The "I'm Someone's Future Wife So I Won't be Half Naked on Halloween" Trend is So Weird

In the past few days, everytime I've logged on to TikTok, I've come across at least one video with text along the lines of "I'm some man's future wife, so I won't be out partying for Halloween half naked". And hot take? This is such a bizarre, problematic, and *let's just say it) misogynistic way of thinking. 

This messaging that women need to live their lives in pursuit of embodying that 'wifey material" ideal is nothing new. All our lives as women, we are stuffed into suffocating little boxes that tell us who we are and where we belong. 

And how do we dress? That's been used as a signifier of where we belong for as long as we can remember. But this type of overt messaging about how showing some skin makes a woman unworthy of respect, dignity, love, and a healthy partnership feels like a new low — especially since so many women are spreading it.

It's so sexist, and so wildly male-centered, to live your life by a standard set by some imaginary man you'll encounter at some point. And women entering the chat to stand on this moral high ground and spread these ideas feels like we’re giving men permission to lean even further into this rhetoric.

What we wear doesn’t determine our value. And living our lives and making choices about our bodies for the sake of being “someone’s future wife”? It’s just not the move. If you don’t feel comfortable showing a lot of skin, that’s your choice to make! I’m personally a pretty modest dresser myself; it’s just a look I prefer. But that’s for you to decide. And any future husband who is worth your time will cosign that.

Ask Clara: What does it mean to be male-centered?