Traveler Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Over the years it has been most interesting to me to watch what many people will wear as a Halloween costume. Well maybe “interesting” is not the right word. There are always exceptions but it does seem to me that the ladies are much more excited about the prospects of displaying an alter ego. I am puzzled why any woman would dress up like a hooker but then I remember well the year one of my daughters (teenager at the time) wanted to dress up like a French maid. It was a long discussion but I gave in because the French maid outfit was more modest than 90% of her dance costumes. My boys have always enjoyed the evil types – and still do with costumes like the Joker or Darth Vader. So here is the question – Does a Halloween costume a person wears say anything about who they really are or really want to be – deep down inside. The Traveler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I suppose the costume one chooses could in some instances display some secret thought or desire. Each year I see a trend in costumes. Lots of times they are influenced by a movie or a character from a movie that was popular at the time. You see many little girls dressed up in Princess costumes because I think as little girls we all dreamt of being a princess. Many costumes are based on the interpretation or the tradition of Halloween. Vampires, grim reapers etc. I've seen people dress as pumpkins. Yet I don't think that deep down inside they want to be a pumpkin. On the same token, I think Halloween gives people an opportunity, whether for good or bad, to play a part "outside of themselves." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 The natural man is present in all of us. Hinting at what's there once a year isn't necessarily a bad thing. In other words, when one slackjawed co-worker witnessed my haloween spectacle a few years back and said "Well you're sure beefing it up this year," I replied "It's not that I'm beefing it up, it's the rest of the year, I gotta hold it down, man!" LM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will227457 Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 try going to a night club on halloween..... seriously girls dress up as lingere models...I mean they wear nothing but lingere...I saw a girl who painted her self from the waist up in latex....that was her costume.....you see playboy bunnies, hookers, slutty doctors, dirty nurses.....it's really really bad..... now not all.....but most woman (outside of the church) see it as an opportunity to dress in a manner that is not normally acceptable.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 try going to a night club on halloween.....seriously girls dress up as lingere models...I mean they wear nothing but lingere...I saw a girl who painted her self from the waist up in latex....that was her costume.....you see playboy bunnies, hookers, slutty doctors, dirty nurses.....it's really really bad.....now not all.....but most woman (outside of the church) see it as an opportunity to dress in a manner that is not normally acceptable.... Of course looking at it from an LDS perspective...they just don't understand how demeaning that is to women really.I don't hit the clubs on Halloween, but I've been to a few coworkers Halloween parties and am surprised to see the choices of a few costumes. Actually I think I'm more embarrassed than I am surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hordak Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 no. especially for us last minute budget shoppers. i don't want to be a sexy 60s swinger but that out dated Austin powers outfit is, on sale:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I made a crack earlier today during math class about getting together with some friends and dressing up as a polynomial for Halloween (some kid made a joke about dressing up as a math book and got the ball rolling), what does that say about me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpacktr Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I made a crack earlier today during math class about getting together with some friends and dressing up as a polynomial for Halloween (some kid made a joke about dressing up as a math book and got the ball rolling), what does that say about me?That you are a NERD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 That you are a NERD!I was afraid of that, at least the teacher got a kick out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misshalfway Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 · Hidden Hidden Well.....I'll tell you this. Going to a halloween party with software engineers tells you A LOT when all of them dress up like disc drives and mother boards. Link to comment
Guest Alana Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I'm gonna be a zombie. I think it's because I like a man with brains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llamanade Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 I think it just depends on the person. I've seen questionable things even at LDS Halloween parties. I remember one year at an institute party there was a girl dressed as a french maid (with lots of leg and cleavage) who went around waving her feather duster in all the guy's faces and shaking her booty. I think we can guess what Halloween meant to her. For me personally it's just a fun chance to get dolled up for a night. I don't have many occasions where I can do that. Probably the last time, aside from Halloween, would have been my wedding a few years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Halloween says nothing about me. Every year I'm something completely different and each past costume is unrelated to the next. Also, I have never dressed up in a sexy Halloween costume. Just never cared to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADoyle90815 Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 try going to a night club on halloween.....seriously girls dress up as lingere models...I mean they wear nothing but lingere...I saw a girl who painted her self from the waist up in latex....that was her costume.....you see playboy bunnies, hookers, slutty doctors, dirty nurses.....it's really really bad.....now not all.....but most woman (outside of the church) see it as an opportunity to dress in a manner that is not normally acceptable....I'm not LDS, but I refuse to wear any sexy costume, since I think they're objectifying women. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lattelady Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 · Hidden Hidden Halloween has always been interesting for me--growing up in, and still in Evangelical Christianity, there are so many people that have a HUGE problem with celebrating Halloween. Many churches choose to do a "harvest party" rather than a Halloween-themed party because they feel it's roots are steeped in the occult. That it comes from All Hallow's Eve, or something like that, where people conjured up spirits and worshipped the Devil. It gets to be a rather heated subject. Has anyone heard of what I'm talking about? Link to comment
