It has been a stereotype on college campuses all over the country, for I’m sure much longer than any of us students can remember. As explained in the movie “Mean Girls”: “Halloween is the one night out of the year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.”. What I wonder, as the much anticipated week of celebration approaches, is why?

You have this one special night where you’re allowed to wear the identity of anyone or anything. So the costume should sort of say something about who you are. We all have a favorite celebrity, sports team, animal or food that we love, and Halloween is the one holiday where it is completely acceptable to dress up as this entity and express your interests to others through attire. You liked the Cat in the Hat when you were younger? Buy a Thing One costume. If you like cats, then dress up as a cat. You’re a Red Sox fan? Choose one of the players, and dress up as him. A costume does not always have to be an expression of interest, however, as it can also be a way to display one of your personal qualities. For example, if you’re always looking to make your friends laugh, then you might want to wear a costume that expresses your joking skills. Basically, your costume should have some meaning to it – some thought process that doesn’t make others believe you threw on just enough clothing to avoid getting arrested for indecent exposure.

You may consider it simple to wear one of the costumes that I described above. Somehow, though, manufactures have found a way to completely demoralize these seemingly appropriate costume choices by placing the word “sexy” in front of the names. Nowadays, there is no such thing as dressing up as Thing One and Thing Two with your best friend, because when you search for costumes such as these on Google, it is impossible to not be completely inundated with photos of skimpy versions. The same can be said for cat costumes and even Red Sox players. These once apposite costumes are now made up of less fabric, creating the aura of suggestiveness. Manufacturers are not the only ones to blame, though. Consumers shed the layers, showing off more skin than typically required of the getup. And while some consumers at least attempt to wear a costume made of clothing, others try to cover themselves in trash bags and caution tape.

So what are you saying about yourself if you have one night to choose an alternate identity and you make the conscious decision to dress provocatively? If your choice of a Halloween costume has you standing outside, almost naked, on a chilly October night, is this your way of expressing your hidden aspirations? Hopefully not.

I’m not saying that if your mother wouldn’t approve of it, then don’t wear it, because our parents tend to be more conservative than the current state of fashion in our generation. But if you’re going to be shivering all night, then how is that comfortable, anyways? I think there are ways to have fun and look good wearing a costume that doesn’t make you appear next to naked.

There are lots of great websites that have all kinds of creative costume ideas. Last year, my friend and I found a costume called “Assault and Battery.” I dressed up as a saltshaker made out of a pillowcase and she wore a homemade Duracell battery tank top. Not only did we save a lot of money and have a lot of fun making the costumes, we also had fun explaining what we were dressed as to everyone who asked us.

We should begin to change the stereotype. This is the one day out of the year we get to dress up like a hot dog and no one can judge us for it.

Samara Abramson is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]