I was reading a story in the local newspaper this morning about Halloween costume stores. Some customers were complaining that the ones for pre-teen and younger girls were based on the sexy versions for adult women. To dress up for Halloween means to put your sexy on, apparently. It even mentioned that some mothers would buy the costumes and the fathers would bring them back. That is half-way good news; one wonders about a mother who would buy such a costume, but at least the fathers had some good sense.

Most revealing (bad pun) was the last paragraph. “Halloween is the one time of the year when you won’t be judged,” a costume store owner is quoted. I think that says a lot. Is that what we want, not to be judged? In an age when the president is going to sign hate crime legislature for LGBT people (an acronym for sadly confused people), what are we being judged for? It seems every day is Halloween, if freedom from judgment is the standard.

Social disapproval and judgment are not the same thing. But the quote may explain the strange fascination with Halloween, which I do not share, humbug that I am. We get to let our fantasies show, apparently. If I want to be a pirate, I can be a pirate. If I want to be a vampire, I can be a vampire. If I want to be a …. Well, I won’t go there, although my mind could. How silly—you’re not really, it’s just pretend. So what Halloween really does is not let us be our fantasy, or free us from judgment—it lets us be children, who really should be the only ones celebrating the day.

This post references “Too sexy for trick or treat” in the October 24 issue of Chattanooga Times Free Press.

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