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Shaming Women Who Dress Provocatively On Halloween Isn't Funny — TikTok Trend Sparks Debate

Photo: ally_yost/chrissychlapecka/taynamillerr/ TikTok.com
TikTok Creators

As Cady Heron once said in "Mean Girls," Halloween is the one day of the year when girls can wear whatever and as little as they want "and no other girls can say anything else about it."

However, some young women didn't get the memo this year and have created a new TikTok trend that is based on shaming girls who choose more scantly clad costumes.

Women on TikTok are calling each other out for their responses to other girls' Halloween costumes.

Most women can relate to having their clothing choices policed whether it's being labeled a sl-t for wearing too little or being dubbed a prude for covering up.

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Halloween ramps up this policing to new levels — but it's particularly alarming when women are the ones telling other people what they should and should not wear.

That is what TikTok user Grace Brinkly attempted to call attention to, albeit in a harsh way, when she created her now-viral video in the run-up to October 31st.

   

   

“I don’t think the girls who stitch girls in like sexy costumes in their funny costumes are getting enough hate this year so I’m here to do it. You guys aren’t funny," Brinkly said. 

Brinkly was calling attention to a trend that emerged on the app in which girls reacted to other women's more risque costumes by showing their own choices.

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Neither costume is better than the other, but the trend does raise a question about how women view other women: Why do these "funny girls" feel the need to separate themselves from girls who wear more sexualized costumes?

This has been debated on TikTok before. In 2021, a trend took off on the app where women would share "why other girls hate me." 

Other viral videos have seen girls showing off why they are "not like other girls" or why they "only have male friends." 

These trends, like this Halloween debate, all offer a painful glimpse into the inner workings of internalized misogyny.

When women try to distance themselves from other women, it insinuates that there is something wrong with being "like other girls."

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Brinkly has since been forced to clarify her comments after a creator called her a "mean girl" for calling out those who shame provocative costumes.

Sure, Brinkly's joke about encouraging these girls to get hate might have taken things too far but the entire trend of undermining one woman's choice of costume is based on promoting negative commentary.

   

   

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“I love funny costumes. I also love sexy costumes. If you need to be contrasting yourself and setting yourself apart from these women, what are you saying?” Brinkley said. 

While there’s nothing wrong with wearing a sexy Halloween costume or even a funny costume, it’s not okay to sit and make fun of one or the other. 

Women are already pitted against each other in everyday life so why sit and pick apart one girl’s costume for the sake of making yourself look better?

The beauty of Halloween is you can be whatever you want. 

Wear your lingerie or your grandma costume — it really doesn’t matter. 

RELATED: 'I Have No Problem With My 9-Year-Old Wearing Sexy Halloween Costumes'

Victoria Soliz is a writer with YourTango who covers news and entertainment content. Her work explores pop culture trends, film and TV, and celebrity news