Just when you thought 2018 was wrapping up its assault on women, here comes Halloween to remind us the year isn’t over yet.
If you’re still looking for a costume this Halloween, you’ve got options. You can choose between being a sexy female adult Cat in the Hat, a Say Ahh Nurse (yup, that’s real thing) or a sultry Handmaid out of Margaret Atwood’s harrowing novel.
If you’ve read the book or caught the serialized version on Hulu, you’ll know that Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a future dystopia where women are treated like breeding cattle after the majority of females become unable to bear children. It is a bleak, depressing look at the future that doesn’t feel too far from where we are now.
I binged the first season, which I do not recommend. If you are prone to depression of any kind, watch it in segments. I’ll compare my depression from watching season one to being to how I felt after Trump was elected. Dark, dark days.
I understand that sexy Halloween costumes are a part of our culture. In 2007, I did a vlog exploring this phenomenon, calling out such idiosyncrasies as sexy pinecone and sexy lettuce wrap.
The fact that the idea to market a sexy version of the Handmaid’s Tale as a Halloween costume actually made it through the vetting process shows how out of touch some companies are with the current state of affairs. There is a reason women are dressing up in this outfit to protest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. He represents a threat to female reproductive health and Handmaid’s Tale is a dramatic illustration of what we have to lose.
The #MeToo movement created a platform and support for women to hold men accountable for their actions. The creation and marketing of this costume trivializes all of it.
While writing this piece, I learned that Yandy, the company that offered the sexy Handsmaid costume for sale has responded to outrage and pulled the costume from its site. It’s good to know that old-fashioned feminist internet rage can prevail, at least in some cases.
