Big Girl, You are Beautiful

Here's the thing - I love Halloween. I think it is one of the better holidays, as you get to dress up and be someone/something you are not in everyday life. It is all about creativity and experimenting and having a good time. And candy. So, all in all, one of the better holidays without any religious significance (at least, none that we really acknowledge) tacked on.

However, I get annoyed by the whole idea of buying a costume. Sure, I could start with how expensive it can get and how you probably will only wear said costume once; how the best are gone months in advance of Halloween or how most costumes seem to be one theme, repeated over and over again (have a black dress? Go as a zombie/witch/vampiress/sorceress/medieval woman/etc/etc). But my true pet peeve is women's costumes; specifically, plus-sized costumes.

First off, I am glad that some stores do offer a choice. No more having to design or make your own costume if you're a bit more curvy; instead, like every other female, you can walk into a store and browse and buy something ready made. But what are the options? For one thing, while 'normal' female costumes tend to trend towards the sexy end of the spectrum (i.e. sexy grave digger), plus-sized costumes have their own theme. A black sheet draped over the body to the ankles? Plus-sized witch costume. A white sheet draped over the body to the ankles? Plus-sized ghost. A white sheet draped over the body to the ankles with a gold-leaf crown? Plus-sized goddess! The message seems to be that since I am plus-sized, my body is a thing of shame and should be covered up; a thought I just have to snort derisively at.

My second irritation is the costume world's (and sometimes stores too) definition of plus-sized. According to most costume adverts, if I am a size 12 or 14, I should be buying plus-sized. What??? What happens to the girls like me who fall well into the plus-sized camp at size 20? Can't I dress up in a floor-length sheet as well for twice what a normal sized girl pays? Apparently not. I guess the thought is that fat girls like me do not need to go trick or treating - after all, was not it candy that got me into this fine mess in the first place? I feel like it's my constant crusade to mention that, like any other person, I deserve options; I deserve not to feel bad about myself just because I want something new; and not to feel that I fall so far outside of the curve that I do not deserve to show my face.