Hallow- ooo my God what are they wearing?

In this article I am going to talk a little bit about a fast approaching holiday, and how it perpetuates a few commercialized ideals that have been discussed in class.

Every time I think about Halloween, a scene from Mean Girls comes to mind, where the characters break down why the holiday is a free pass for girls to "dress slutty" and get away with it. And part of this scene is true.. The holiday has become an opportunity for young ladies to dress seductively for one night (aka then entire weekend) all in celebration of an event that used to be judged by how many king size candy bars you brought home in your pillow case bag for the night.

The 20-year old guy in me wants to say that this a great thing, that this is what makes the month of October tolerable for me, but as soon as I think the statement I have to recount it and rationalize what we are actually getting at when girls dress up (or down in this case) to parade themselves on Halloween for perspective male prince charming's to wisk them away. What in media makes this the standard for Halloween, and where did all the interesting thoughtful costumes go?

Given where these outfits went is not a big deal in the long run, but what I am really trying to target is the gender roles that are ascribed to the pageantry and what this means for our society. Why is it that girls (not all of them mind you) feel the need that society pushes them towards a more scantily clad outfit then something thats fun or thought provoking?

Granted, we don't all where cardigans and turtlenecks for halloween (unless we want to be Waldo or Ferris Bueller) But I really would like to get to the issue of what drives or mentally pushes ladies to make that choice. While reading the romantic novels article it seemed like the women in the reading felt like these books were an escape from a life that is way more boring then they thought possible, and a chance to live vicariously through a female heroine. These female protagonists were often heralded for the amount of attention they received by the male suitor in the story.

All this makes me believe that the costumes and the inhibition that occurs on Halloween night is an opportunity to grab attention in a world where many of us feel like life is difficult to grab. I also think its because guys almost need to be beat over the head with womens availability because in a society where most spend their time on technological devices, we've lost the ability to communicate with the opposite sex effectively, how to feel connected or close with someone without the spark of sexual tension or availability I think is a really big reason why people are driven to dress so scantily clad and why people trick themselves into drinking way to much rather than treating themselves to a good evening.

In closing I feel that the current status quo for halloween is indicative to a shift in communication in our society, a lack of men being able to step up and give ladies what they really want and, on the female end difficulty finding an individual security that prevents them from reaching for the playboy and cheerleader garb on all hallows eve.

For more information about male communication and an inspiration for my article.. Check out this video I watched I TEDTALKS about why the technology revolution and shift in communication is hurting guys everywhere. Cheers! TEDTALKS