By Kelsey Sharpe

               Each holiday comes with its own iconography—by describing the associated images and symbols, one can easily identify the occasion. So, with Halloween fast-approaching, what items do we associate with the night of trick-or-treating and costume parties? Pumpkins, candy, witches, black cats, and also garter belts if one is looking at the store-front windows of Ahhs! in Westwood. Of the costumes displayed in these windows, nearly every option for young women includes some type of see-through stockings and garter belts. This is unsurprising considering the choices one has as a woman: a sexy Ghostbuster, a sexy Snow White, a sexy Dorothy, a sexy cop, a sexy Heidi, and sexy ladybugs, bumblebees and fairies. One of the store managers, Junior, said that most of the costumes do not come with stockings—they can be, and often are, purchased separately.

            The point of this rant is not to vilify the store, as it is simply the last stop in the commercialization and marketing of costumes that objectify women. Traditionally the blame has been placed on men. After all, women are not wearing fishnets, short skirts and tops that end just below the bust because they are comfortable. It is true that these costumes are designed to appeal to men and to make the wearer feel more appealing than she might the other 364 nights of the year. However, how many of the women purchasing the cop costume (“Officer Naughty”) actually wanted to be a sexy police officer for Halloween? There is a point where we, as women, can say that enough is enough. The majority of the female customers in Ahhs! are probably from UCLA, and one assumes that they must be resourceful, intelligent women to have been accepted here. If we enter a store that sells only costumes like the ones described above, we are not obligated to purchase anything. Why not create our own costumes and show the costume industry that we are not interested in objectification? We can display our creativity without displaying the rest of ourselves.