This article appeared this morning in Modern Mom, by Brooke Burke, about "sexy" Halloween costumes.
My Mistakes...
Obviously her get-up was not purchased by me- mistake #2! Last week, she showed me her “Alice In Wonderland” Halloween costume. The first thing I did was look at the packaging. To no surprise, I noticed it was an adult small, not a children’s large. That was the first red flag! Buy your children’s costumes in the kid's section, not the adult section. To make a long story short, we talked about looking 10-years-old not 20-years-old, even on Halloween. We jazzed up Alice to look much younger and cuter. You can imagine the look on my daughter’s face when I assured her that Alice’s dress was knee length with white knee socks and buckle shoes, NOT a frilly, short, blue mini-skirt with thigh-highs.
More Fairytale, Less Hottie-Tottie
So, I went picking through my own collection of tights and had her wear white tights, (NO FISH NETS) under her sexy socks. I added some young, rosy make-up to make her look more fairytale and less hottie-tottie. In the end, she got it. She was as happy and as appropriate as a 10 year old wanabee Alice could be
Oh Hannah...
At this morning's school costume parade, I saw many homemade creative costumes: funny ones, rented ones, and of course a few tramped out innocent kids. What happened to ghosts, two-headed monsters and pumpkins? The funniest costume was a Hannah Montana who looked more like a blonde street-walker than a pop star. I must confess that yesterday's article featuring slutty Miss Candy Corn had nothing on the THREE pre-tween candy corns I saw at school this morning- one of whom was my own eight-year-old! But, she’s pulled it off in a very sweet way. Sexy never came to mind. It really depends on how your kids wears the costume and what they look like in it.
"Ummm, MOM!"
The funniest thing happened last night when I was trying on my hot pleather Cat Woman suit. My daughter said, “MOM, you’re not going to wear that to my school parade are you? Don’t you think it’s a little hot for school?” I guess she told me, because I showed up with no costume, a t-shirt and a pair of baggy khakis. It was a great day! I volunteered in class and had so much fun making origami pumpkins and spiders.
Showing posts with label halloween. Show all posts
Showing posts with label halloween. Show all posts
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Hooching All Hallow's Eve?
Halloween skin: objectifying or empowering?
First, check out this article at SFGate.
By JILLIAN AUSTIN, Winnipeg Sun
Last Updated: October 25, 2010 8:01am
Naughty nurse, sexy schoolgirl, bad cop, foxy firefighter.
Ladies, what’s it going to be this year?
Year after year, the most popular Halloween costumes for young women are the risqué options, according to retailers.
“Women can come in and they can pick a costume out, something they wouldn’t wear for the rest of the year — something skimpy, low-cut and ... be that person in that costume as opposed to who they are on a day-to-day basis,” said Colleen Mitani, manager of Spirit Halloween Winnipeg.
Why the shift from scary witches and goblins to sexy firefighters and maids? A Winnipeg psychologist says Halloween is a day where people are “free from society’s inhibitions”, so they are given a license to wear things they normally wouldn’t.
“It’s an opportunity to act out our fantasies and fears ... you get a pass here. All bets are off,” Toby Rutner said. “It’s very interesting how things have evolved from death and gore to the projection ... of sexuality.”
While the French maid and harem woman have been around for years, there has been a shift in the last decade to more explicit depictions of sexuality, according to Fiona Green, chair of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Winnipeg.
“I think there’s been a gradual sexing up of young women and girls, which has not happened to boys,” she said. “Pop music icons, like Britney Spears and other young women, to make it in pop music, videos, TV and film, there’s more and more exposure of not only nudity ... but it’s the sexualization of young females.”
The shift in what’s acceptable for every day wear has become more and more revealing, Green said, and that has reflected on to Halloween costumes.
“Everything is sexualized,” Green said. “If you’re a nurse, a doctor, any profession seems to be sexualized.”
But on the other hand, we generally don’t see men dressing up as Chippendales dancers. They tend to go for the frightening, intimidating or humorous costume.
“I think that the expectation that females are going to be attractive sexually, the pressure for that is far greater than for boys,” Green said.
Dressing up in a sexy Halloween costume may be a way for women to feel empowered, but it may also objectify them, Green said.
“What does it mean for the person who’s wearing it?” Green said. “I don’t think it’s unhealthy to express our sexuality ... but I think it may put a limitation on how (women) may see themselves.”
First, check out this article at SFGate.
By JILLIAN AUSTIN, Winnipeg Sun
Last Updated: October 25, 2010 8:01am
Naughty nurse, sexy schoolgirl, bad cop, foxy firefighter.
Ladies, what’s it going to be this year?
Year after year, the most popular Halloween costumes for young women are the risqué options, according to retailers.
“Women can come in and they can pick a costume out, something they wouldn’t wear for the rest of the year — something skimpy, low-cut and ... be that person in that costume as opposed to who they are on a day-to-day basis,” said Colleen Mitani, manager of Spirit Halloween Winnipeg.
Why the shift from scary witches and goblins to sexy firefighters and maids? A Winnipeg psychologist says Halloween is a day where people are “free from society’s inhibitions”, so they are given a license to wear things they normally wouldn’t.
“It’s an opportunity to act out our fantasies and fears ... you get a pass here. All bets are off,” Toby Rutner said. “It’s very interesting how things have evolved from death and gore to the projection ... of sexuality.”
While the French maid and harem woman have been around for years, there has been a shift in the last decade to more explicit depictions of sexuality, according to Fiona Green, chair of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Winnipeg.
“I think there’s been a gradual sexing up of young women and girls, which has not happened to boys,” she said. “Pop music icons, like Britney Spears and other young women, to make it in pop music, videos, TV and film, there’s more and more exposure of not only nudity ... but it’s the sexualization of young females.”
