Skimpy Halloween costumes for women line the shelves at local stores but the trend is creeping into the girls section too. The ‘racy raccoon’ for adults looks awfully similar to the ‘sweet raccoon’ for kids.
“Everybody is talking about how it's either too sexy or too scary, especially for the girls,” said Shannon Hughes, a mother of two girls.
Hughes has a blog for moms. She posted this picture of an angel costume today, next to a more traditional version. Her own daughters dressed as princesses this year, but she's already feeling push back from the oldest.
“This year is probably the last year we'll be able to do Disney princesses because it's just not cool enough. And when you get past being cool, she says it too babyish to do a cartoon or a Disney princess,” said Hughes.
Experts say we may notice it more at Halloween, but girls are dressing like women year round.
“[There’s] a general trend of sexualizing younger and younger children. And it's not an imposition on them, it's what they're choosing, what they want. They see it as cool,” said Associate Professor Tim Kubal, who teaches at
Kubal also says the trend has gotten worse in the last decade. As parents working more and supervising less, he doesn't see things changing anytime soon.
“Maybe it's because I have kids but I do think it's more prevalent now than ever. You see they come to your door and you're thinking my goodness,” said Hughes.
According to Yahoo, sexy Halloween costumes was the second most searched type of costume this year, after homemade.