Are Tweens Treats? GAB's Eye on the Media

During Halloween when girls go to pick out a costume the message seems to be that girls are supposed to leave the scary costumes to the boys, and take on the sexy divas or pop-stars. You can even dress up like your favorite Bratz doll! Sure, there is a Frankenstein costume in the ad below, but it’s a shear dress with fish net stockings and a fake tattoo. The page is also called “tween treats” and I guess “tweens” are girls from ages 8-12. This page has a costume they call being Pumpkin Spice. The costume consists of an orange strapless mini-dress and orange wig, and a pair of white go-go boots. What’s pumpkin about that? I went as a pumpkin for Halloween when I was eight years old. My costume was this big, round body suit and a hat that looked like a stump. I really did look like a big, fat, round pumpkin. But these days, heaven forbid a costume for “tweens” that makes you look big, fat, or round. Check out the “pink mummy fairy.” What do you think marketers are saying if the only option for a girl to be a mummy is to be a pink mummy who is also a fairy?


Halloween Tips
“On a day when she can be anyone or anything, princesses and Divas should not be her only Halloween choices! It’s not that pink and pretty is bad, but it squeezes out other possibilities. Girls love it, yes, but they also love double fudge-frosted brownies, and you wouldn’t want them eating a steady diet of that stuff. “ - Dr. Lyn Mikel Brown, Ed.D., author and co-creator of Hardy Girls Healthy Women
For more tips email info@hghw.org
Ads are from Costume Express - you can contact their corporate office by phone at (425) 250-1064 or by mail: Celebrate Express 11232 120th Ave NE, Ste 204 Kirkland, WA 98033