I have a real problem with revisionist history and perceptual reality. Namely, I take issue with the whole “things were better back when I was a kid” statement. Our parents said it, and their parents said it, and despite the fact that we grew up swearing we wouldn’t say it members of my generation are saying it now, too. This commonly crops up when we talk about the fact that the “streets were safer” back when we were kids. They weren’t. In fact, the violent crime rate has been steadily dropping over the last 20 years. What’s different now from 1991 is that we didn’t have such a huge proliferation of information at the time. In this modern 24 hour news cycle era we sit glued in front of our tiny glowing screens eagerly lapping up the latest gory news. We analyze it over and over again and rail about the injustice of humanity.

We obsess.

The reason I’m thinking about this so much today is because of the number of complaints I’ve seen about “sexy” costumes, as if this were some kind of new phenomenon. I will admit that some of the “sexy” costume subject matter is a bit much (sexy Little Orphan Annie? Really??), but to say that the “sexy” costume is a recent phenomenon is to ignore history.

To prove my point I have used the magic of the internet to take a trip back in time to find some examples of “classic” sexy costumes…Come with me children, as we explore the sultry side of Halloween Past…

Vicki, a "Playboy Bat," circa 1970

Check out this fishnet wearing "Sexy Butterfly" from 1975.

While the costume this young lady is wearing may not be "sexy," the inneundo more than makes up for it.

Parents putting their kids in costumes that are age inappropriate is nothing new. Check out this Playboy Bunny from 1985 (Clearly The God Damned Batman is not impressed)

Audrey here is a "Saloon Girl" from 1990. In some circles we call those "prostitutes."

I could go on, but I think you get my point. Besides, in order to find these pictures I’m having to dig through some REALLY horrible pictures (maybe I should have done a “What were they thinking??” post instead). There may very well be more “sexy” costumes these days than eve before, but sexy costumes are nothing new and I think we are more aware of them now simply because of the amount of attention that gets called to them through the wonder of modern media. The bottom line here is that for a long time Halloween has meant something VERY different for adults, and the whole thought that being sexy on Halloween is something new is just wrong. When adults get dressed up to go out and “play” for a night they have a whole different purpose in mind as a general rule.