In order to find to-the-minute Halloween costumes for the kids, I searched online. They weren't sure what they wanted to be, so we all sat behind the computer to look. Cristian finally decided on The New Goblin from Spiderman 3. But in searching kid costumes, I found that there were hardly ANY that were appropriate for girls.

When did Halloween for girls become synonomous with turning every character "slutty"??

What do you think of this Cheerless Leader? How about this Temperamental Alice?

I guess I'm not the only one that noticed this, as this morning I read this article from Newsweek entitled Eye Candy. The article goes on to say that little girls are wearing costumes that look as if they're designed by Victoria's Secret.

And while complaints about "slutty" kids' costumes may seem like a yearly parents' lament, the industry has been ramping up the sex appeal to ever younger groups of girls. It's not just 10- and 12-year-olds who have gone Halloween trampy. Now 6- and 7-year-old models are featured in catalogs wearing child-sized versions of skimpy costumes that used to be reserved for adult boudoirs. If you think we're exaggerating, note that they're actually selling something called a "Child's Chamber Maid Costume." And, many of the tween girls in the photographs are wearing more make-up than Christina Aguilera on awards night. More disturbing may be their expressions--they look as if they've been told to give the camera their best "sexy" gaze.

How disturbing.

The article goes on to say the following:

Dr. Sharon Lamb, also on the APA task force, has recently coauthored a book, "Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters From Marketing Schemes," which includes a chapter devoted solely to sexy Halloween costumes. Lamb points out that most Web sites selling kids Halloween costumes divide merchandise along gender lines, and typically offer more choices for boys than girls (boys get to be doctors, police officers as well as gory monsters and "Star Wars" characters). Of the 22 girl costumes featured on one Web site Lamb looked at, 15 were cheerleaders, divas and rock stars. "That really limits girls' imaginations," says Lamb, who surveyed 600 young girls for the book, many of whom admitted to dressing up as something sexy for Halloween in order to get attention.

So it's really up to us to help our daughters expand their imaginations so they know they can be more than an object of sexual desire.

Thank God Karina decided on making her own costume. She's going to be Wednesday, from the Addams Family