The scariest thing about Halloween used to be that there was a small, but possible, risk that your candy could be infiltrated by a razor blade or tainted with poison. But, in 2023, perhaps people are more anxious about sugar and calories being in the candy.
Ironically, on the one day of the year where you are supposed to relinquish your identity and adopt a new one for the sake of a good night’s fun, many actually step outside their body and get lost in their negative self-perception.
Body dysmorphia and diet culture have some pretty strong roots in Halloween –– and how could it not? A day that revolves around seeing yourself differently than you normally are is issue enough. There’s also the fact that the holiday is one that revolves around food and treats –– stress seems imminent to those who struggle with body image.
The problem is all the more prevalent in college students, especially because the endless tirade of “freshmen 15” comments seem to pool in, even when you become an upperclassman.
It’s an interesting paradox to consider. We start off as children who see candy as being one of the most exquisite delicacies in the world to being adults too scared to touch the wrapper out of the fear of weight gain. But how have we reached this point? How did we so easily stray from the irresistible crunch of a minimum M&M or the delicate unwrapping of a Reese’s cup?
The short answer is diet culture. We’ve been trained for years to believe sugar is scary, so it certainly spooks us, especially around his time of year. Society tends to push the narrative that Americans are privy to the obesity epidemic by consuming things like Butterfingers and Skittles. But is all candy inherently bad for your health?
Scientifically speaking, no. To gain an additional pound of weight, one would have to consume upwards of 3,500 calories. I can almost guarantee you that a fun-size Milky Way isn’t going to destroy your health.
In my eyes, sugar has become our real-life equivalent of Freddy Krueger. But it’s quite strange that our fears have evolved from the Boogeyman to a Snickers bar.
The candy conflict is more of an issue among college-aged women who are generally at a higher risk for body dissatisfaction. It’s a problem that primarily stems from outdated measures weaved by a collection of unrealistic beauty standards, which equates thinness with beauty.
You’ve probably watched that really funny TikTok that showcases girls joking about not skipping the gym because they have to look good in their Halloween costume in a mere few weeks.
Sure, most of these videos are meant to be jokes, but it also prompts a larger conversation about how truly engrained diet culture happens to be in our everyday lives. Why do we have to look a certain way to wear a Halloween costume?
I would argue that it’s more unhealthy to forgo the fun times, fond memories and joy that come with biting into a Three Musketeers than passing up the offer to look a certain way.
Though, it is pretty tough to get some reprieve about body image when the idea that gaining weight and becoming unhealthy in college is imminent –– even if this is far from the truth.
Naturally, humans place a lot of value on food.
We deem some things to be “good” and others to be “bad” –– but at the end of the day, it’s just food and it all has value. Perhaps a Hershey’s bar or a NERDS Rope isn’t the most nutrient-dense thing you can put in your body, but that doesn’t mean you deserve to feel like a supervillain for eating one –– let’s reserve that title for people who dress up like the Joker or Poison Ivy this Halloween.
A single vegetable is not going to improve your physical appearance in the same way that a piece of candy won’t wreck it. Being educated on all the ingredients that fill these bowls of shiny, sweet-filled wrappers is not the issue –– it’s the emotional damage from putting ourselves at a distance from fun.
Balance is the key to finding that true “sweet spot” –– one that undeniably includes a sweet treat of course. We shouldn’t be bound to experience an uncontrollable cascade of negative emotions because we were tempted by the inside of those tinfoil wrappers. There is so much more to one’s personhood than how they appear externally.
If anything, biting into a candy bar should bring back some sweet childhood nostalgia, not fear over how it may change your appearance.
After all, as they say, Sour Patch Kids taste twice as good when you don’t have someone whispering in your ear telling you how unhealthy they are.
