To all the men who let their hair down today and use Halloween as a way to come out, even if just for a little while.
Where did the idea of wearing costumes for Halloween come from?
The tradition of wearing costumes comes from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The costumes worn were thought to ward off ghosts. Now isn’t that appropriate. Especially if ghosts are our own fears.
Halloween comes from “all hallowed eve” or hallowed evening, meaning blessed or holy. Halloween was the night before All Saints Day, and it was originally a celebration of the saints.
The night of Halloween, October 31st, represented New Years Eve for the ancient Celts who celebrated Samhain. The day marked the end of summer and the harvest, and the start of the new year. Winter, especially in ancient times and in cold northern climes, was a time of death. The Celts believed that this demarcation between the harvest year and entry into this period of death was a night where the world of the living and the world of the dead blurred together. On this evening, the Celts believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. Ghosts were thought to cause trouble. Their presence, however, made it possible for the Druids and Witches to speak to the dead, and to see into and influence the future.
Bonfires were lit, sacrifices made, and costumes worn, on a night of fortune telling, and spirituality. On a superficial level, we have forgotten these traditions and their significance, but on another we have not.
How many men this evening will avail themselves of the “cover” of Halloween to don women’s clothing? How many men cope with gender dysphoria by allowing themselves to express their inner femininity on this one evening, hoping that the energy they get from it will sustain them throughout the year?
But maybe this form of self-expression is more than just a bit of modern Halloween fun. Maybe it is exactly consistent with the tradition of costume, ghosts, future prediction, and spirituality that Halloween represents.
In my own life, while I have yet to “use” Halloween as an excuse to go out en femme, I have experienced many other similar benefits. The Advocate writes an excellent piece on why dressing up as a woman on Halloween is fraught.
People like me are exempt from this judgement, as Halloween serves as a means to go out without fear.
There are other things I really like about Halloween. For one, I find it the most sexual night of the year. Over my life I have connected successfully with more people sexually on Halloween than on any other night. There is something freeing and liberating to all of us that is brought on by Halloween night, and to me, this has meant that women have let go of their inhibition to be predatory. Just as the cross-dresser finds courage in “getting away with it” tonight, so too, many women allow themselves to let their libido take charge, and do so without shame. And as a man who loves women who are predatory, “taking me”, this is a night where I can respond to this with gusto.
Have fun tonight people, and let yourself go.
Beyond Non-Binary 