Is This Video About Sexy Halloween Costumes Satire Or Slut-Shaming?

A video has been making the viral Internet rounds that chides women (in a catchy way!) not to dress like slutty tramps on Halloween.

In it, the two members of humor rap duo Emotistyle tell women they don’t have to be naked, then run through various classier options: a real cat, a real nurse, a cop, Bill Cosby, Louis CK, or even The Color Purple, starring Oprah Winfrey. Some of their lines are funny in a cheesy sort of way (“it’s called Halloween, not hard weenie”), some of their costumes are rather creative, and their deconstruction of the sexy cat thing is spot on (why would you want to get sexual with your pet?). But something about it rubs me the wrong way.

In our haste to mock the (admittedly ridiculous) “sexy ____” tradition, do we really need to make women who do like to dress sexy on Halloween feel like shit about themselves? After all, it’s entirely possible to mock the trend in a clever way without shouting “keep your tits in!” I mean, how is that any different from the Toronto cops telling women to stop dressing like sluts to avoid the wrong kind of attention? I don’t know how many times I need to say this, but it’s not “feminist” to shit on another woman for choosing to dress sexier than you do.

Or maybe I’m just so tired of slut-shaming that I’m overreacting to this. What do you think?

(Via Jezebel)

Share and Enjoy