Sexy Halloween costumes for little girls give parents the creeps

Female Halloween costumes began shifting from frightening to flirty in the ’70s after the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade inspired adult revelers to show a little skin. Cut to early 2000, and suddenly every gender-stereotyped ensemble for females was not only uber girly (a pink Supergirl in a skirt) but also super seductive (a sexy Supergirl in a micro-mini).

“Why is she in knee-high boots and heels — and why isn’t she in pants? Real female cops don’t wear skirts,” says Armenia, 51. “It’s like, ‘Boy, that looks sexy. Boy, she’s 5!’ That’s really not great.”

Armenia is dressing his 3 1/2-year-old daughter as an astronaut. Last year she was covered head-to-toe in an adorable puffin suit.

And revealing getups are now available for girls as young as 3 and 4. “Many parents use Halloween as an excuse to dress their daughters in sexy or just plain outfits that are obviously meant to be worn by adults, and not children,” scoffs Luz Chavarrio, 25, from Ozone Park, whose daughter is almost 2. “Pop stars like Miley Cyrus push this. Kids want to look older, times are changing, and people keep pushing the envelope further and further.”

 

Girls have always enjoyed playing dress-up, but experts worry today’s slinky costumes are skewing their body image.

“Some argue that these costumes are trivial, the girls are just having fun, but the consequences aren’t trivial,” says Jean Kilbourne, a media educator specializing in advertising’s effect on women’s issues, and author of “So Sexy So Soon.”

 

“Girls who are exposed to sexualized images from a young age are much more prone to eating disorders, lower self esteem and depression,” Kilbourne says. “These costumes set girls up to be looked at as objects by men, and also lead them to see themselves as objects to be ogled. Yet every year costumes are getting sluttier.”