Yesterday I overheard two of my female students discussing their Halloween costumes:
Student 1: …it’s like slutty cop, but with fishnets.
Student 2: Where’d you get fishnets? I need them for my devil costume, I’ve got these great high red boots…
After that I walked away, not wanting to hear how else the high red boots were going to be accessorized.
I indulged in a brief bit of head-shaking – had these girls no shame! is this what feminism brought us – girls dressed like strippers in the name of empowerment!
Then I remembered a long-ago Halloween and my mother’s suggestion for a costume: “You can be Mrs. Olsen the coffee lady! A cardigan, some powder in your hair, we’ll get you a can of Folgers…”
She was thinking ease-of-costume-making.
I wanted to be a gypsy, with eyeliner and long jangly earrings.If I’d owned red boots at the time, I would’ve worn ’em in a heartbeat – and I’m sure my mother would’ve had the same reaction as I did to my students.
Clearly I’ve already got my costume for this year’s Tricks or Treats: I’ll be going as my mother and probably wearing a cardigan.
