Halloween is just around the corner and many of you will have your thinking caps on and artistic hands at the ready to get started on your costumes.

For all you Halloween enthusiast, the more gruesome and scarier the better, but for the 'keeping it cool' kinda' guys the conventional witch's hat and broom does the trick too.

Either way it's socially acceptable to dress up as terrifying as you like, as long as you've made an effort of course.

But is the 31st October an opportunity for women to go in the opposite direction and leave little to the imagination with their chosen attire?

From a "scary" schoolgirl to a "gruesome" maid (less scary/gruesome) these costumes are becoming increasingly popular and the outfits seemingly more sensual.

Okay, so it's Halloween, you're allowed to dress up in whatever you like, but does that mean we don't bat an eye lid when women are parading around in short skirts and low tops all in the name of fancy dress?

According to a new survey by an online voucher coder it revealed that 51% of Brits think that Halloween costumes on sale aimed at women are over-sexualised.

The (greatest ever!) chick flick, 'Mean Girls', sees Cady attend a Halloween party in which she rocks up dressed as an "ex-wife" but explains how Halloween is an excuse for girls to dress sexually: "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."

What strikes me is the girl on girl hate in that quote. Why are girls banishing one another in the first place? Where's the Girl Power at? But really, should this be such a big issue? Are Halloween outfits really that offensive and can we just have a little bit of fun dressing up in our desired outfit which is completely harmless to others?

Many disagree as they believe the selection of costumes available are deemed inappropriate and the costumes aimed at women are "over-sexualised designs" according to the people surveyed.

Mark Pearson, founder of My Voucher Codes said: "Halloween is meant to be a time where you dress up in scary costumes, not sexy. Our results show that many women feel that the choice available to them is not equal to men's choices with the main focus of the outfit being sexy rather than scary."

Worryingly, children's costumes are raising a few eyebrows too.

Parents are not impressed with children's Halloween costumes, with 83% agreeing that they aren't age appropriate either.

Mark added: "We can see that some outfits on sale for children are also inappropriate for the age ranges the clothes fit. Whether they are a scary film character a child should not know about or a rather revealing outfit for a young girl. Obviously many parents feel the same, which is why it is important to push for more family friendly costumes this Halloween."

Do you think that Women's Halloween costumes are over-sexualised?


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk