Community Corner
Slutoween: 'Halloween is Supposed To Be Scary, Not Sleazy'
Some say many costumes make little girls look like "hookers" while others express concerns about kids being "scared to death."

For many parents, a trip to the costume store can turn into a Halloween nightmare. There is thecost of costumesΒ (average price is about $29) as well as the age-appropriateness of what the store is selling for children.
In her blog postΒ Just Say No to SlutoweenΒ that appeared on the Huffington Post, Jenny Witte wrote to encourage parents to seek out costumes that aren't sexually suggestive. Witte wrote about how when she was younger, she was a cat for Halloweenβand not a "slutty cat."
In case you missed it, a "naughty leopard" costume was reportedly pulled from the shelves of Walmart. Was it really naughty or was it just the use of that term in the costume's name that made people object?
Patch asked on Maryland Facebook pages what readers thought about Halloween costumes for kids.
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βSome for little girls make them look like little hookers!β Kathy Watson wrote onΒ Anne Arundel Patchβs FacebookΒ page.
βMany kids costumes are too sexy,β Valerie Mettee wrote onΒ Parkville-Overlea Patchβs FacebookΒ page. βWhy can't a little girl just be a little girl?!β
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Others questioned the parentsβ judgment when it came to selecting costumes.
βBut the mothers think they are cute and then don't understand why the child want to wear clothes like that to school out in public,βΒ Bruce NeumannΒ wroteΒ onΒ Anne Arundel Patchβs FacebookΒ page.
βSad that parents think it's okay for their young children!β Jennifer Hattenbach Graves wrote onΒ Edgewater-Davidsonville Patchβs FacebookΒ page.
βWe need to go back to the days of the costumes that were plastic and you simply put them over your clothes,β wrote Alissa Brett onOdenton-Severn Patchβs FacebookΒ page.
Some commenters felt that scary costumes are appropriate for the holiday.
βI don't have a problem with scary ones,β wrote Melinda Pearson Bedard onΒ Annapolis Patchβs FacebookΒ page. βHalloween is supposed to be scary, not sleazy.β
βNever too scary,β wrote Rhonda Bethke Little onΒ Bel Air Patchβs FacebookΒ page. βBut I hate seeing tween girls looking cheap and easy!β
Another expressed concern about young kids being frightened.
βI just never really got into the scariness of Halloween, wrote Hetty Cassutto Haden onΒ Owings Mills-Reisterstown Patchβs Facebook page. βDon't need to have little kids scared to death and crying. Let them be fairy princesses and cartoon and book characters and just keep it fun.β
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