"Slutoween"

So I was on Twitter - yes, I have one, not entirely sure why except for that a bunch of my friends have one - and stumbled across this article. What made this even more entertaining for me was that I was sitting in my apartment in my sweats also seeing pictures of a bunch of my friends getting dressed up to go to the bars, and my only thought was how much better it would be for me to go to bed early instead.... #gradschoolproblems . (And I'm now up writing this, so I didn't do that either!) Now, the most revealing costumes I've worn still had me completely covered and modest - I do have photographic evidence of this, but you will have to take my word for it. But I have also seen girls go out in literally their bra and underwear with some sort of ears or headband. (Now those individuals, I judge, but you don't need to hear that topic.) But in general, I don't really care what people wear on Halloween. Here's why:

In our traditional, Halloween is about being scary, but the real history is about Samhain and the spirits that were supposed to come out and damage crops and play tricks on people at the change of seasons in the Celtic Year. The Romans and the Christians each tweaked the holiday as they came through Celtic territory and what resulted was impersonating the dead and the asking for sweet bread in exchange for prayers for people's souls. HuffingtonPost How we got to exactly where we are today, I'm not 100% positive but it involved a good many generations, I'm sure.

My point (because the history lesson really wasn't it, I promise), is that the modern view of Halloween (or All Hallow's Eve) is not necessarily about being something scary and impersonating the dead, it's simply about being something that you're not. You can choose to be slutty or not, but you just can't be yourself.

To many people, they aren't sluts, so they want to be one for a night, at least in dress. Try it on for size. See if that's something that becomes them. (I could say the same thing about the "One Night Stand" I met a few years ago who was a guy dressed up like a bedside table - kudos to you, I'm obviously still talking about it!) But the thing is - the girls who aren't sluts, hang up their costume when they get home, because it was fun to dress that way for one night, but it's not who they are.

The psychology review that the Cosmo article included pointed out the confusing sexual messages given to girls of our generation. I do think they have a good point, which is why so many girls dress scantily on Halloween - to get away from all those signals because no one will judge you for one night. (Even though there may be some heavy teasing involved.) I don't think that people do this consciously by any means, but I do think it's a big part of being 20-something. Being 20-something is about figuring out who you are amid all the pressures around you; and when those pressures are conflicting and you get a group of people going through huge life changes, there needs to be a safe outlet for those internal frustrations. During the rest of the year, people find different ways of getting rid of those pressures, but at Halloween they have the option of a different tactic.

Doing something (anything!) out of your norm can be a good release for people because they can try something different. They can go out on a limb and see if they like it there. Whatever the "different thing" is, the experience is going to help us to grow in some way. Maybe you find something that you love and fits you perfectly...or maybe you fail miserably and learn from the "mistake." But whichever the outcome, you grow. Dressing up at Halloween might be a frail attempt at "something different" considering that most of us have grown up dressing as SOMETHING for Halloween, but the costume choice can help that. Be something you aren't - just for one night (slutty or not) - and see how you like (or don't like) the view. Maybe you will gain a different perspective on life.

So the question now becomes: if the rule is that you can't be yourself - who will you be?

Happy (early) Halloween!