October is without a doubt my favorite time of the year. Although the slight change of weather that calls for some light cozy sweaters has something to do with it, it really has everything to do with Halloween. As a kid I would anxiously wait all year to dress up as my favorite character or something altogether spooky and scary. As we grow up though, we begin to see the negative side of everything, and look beyond the pretty and perfect exterior of things. Aside from the holidays immense issues of cultural appropriation, there is also the issue of gendered and blatantly sexist costumes. Recently, this image of a little boy named Caiden dressed up as Elsa from Frozen has gone viral. Attached to the image was not only his father's approval, but passion and enthusiasm as to why this isn't more widely accepted. His message stresses for us to remember what dressing up as a child on Halloween is truly about, simply being your favorite character, regardless of their gender. While I don't agree with his choice in using the word 'slutty' to describe the slew of over-sexualized female costumes that are being targeted every year to younger and younger girls, it was impressive to me how he addressed how the issue is harmful to everyone and how they negatively play into societies gender roles. Tolerance is no longer acceptable, it's not enough to just apathetically sit back and let things unroll, instead we need more father's and men to actively and enthusiastically support decisions that go against our cultural norms of what is acceptable for men and boys.
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