Preteens Trading Fairy Wands for Fishnets (Halloween Costumes)

Washington Post ^ | 10/30/07 | Brigid Schulte

[Huntress]

Gabby Cirenza wanted to be a referee for Halloween. The outfit she liked had a micro-mini black skirt and a form-fitting black and white-striped spandex top held together with black laces running up the flesh-exposing sides. She looked admiringly at the thigh-high black go-go boots that could be bought as an accessory. And she thought the little bunny on the chest was cute.

"Absolutely not," said her mother, Cheryl. "That is so not happening."

Gabby is 11.

And the Playboy Racy Referee costume was only the latest that her mother had vetoed one pre-Halloween-crazed afternoon at Party City in Baileys Crossroads as too skimpy, too revealing, too suggestive .

Bawdy Halloween costumes, however, have become the season's hottest sellers in recent years. Not just for women, but for girls, too. And parents such as Cirenza don't like it.

Gabby eyed the Sexy Super Girl but decided against it. A friend at her Catholic school had worn that costume for a Halloween parade and pulled the already short miniskirt way up to cover her tummy. "That didn't look very good." But Gabby did like the Aqua Fairy, a vampy get-up with a black ripped-up skirt, black fishnet tights and blue bustier that comes in medium, large and preteen. A medium fits a child of 8.

No.

How about the Funky Punk Pirate Pre-Teen, with an off-the-shoulder blouse and bare midriff?

No.

Gabby pointed to the Fairy-Licious Purrrfect Kitty Pre-Teen, which, according to the package, includes a "pink and black dress with lace front bodice and sassy jagged skirt with tail. . . . Wings require some assembly."

Cheryl Cirenza shook her head in exasperated disbelief. "This is all so inappropriate. It's really disturbing."

[Huntress]

Interesting story about a disturbing trend. I would have liked to hear from some parents who think this stuff is appropriate for a a little girl. I don't see how they can justify it.

[Sonny M]

bump.

[Tamar1973]

My children will not be raised to celebrate halloween so it won’t be an issue.

[DirtyPigpen]

The parents who allow the child to dress like a slut or whore are not really parents in my eyes.

[Sonny M]

The parents who allow the child to dress like a slut or whore are not really parents in my eyes.

I could not agree more.

Though I would go a step farther and argue that what are doing is the moral equivalent of child abuse.

[Hoodlum91]

Given where this store is and the people I have seen in it, I’m surprised the mom actually nixed everything. Good for her.

[Huntress]

I’ve heard of that trend, too. Why the objection to Halloween per se?

[NRA1995]

"Absolutely not," said her mother, Cheryl. "That is so not happening."

I despise Valley Girl talk, especially from a so-called grownup.

[kaehurowing]

When I first tried opening this Washington Post article just now I got a warning from my spam filter service that it might contain pornographic material. I guess the story used enough of the buzz words to set the sensor off.

Speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

[JZelle]

I too have noticed the trend to slutiness in Halloween costumes.

[Enterprise]

I’m probably going to miss the mark on this, but there seems to be a huge contrary message in this country. On the one hand there are all the sexual harassment laws and complaints by feminists about the objectification of females. Pushing hard against this is the “other side” which seems to want to display as much sexual image as possible in public as well as in the entertainment medium, regardless of the age of the female. The point being, is that it is not them men who are the opponents here. It is female driven.

[LastBoyScout80]

Unfortunately, there are a ton of parents who will allow their kids to go out in those costumes.

[Kimmers]

I have already decided that if a child comes to my door dressed like this I will ask to speak to their parents, in private of course.

[A_perfect_lady]

It's not really new. Thirty-four years ago, I wanted to be Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie. I got a little harem outfit with sequins and a little vest that would have left me bare from rib cage to hipbones. I was 8.

My mom made me wear an undershirt beneath the costume and I was SO MAD!! LOL...

[gridlock]

My daughter is tall for her age, so her size puts her squarely in the middle of the pre-teen slut-wear Hollowe’en costume bracket. We had a hard time finding a costume that we would let her wear. But she was fight on the same page, and thought that all the vampy stuff was “gross”.

We finally found one, and she is as cute as a button as an Eskimo Princess.

[Tamar1973]

I’ve heard of that trend, too. Why the objection to Halloween per se?

Because, IMO, there's nothing Christian about it.

[freekitty]

I don’t know about you; but I am tired of seeing boobs hanging out; stomachs showing and butt cracks in public.

[SJSAMPLE]

My wife wanted my daughters to be Disney princesses.
I wanted zombies.
We compromised.

Disney Princess Zombies ;)

[Constantine XIII]

I would have suggested that they were in the wrong section of the store, except that it says pre-teen on the label. O_o

WTF?

[dennisw]

prostitots

Madonna lives in England in an effort to shield her children from the slutty chaos she helped create