Halloween and the Pressure to Look Sexy

October 22, 2026:

By Avika Bhandari (she/her), 16, Staff Writer

October 22, 2026

Every October, teen girls scroll through Halloween costume options, looking for something fun, creative and, sometimes, sexy. Finding the “perfect” costume can get trickier as you get older. Many teens feel challenged to find a costume that they look “sexy” in but nothing that invites criticism of being “too sexy.”

When did Halloween become about something other than having fun and getting cavities? When it comes to what you wear, there’s often a double standard: if you wear a sexy costume, you’re “asking for it” and if you don’t, you’re a prude or a baby.

I spoke to some teen girls about the frustration of what used to just be a fun tradition and why dressing up for Halloween can feel like a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

Unspoken Dress Code

It often feels like there is an unspoken dress code to adhere to when it comes to Halloween. Images of costumes all over social media and the internet push the idea of dressing more provocatively for the holiday. Pressure from this and from peers, too, can influence decision-making.

“It’s natural to care about what other people think, especially as a teenager,” says Yunjin (she/her), 16, of Metuchen, NJ. “There’s sometimes pressure to find a costume that’s cute and trendy without worrying about being judged. I think social media makes that pressure even stronger because people are constantly comparing themselves to others.” It can be hard to push back against this. But you shouldn’t feel coerced into wearing a costume you’re not confident and comfortable in. It’s hard to enjoy Halloween wearing a costume that makes you feel insecure.

Even if you haven’t chosen a “sexy” outfit, you can feel sidelined. “I’ve never worn something sexy for Halloween, but that absence has made me feel left out and singled out compared to other girls,” says Andrzej (she/her), 17, of Rockaway, NJ. “Despite disagreeing with the idea that girls should wear sexy costumes, I still feel excluded by not wearing one.” Unfortunately, it can feel like the only way to fit in is to conform to these customs.

Being Judged

Girls are often judged for their appearance and on Halloween, that gets kicked up a notch. People can leap to assumptions about someone or their intentions based on a costume.

Beyond the pressure to fit in, choosing a more revealing Halloween costume can invite unwanted actions and attention. Revealing costumes can be labeled as attention-seeking and lead to girls being objectified. But a costume is not an invitation for any kind of abuse, be it catcalling, harassment or sexual assault, and it is definitely not consent.

“If you feel comfortable wearing [sexy costumes], great; if you don’t, great,” says Lucy (they/them), 17, of Reston, VA. “My issue is when people think girls are ‘asking for it’ by wearing a ‘sexy’ costume.”

There’s the other side of the coin, too. “I feel like people can judge you based on what you choose to wear,” says Pilar (she/her), 15, of Maplewood, NJ. “I wore a not sexy dress for Halloween once and I felt like a little girl compared to other girls.”

Sure enough, if you’re wearing something that isn’t revealing, that can draw comments, too. “I’ve felt that I did not dress ‘sexy enough,’” says Lucy. “I wore an Oscar the Grouch costume and was told that I have such a nice figure and I shouldn’t cover it up (by an older woman whose house I was trick-or-treating at when I was 13)!”

The criticism never stops! It can feel like there is no winning.

Wearing What You Want

What about if you want to wear something that might be seen as “sexy” because you like the way it looks and you feel good in it? “I think it’s cool and if (people) like being sexy, that’s cool,” says Alexandra (she/her), 17, of Dunellen, NJ. Isn’t it a good thing to feel positive about your appearance?

“I think girls should be able to wear whatever they feel most confident and comfortable in,” says Yunjin. “Halloween is about expressing yourself and having fun, so I don’t think anyone should be judged for choosing a more revealing or more conservative costume.”

Ultimately, regardless of what you wear, someone might take issue with it—whether you dress as a black cat or a nun. Might as well wear whatever makes you comfortable and confident in your skin!

We can fight back against these social norms slowly but surely, even if that’s with something as small as picking out a Halloween costume.

Source link

tags

Abkhazia Afghanistan Africa Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Northern Cyprus Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Transnistria Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda UK Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe