Every year on October 31, the ghosts and ghouls appear and with them come the sexy nurses, the skimpy witches and the provocative Little Red Riding Hoods.  Halloween is the one night each year when teenagers and adults channel their inner child and dress up as any character they please.  Many high school girls, however, tend to misinterpret the phrase “dress up and not be judged”, as code for “find the skimpiest outfit possible and act entirely shameless.”  For many teenage girls, and even a select number of boys, Halloween has become a day when one can forgo any sense of self-respect and have his or her “provocativeness” vilified under the fateful night sky.  Neighbors giving out candy year after year watch a precious, little Disney movie princess turn into a nurse with no medical qualifications and even less clothing.

The traditions of candy corn and carving pumpkins have increasingly become accompanied by the tradition of teenage students leaving their homes with almost no clothing on.  By the age of 14, teenagers are beginning to establish an adult-like respect and relationship with their parents, teachers and even future employers.  Much of this respect and appraisal is difficult to gain, and even more difficult to gain back once teenagers make the decision to dress suggestively and inappropriately.  When girls mask themselves beneath a scandalous outfit, they demonstrate to onlookers their reliance solely on physical appearance, rather than any individuality, intelligence or confidence.  Adults often judge such inappropriateness as a reflection of character, labeling teens with unflattering reputations. These costumes not only worry adults, but encourage a demeaning attitude towards women as a whole.

Additionally, high school students’ skimpy outfits send a negative message to young trick-or-treaters.  If a child sees his or her older sister or friend wearing nothing but booty shorts and a corset, an outfit more suitable for the pages of certain magazines than a night spent around toddlers, he or she may believe it is acceptable to mirror outfits such as these.  Many children look up to their older siblings and friends as role models.  When one of these high school girls dresses inappropriately, she is ignoring the influential power she holds over younger generations.

High school is intended to serve primarily as an academic environment where students prepare themselves for college and strive for exceptional grades.  Rather than aspiring to this ideal, students are worrying about how “sexy” they appear on one night out of the 365 days. As for students’ hard-worked-for futures, when colleges are reviewing future applicants on social networking sites and come across a photo of a “barely there” costume, they may think twice about admitting him or her to its student body.  Furthermore, no reputable company will hire an unsuitable employee to run its business. Many businesses use online information about their applicants to form an opinion of their character before hiring them, and unsuitable pictures of risqué costumes may result in the loss of a job.

When teenagers choose to dress provocatively this Halloween night, they give onlookers the right to judge their integrity and self-respect. Besides, who would want to dress like a vixen when one could dress as a blood-drenched zombie bride? •