Halloween, Gender and Costume Equality

Even though as a kid I dressed up as the Fonze, a baseball player, a vampire and a Smurf (note I did not say Smurfet) for trick-or-treat and then continued to cross the gender equity lines by playing three years of pee-wee tackle football, I am finding myself very reluctant to agree to my three year old son’s request to be a witch for Halloween this year.

As you know, I am all for title IX, equal pay and every other feminist principle that demands the sexes be treated equal, and in this day and age when woman can do anything, I can’t help but wonder (in a Carrie Bradshaw kind of way) can men (or boys) really do anything, and am I being hypocritical for telling Alex they are out of witch costumes at Target and he should be Luke Sykwalker instead?

So why do we cheer when a woman takes to the stage in her pantsuit to run for president, but raise a weary brow when we see a little boy playing dress-up in his older sister’s princess gown? Although some may say this is just reversed discrimination (and men deserve better), I agree with those that say they are missing the point and that this is really just another sexist stereotype that is still working against women. Any feminist theory book would cite that this is just society perpetuating the idea that a man should not lower himself to act, dress or behave in a “womanly” way. At any age or in any context on in any costume.

But enough feminist musing (or ranting), and let’s get back to my immediate dilemma at hand. So do I send Alex out in a tailored, knee length black skirt and purple trim hat just to make a point, or do I consider his slow-building, street cred – protecting him from being teased by other kids and me questioned by other parents?

Only time will tell (or my blog in five weeks), so in the mean time I’ll continue to try to trick my three year old by merging the identity lines between wizards and witches (they both have pointy hats!), and hope a good warlock costume will be a win-win solution for everyone.

But given his costume inspiration came from his good friend Minnie the Mouse (in last year’s Halloween episode), I think I have a tough sell ahead of me and maybe other issues to be worried about ...