The shift in what’s acceptable for every day wear has become more and more revealing, Green said, and that has reflected on to Halloween costumes.
“Everything is sexualized,” Green said. “If you’re a nurse, a doctor, any profession seems to be sexualized.”
But on the other hand, we generally don’t see men dressing up as Chippendales dancers. They tend to go for the frightening, intimidating or humorous costume.
“I think that the expectation that females are going to be attractive sexually, the pressure for that is far greater than for boys,” Green said.
Dressing up in a sexy Halloween costume may be a way for women to feel empowered, but it may also objectify them, Green said.
“What does it mean for the person who’s wearing it?” Green said. “I don’t think it’s unhealthy to express our sexuality ... but I think it may put a limitation on how (women) may see themselves.”
Happy Hallowe'en Week
Pumpkin Halva
Kaddu ka Halwa
Mamta Gupta
I had this halwa on a recent trip (November 2004) to India, at the well known Morya Sheraton Hotel in Delhi. It tasted so delicious that I thought I will try making it at home. I made it in the same way as I make 'Shakarkandi' or Sweet Potato Halwa, with a few minor changes. It came out quite delicious. It can be made in advance and heated in a microwave just before serving. It freezes well. Serves 6-7.
Ingredients
• 1 kg. pumpkin (800 gm. peeled and deseeded). You can use butternut or other squash instead.
• 8 almonds (can be blanched if you like)
• 12 pistachio (can be blanched if you like)
• 2 tbs. desiccated coconut
• 3-4 tbs. ghee or clarified butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 100-150 gm. jaggery or muscovado sugar (unrefined cane sugar)
• 1 tsp. cardamom powder
• 50 gm. raisins (optional)
• 2-3 tbs. skimmed milk powder. You can use grated Mawa or khoa
Instructions
1. Place pumpkin on a chopping board and cut into slices, like a melon. Use a sharp knife.
2. Remove seeds and fibre and discard.
3. Peel the thick skin off, removing all of the hard and thick skin.
4. Cut flesh into small, 2 cm. cubes.
5. Heat ghee in a heavy based pan or karahi/kadahi. Add pumpkin and stir fry for a minute.
6. Add 1/2 cup milk and allow to simmer until flesh is soft. 10-15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, shred/thinly slice almonds and pistachios. These days, I do this with a garlic slicer, which I keep separate for slicing nuts (not for garlic). Thinly shredded nuts look better than chopped ones. Keep aside.
8. Place coconut on a plate and microwave at full for 2+2 minutes, stirring in between. Keep aside. If you do not have a microwave, you can dry fry the coconut in a clean pan, on low heat, until there is a nice aroma of coconut.
9. Returning to cooked, soft pumpkin, turn the heat off. Mash it well, using a potato masher or back of a spoon.
10. Add sugar and cardamom seeds to the pumpkin mash and stir fry on medium heat until liquid dries up, ghee separates and pumpkin looks shiny. It has mashed potato like consistency.
11. Sprinkle powdered milk or add grated mawa/khoa and stir fry for a few more minutes.
12. Add most of the almonds and pistachios, saving a little for garnish, all the coconut and raisins, if used.
13. Transfer to serving dish or individual little bowls and decorate with saved almond and pistachio nuts.
14. Serve Hot.
Kaddu ka Halwa
Mamta Gupta
I had this halwa on a recent trip (November 2004) to India, at the well known Morya Sheraton Hotel in Delhi. It tasted so delicious that I thought I will try making it at home. I made it in the same way as I make 'Shakarkandi' or Sweet Potato Halwa, with a few minor changes. It came out quite delicious. It can be made in advance and heated in a microwave just before serving. It freezes well. Serves 6-7.
Ingredients
• 1 kg. pumpkin (800 gm. peeled and deseeded). You can use butternut or other squash instead.
• 8 almonds (can be blanched if you like)
• 12 pistachio (can be blanched if you like)
• 2 tbs. desiccated coconut
• 3-4 tbs. ghee or clarified butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 100-150 gm. jaggery or muscovado sugar (unrefined cane sugar)
• 1 tsp. cardamom powder
• 50 gm. raisins (optional)
• 2-3 tbs. skimmed milk powder. You can use grated Mawa or khoa
Instructions
1. Place pumpkin on a chopping board and cut into slices, like a melon. Use a sharp knife.
2. Remove seeds and fibre and discard.
3. Peel the thick skin off, removing all of the hard and thick skin.
4. Cut flesh into small, 2 cm. cubes.
5. Heat ghee in a heavy based pan or karahi/kadahi. Add pumpkin and stir fry for a minute.
6. Add 1/2 cup milk and allow to simmer until flesh is soft. 10-15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, shred/thinly slice almonds and pistachios. These days, I do this with a garlic slicer, which I keep separate for slicing nuts (not for garlic). Thinly shredded nuts look better than chopped ones. Keep aside.
8. Place coconut on a plate and microwave at full for 2+2 minutes, stirring in between. Keep aside. If you do not have a microwave, you can dry fry the coconut in a clean pan, on low heat, until there is a nice aroma of coconut.
9. Returning to cooked, soft pumpkin, turn the heat off. Mash it well, using a potato masher or back of a spoon.
10. Add sugar and cardamom seeds to the pumpkin mash and stir fry on medium heat until liquid dries up, ghee separates and pumpkin looks shiny. It has mashed potato like consistency.
11. Sprinkle powdered milk or add grated mawa/khoa and stir fry for a few more minutes.
12. Add most of the almonds and pistachios, saving a little for garnish, all the coconut and raisins, if used.
13. Transfer to serving dish or individual little bowls and decorate with saved almond and pistachio nuts.
14. Serve Hot.
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