I was in the mall today and they had one of those Halloween stores and I glanced in. Every superheroine costume I saw was nearly a corset/tights combo no matter what the age and so were the police, fireperson and just about everything intended for girls. When did this stuff move from bachelor party stuff to mainstream Halloween?
Views: 442
You need to be a member of Captain Comics to add comments!
Yeah, it's a shame that girls/women that don't fit the modern beauty standard and/or have a bit of modesty have little to buy. Sure they can be something unisexed, but how about a BSG Starbuck (for lack of a better example) or something like that -- just a strong female archetype.
There definitely are some, but most costumes for female teens on up are among the "sexy" variety.
A lot of the "joke" costumes are non-sexy, of course.
I was in the mall today and they had one of those Halloween stores and I glanced in. Every superheroine costume I saw was nearly a corset/tights combo no matter what the age and so were the police, fireperson and just about everything intended for girls. When did this stuff move from bachelor party stuff to mainstream Halloween?
It happened about the same time Halloween stopped being a single night of fun and started being a month-long series of events.
Well I don't recall Snow White having a corset, short skirt and whip. I'm just surprised that just about every costume I glanced at for women and girls age 12 and up featured a sexualized version of a classic heroine costume. Supergirl, Batgirl, Wonder Woman... All corsets and shorts. I'm sort of surprised that DC would liscence that stuff.
I'm with Mark. It's kind of icky. And it's not just teenaged girls that are being sexualised in this way. The costumes for pre-teens also have to be hyper-feminine. What's with the PINK Supergirl outfits? The idea is being reinforced from a very young age that a girl's whole value is in how girly and 'sexy' she can be. It can't be good for them.
My very young neice insisted on a Spider-man costume for Hallowe'en this year, and further insisted that she was Spider-MAN, not some second-rate knock-off Spider-girl! So there's hope, but we'll she what see decides to wear in 5 year's time.
Mmmm...I just searched Amazon for Batgirl csotume, Supergirl costume and Wonder Woman costume. From what I could see, there were age appropriate costumes for both children and adults. However, there were also ones I would say do cater to what Mark is complaining about also for children and adults.
It doesn't bother me much about the sexy costumes for adult females--presumably that's what the market demands. However, I do think it's inappropriate for the children's costumes.
Lots of studies and citations there that lead up to this statement:
"We know the dangerous and normalized act of female self-objectification works as a harmful tool to keep girls “in their place” as objects of sexual attraction and beauty, which seriously limits their ability to think freely and understand their value in a world so in need of their unique contributions and insight. There is more to be than eye candy."
This article goes further and links severely gendered roles with increased (acceptance of) violence against women.
Just reading around on the topic, I love the last sentence of the penultimate paragraph in this article from the British Telegraph website.
A few weeks ago, I had the misfortune to visit a "soft play centre". The establishment had a set of five or six "party rooms", in which a rotation of birthday parties were taking place, each identical to the others. In one room, I saw a collection of about twenty little girls sitting at long tables eating crisps and jelly, vacant expressions on their faces. Every single one of them was dressed in an off-the-peg Disney princess dress, in various shades of pink. As I wrote at the time, it was like witnessing a battery farm for the cretins of the future.
Love it. Note that this is from the website of the Telegraph, which is a bastion of middle-brow, reactionary, anti-PC thinking in the UK, and if they are saying there is a problem...
Replies
Yeah, it's a shame that girls/women that don't fit the modern beauty standard and/or have a bit of modesty have little to buy. Sure they can be something unisexed, but how about a BSG Starbuck (for lack of a better example) or something like that -- just a strong female archetype.
There definitely are some, but most costumes for female teens on up are among the "sexy" variety.
A lot of the "joke" costumes are non-sexy, of course.
Sexy Mustard! Sexy 1900s Steel Tycoon!
The video I link to is one of my favorite things ever.
Mark S. Ogilvie wrote:
It happened about the same time Halloween stopped being a single night of fun and started being a month-long series of events.
What girls costumes would you like to see, and how will they be un-sexy?
Well I don't recall Snow White having a corset, short skirt and whip. I'm just surprised that just about every costume I glanced at for women and girls age 12 and up featured a sexualized version of a classic heroine costume. Supergirl, Batgirl, Wonder Woman... All corsets and shorts. I'm sort of surprised that DC would liscence that stuff.
I'm with Mark. It's kind of icky. And it's not just teenaged girls that are being sexualised in this way. The costumes for pre-teens also have to be hyper-feminine. What's with the PINK Supergirl outfits? The idea is being reinforced from a very young age that a girl's whole value is in how girly and 'sexy' she can be. It can't be good for them.
My very young neice insisted on a Spider-man costume for Hallowe'en this year, and further insisted that she was Spider-MAN, not some second-rate knock-off Spider-girl! So there's hope, but we'll she what see decides to wear in 5 year's time.
Mmmm...I just searched Amazon for Batgirl csotume, Supergirl costume and Wonder Woman costume. From what I could see, there were age appropriate costumes for both children and adults. However, there were also ones I would say do cater to what Mark is complaining about also for children and adults.
It doesn't bother me much about the sexy costumes for adult females--presumably that's what the market demands. However, I do think it's inappropriate for the children's costumes.
Yay, the market.
Some reading on the subject.
Lots of studies and citations there that lead up to this statement:
"We know the dangerous and normalized act of female self-objectification works as a harmful tool to keep girls “in their place” as objects of sexual attraction and beauty, which seriously limits their ability to think freely and understand their value in a world so in need of their unique contributions and insight. There is more to be than eye candy."
This article goes further and links severely gendered roles with increased (acceptance of) violence against women.
Just reading around on the topic, I love the last sentence of the penultimate paragraph in this article from the British Telegraph website.
Love it. Note that this is from the website of the Telegraph, which is a bastion of middle-brow, reactionary, anti-PC thinking in the UK, and if they are saying there is a problem...
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next