That dress?  Is darling.  Some people might have issues with how much it does or doesn't cover, but I see no problem with letting a little girl wear it any day, or every day if she felt like it.  It's a very cute outfit and if she liked it, more power to her.

That dress?  Is not a Cookie Monster costume.  Except perhaps if you call it a Future-Slut-oween-Training-Costume.

The part that is most unbelievable is that the "boy's" costume is clearly the most unisex piece of clothing on the planet.  Seriously, what part of that ensemble screams "boy" to anyone?  Oh wait, I know - it's the part where you can't see the wearer's legs, shoulders, or stomach.

You know what?  I don't care if anyone my age chooses to wear a "sexy" costume . . . even if it is a sexy unidentified dead body costume. (again, the fact that such a costume adds at least a thousand levels of creepy and wrong to the objectification argument is something I'm not even going to touch)  If you, as an informed and autonomous adult choose to go that route for your costume, go for it.  All power to you.

But if you have a problem with adults choosing the skanky costumes - if you don't like the fact that those are almost the only choices available for girls over about the age of ten - perhaps the place to start is the toddler section.  Stuff that happens at that age sticks with you.  Even if it is something as subtle as boys costumes actually look like what they want to be but girls just wear a scrap of fabric in the right color.  Boys dress up for fun, girls dress up to be looked at.

No.  No, no, NO.

If no one buys them for their four-year-olds, fewer of them will be getting picked by 24-year-olds.  And when fewer 24-year-olds want the pirate bikini over the actual pirate costume . . . then things might start to change.



P. ost  S. cript
There are so many great little moments in the holiday specials it's easy to forget about some of them.  Like this one.