At the risk of offending at least half of you, that’s my question.  Are these equally good ideas?  Moms of girls out there, tell me if you agree:  I think some of these girls’ costumes are getting a little risqué.  I mean, I know Britney’s cool and all, but seriously?  Are you okay with this?

Here’s the thing:  as a mom of three boys, I monitor costumes for gore and weaponry.  Thankfully the schools don’t allow these anyway, so, for once, they’ve got my back.  And even though I don’t have girls, well, I AM one, right?  I still know a little bit about the miniatures of my gender.

My neighbor’s eight-year-old daughter is dressing up as Britney Spears tomorrow night.  She’ll have a t-shirt on under the stylish belly shirt, and will feel very cool with her headset, I’m sure.  And, you know, I guess that’s fine.  She’s a little girl imitating a star—just good fun, right? 

But then, then I hesitate, because there’s this other little nagging part of me saying, “Nope, this is not alright.”  Because of all of the choices out there, why choose that one?  Why emulate the girl who’s latest video has her writhing naked in the steam room?  It’s not just Britney that troubles me.  It’s the slew of fake cleavage, high heels, and skirts designed to show off your thong that really make me nervous.  Why not pop on over to familyfun.com and make yourself a Fairy Princess costume?  Or pay someone to make it?  Or buy something more innocuous at Costco?  A dalmation!  A witch!  Anything!

In her Motherlode column for the NYTimes, Lisa Belkin wrote about Girls’ Costumes Gone Wild.  Like me, Ms. Belkin hasn’t shopped for girl’s costumes.  She notes that as a child when she dressed as a cat she used “a black leotard and tights from ballet class, with a hand-sewn and stuffed tail.”  This version made her more like “Felix the Cat, not Halle Berry as Catwoman.”  And that’s just the thing.  More and more I see us pushing girls to be women, while women are starving themselves to look like girls.  (But, wait, that’s neither here nor there; it’s a different post altogether.  Sorry about that!)

As the mom of boys, though, I know I’d much rather see my son’s future girlfriend and wife dressed as Felix.  Catwoman can date someone else.  For sure.

Am I off base?  Is it just fun?  What do you think?

And, for the record, I’m considering the Britney costume myself. (No, not really.  Come on, people!  I have three boys:  I’m going as a Jedi!)