a question re. little red riding hood

i was asked for some thoughts on dressing up as little red riding hood for halloween. perhaps because i am somewhat obsessed with children's literature and its subversions? i must admit, i do collect sources (a favorite book along with other alison lurie works). anyway, in my answer i explained my version of the costume from 2 years ago on all hallows. i wore the classic fare (red cape, plaid skirt, vintage kid's lacy shirt, knee socks) but with messy hair and subtle lines of blood coming down my leg. (it's likely many people actually thought it was my period, while others were aghast at the dark implication, but hey that was the risk i took). my boyfriend played the wolf, a man on the brink of night who was only just part-way to fully becoming the embodiment of something dangerous, yet still capable of such dangerous things. you might say he was suffering from his own socialization within the context of a violent society. he was covered in a bit of blood too, signs of battle because my preference is the depiction of little red as nothing like a passive victim. i always pictured her this way, even as a small child-- she fought her way to survival.

about the disturbing rape implication of the costume-- it was a choice that sprang from my understanding of the story's subtext: violation. the disturbing part of the costume was not the fake blood but the truth it referenced, and that truth wouldn't mean anything in a culture without rape. the story of little red ridinghood itself, too, whispers to us a side tale of childhood abuse, elder abuse, as well. these realities go back way before the story originated, and yet are still barely acknowledged (to the extent they should be) today. (by the way, i made sure i only went to adult parties so there were no children present. it's not exactly a night in which a child typically has an adult to supplement their undeveloped facilities to process such art. not that kids don't have much wisdom and instinct to understand the world, but i don't want to traumatize them. they get enough from the ghoulishness and gore that night already.)



but the adults! there was my own catharsis. and their transparent reactions, a palpable moment of internal wheels moving. depending on the person, it ranged from a quick looking away for some to questions and curiosity from others. short momentary responses of nervous laughter, kneejerk disgust, tacit glances (these meant the most to me), a strange delight, the camaraderie of audaciousness, or silence.


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