pam Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 I think we need to get back to the OP's question which was concerning the choices of costumes and personalities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazed-and-confused Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 i DO think that costumes are very often a reflection of our alter egos and/or fantasies...even dreams. i think too, that many people are so affraid of their own deeper "stuff", that they will not allow themselves to be creative...and some just simply are NOT creative at all, or are timid and "play it safe". yes, i do believe how we express ourselves in "dress-up" is a direct reflection of at least a part of our personalities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploomf Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Interesting question. I never thought about costumes saying anything about a persons personality. Last year I wore a giant spider hat for my costume and the year before I was Meg Griffin from Family Guy. I wonder what that says about me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMG Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 (edited) I LOVE Holloween! It is the one time of year that I can indulge in my ... eccentric.. side and not get any strange looks! I love being creative with make up (what little of it I can find that does NOT cause an allergic reaction for me) and costumes. If I were to make a 6 ft pair of fairy wings and a "Tinkerbell" dress, dye my hair pink and purple and wear lots of sparkly and "non-traditional" color make up (think green lipstick and the like), I would justifiably get odd looks any other time of year! Halloween? Nah, I'd blend in! For this year, I plan to wear old torn up clothes, zombie make up and put on a sandwich board that says "Will work for brains." Edited October 15, 2009 by SMG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazed-and-confused Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 thats great....i'd LOVE to see you in that....really love the hair...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamaureen Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Halloween is definitely a chance for me to express myself! I love costumes, and I do believe they express my personality in some way. This year I want to be a conspiracy nut - shirt with an alien on it, some new-agey crystal on a cord around my neck, and a tin foil hat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talisyn Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 I made a crack earlier today during math class about getting together with some friends and dressing up as a polynomial for Halloween (some kid made a joke about dressing up as a math book and got the ball rolling), what does that say about me?That you're probably going to be making tons of money in the next 10 years I always dress up as a witch for Halloween. Not because I want to have tons of magical powers and make people do my bidding...oh wait... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 (edited) That you're probably going to be making tons of money in the next 10 years One can hope.To be more on topic, I've not dressed up for halloween in over a decade, I've always viewed that part of halloween as for the kids. And to actually be on topic... I think custumes can represent supressed desires, if nothing else as noted above to just dress wacky and not be quite so bound by the mores of society, or to to feel empowered, which is probably what a lot of the sexy custumes come down to (if I could get random women's eyes to linger on me, in a 'positive' manner, it would be an ego trip). Edited October 15, 2009 by Dravin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretrunner Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 I think it can be anything from just having fun dressing outside the mores and norms of the society to reflecting something about ourselves. Historically, Halloween was the end of the harvest and the Celtic New Year, and referred to as Samhain ("sow- en") by the Scottish and Irish Celts. October 31st is a day where the other world is considered to be closer to this one and the Veil thinner. Wearing costumes (masks) was in part to appease the spirits and in part to ward them off or make yourself harder to identify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxel Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 I've been wondering about the OP's question this year, too. It seems there are two generalized camps of halloween costumers: those who see Halloween as an oppurtunity to push the envelope in regards of sexuality, morbidity, obscenity, etc., and those who see it as an opurtunity to honestly display their creativity. Like most things in life, I'd wager that one camp is inspired of Satan and the other of God. But, I digress... I think the answer has already been stated: we can use Halloween as an excuse to reveal our deeper/deepest desires. For those who haven't had their carnal nature changed through the Atonement and whose behavior isn't dictated by higher moral codes, that means they dress up to inspire lust, fear, or shocked awe in others (to create an attention-getting sensation) for a variety of reasons. For others, it could mean visually displaying part of their personality and being- like dressing up as a polynomial (which sounds like an AWESOME idea, btw). One other aspect of Halloween that might reveal our inner nature might be the fascination with the Occult and sorcery. I'm not going to rant about how Harry Potter is evil (I bought all 7 books, thank you very much) but I think we'd be hard pressed to find a witch or user of magic that was good and godly "back in the day". It seems the origin of many things that have become "kiddified" (faries, for example) were actually malevolent or downright evil in their earliest (recorded) incarnations. So, what do we do with the cultural fascination with the supernatural? Do we delve into the side of evil witches and banshees that reak havoc on God's children, or do we prefer to believe in the supernatural as positive and happy (the "kiddified" version)? Or do we prefer to avoid such things altogether? The answer probably tells a lot about us, as well. For the record, I'm tempted to copy Jim from 'The Office' and dress up as 3-Hole Punch Maxel. Or just don a nametag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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