Choosing your Halloween costume: the most nostalgic yet stressful feeling. Dressing up for Halloween in high school means impressing someone or doing something unique that nobody has seen before while not being judged doing it. Layers of anxiety are built on top what is supposed to be a light-hearted holiday, labeling costumes as “provocative” is a horrible way to hop into Halloween.
When somebody chooses their costume and it happens to be more “revealing’, unless they are breaking a law, costumes are a freedom of expression. Stating that costumes have turned too provocative is bold and controversial. Many students use Halloween as an excuse to go all out, in school the common student wears sweats and calls it a day. Halloween gives a reason to show off a bit. In high school, students aren’t being dressed by their parents anymore so it’s their responsibility to decide what they believe is appropriate for them. It’s the students right to dress how they aspire to. If high school students are allowed to be responsible for what they wear then we as a society don’t have a place to claim it’s provocative.
A large number of high school students find Halloween costumes childish and don’t end up wearing any, someone dressing up for Halloween should be appreciated rather than filtered. Participation stats have dropped intensely since the pandemic, especially for Gen Z. According to the National Retail Federation, less than half of the U.S. population is planning on dressing up for Halloween this year. High school students are already judged enough day to day and the one time they are able to express themselves should not be judged. Creating a toxic, judgmental view on Halloween costumes will only make participation levels continue to drop, which leaves the tradition to slowly die. Promoting Halloween costumes as provocative would only ruin the spirit of Halloween.
Perhaps it really isn’t that costumes are too “provocative” and it’s simply the way trends in Halloween costumes have developed. People often make things seem more scandalous, when truly it’s what is normalized in Gen z. The word “provocative” is a large and meaningful claim especially when being placed on kids, making it more so inappropriate for grown adults to be accusing high schoolers of being. Sure, every generation has their own standard set, but adults that hide behind the motive of “looking out for our generation,” rather than admitting their judgment is wrong.
There is a line you can’t cross when it comes to dressing up for Halloween appropriately. Some revealing costumes simply aren’t legal yet, if someone chooses to wear a specific costume that is legal, judging or claiming costumes have become too “provocative” is offensive and unnecessary. Halloween costumes should never be classified as “provocative”, they are freedom of expression.
