Princesses, pirates, ponies, and prisoners all stalk the neighborhood streets on Halloween, but many people find themselves unsure what to dress up as on the one night that they can be anything. Entering congested costume stores before Halloween is an exciting time for hopeful cheerleaders and eager zombies. Unfortunately, most Halloween costumes are a nightmare.

Costumes are neatly labeled on a massive wall extending to the back of the store. A range of costume pictures, from provocative nurses to creepy killers, lines the walls, broken into specific sections. Young girls might choose the Girls Dream Catcher Cutie Native American Costume while boys may opt for the Boys Hungry Howler Werewolf Costume. Words like “cutie” immediately leave a sweeter tone on a girl’s costume. “Hungry Howler” leaves a rougher sound to the boys costume, awarding it a tougher and stronger connotation.

The connotation of a costume’s name extends to its look. Pastels and ponytails can be found in even the scariest girls’ costumes. Blood, guts, sharp lines, and tarnished clothing are usually connected to boys’ costumes. It is unusual to find a boy as a prince from a Disney movie, or a doctor who is not carrying a fake heart. From a young age, children are forced into gender stereotyped costumes on Halloween even though they can be “anything they want to be.”

As children grow, so do the ridiculous costume choices teenagers face. A teenage girl can be a firefighter in her Red Hot Costume, and a boy can choose the Teen Boys 3D Zombie Costume. Most of the girls’ costumes are tight and short dresses that barely count as clothing – let alone a costume. Guys dress up as creepy monsters or powerful figures, such as real firefighters, not tight red dresses.

Nearly every woman’s costume carries a provocative connotation, complete with knee-high socks and platform heels. Substantially, every mens’ costume has a bold mask or strong masculine statement. For example, the classic Freddy Krueger costume for a man is a graphic mask, ripped up red striped sweater, and iconic claw topped with a fedora. This is much like how Freddy Krueger is displayed in the movies.  A hopeful Ms. Krueger, however, will wear a short skirt, high heels, and a small scar drawn or pasted on the face. The fedora is more seductively tilted down, shading the girl’s eyes. The claws are posed pointing out. Even the stripped sweater is tighter.

Students ready to buy their costumes will go through a range of marketing tricks. Girls searching for costumes through Party City online will be welcomed by a beautiful girl in a devil costume. A few arrows point to the deep red costume saying, “enhance your shape, reduce your waistline, flattering shape.” Behind the devil are a group of models – all in perfect fitting costumes with hair blown-back and perfect makeup. This is Halloween, and the scariest part is that girls expect this cheaply made piece of cloth to fit them how the tailored ones on the website fit the models. These “hot” costumes are out of a plastic bag that has been shipped across the ocean for girls to play dress up; it is not the newest Victoria’s Secret fashion trend.

The market reflects its consumers. Young girls try to be the photoshopped models they see in magazines, and men try to be the heroes every action movie suggests they need to be. The costumes students choose, show a different side to their ego. A seductive librarian sounds appealing to a hopeful scholar who still wants to be found attractive, and Spiderman is appealing to testosterone needing men. A pink gorilla costume is extensive, it only pushes back at the gender roles that many have tried to break for so long.

Being a pretty princess or a successful businessman is perfectly fine, but remember that being a handsome prince and a thriving businesswoman is equal to all other choices.