Women have long used fashion as a tool of resistance, from wearing denim jeans instead of skirts in the 1950s to advocating for women entering the workforce, to marching in the 2017 Womens’ Marches where millions wore a pink “pussycat” hat to advocate for reproductive freedom. Every day, individual women across the world carry out personal acts of defiance without recognition. But few acts of such resistance are as elusive, or maybe even as taboo, as the modern “sexy Halloween costume.”
“Hottie Nurse,” “Fierce Feline,” “Lieutenant Misbehave” and “Officer Pat-U-Down” are all names of Halloween costumes pulled from the Spirit Halloween catalog, and they are all sold out. The costumes sexualize animals, doctors, the military, first responders and others. Retailing at $49.99 each and produced in overseas factories, no aspect of their modern popularity acknowledges their long and fraught history as a resistance movement dating back as early as 1960.
The popularization of the birth control pill in 1961 marked a turning point for the average American woman. For the first time, women had the power to establish their own paths and embrace their sexualities, abandoning the culture of modesty and rigid social rules. Dressing in revealing clothing was the ultimate act of defiance, protesting the policing and abuse of womens’ bodies.
These “scandalous” costumes weren’t something unique to the feminist movement; the LGBTQ community shared similar struggles, also using costumes as a tool for freedom. Before the gay liberation movement took off, Halloween was the only day of the year where it was socially acceptable for community members to dress how they wanted, under the guise of a costume.
Hand-in-hand, these movements established the “sexy Halloween costume” as a cultural staple. However, since the popularization of the sexy Halloween costumes, a shift has taken place. What was once a statement for women’s liberation has become just the opposite- a quasi invitation for body shaming and the objectification of women.
Take a look at any social media site or women’s rights blog and you find one slogan positioned as a solution for this issue- more, a way to reverse this shift. “Eliminate the patriarchy” is splashed across tee shirts and Instagram posts, and yes, for thousands of years across the globe, the patriarchy has been responsible for suppressing a woman’s right to seemingly everything, and sometimes it seems to be stronger than ever, but maybe the real solution can be forged on October 31.
Women today may be feeling a bit hopeless. Roe v. Wade has been reversed, Project 2025 is looming, and a male presidential candidate has been deemed liable for rape. But there is hope nonetheless, and sometimes that hope takes the form of an Amazon corset and fishnet tights.
