This is a scene from the movie “Mean Girls,” written by Tina Fey and released in 2004. Lindsay Lohan stars as Cady, a girl who has grown up in Africa and recently moved back to the United States. She navigates her way around the social scene at her new high school, and tries to gain acceptance in the A-list girls clique “The Plastics.” In this scene, Cady describes the ‘slut rule’ about Halloween: “In girl world, Halloween is the one night of the year when a girl can dress like a total slut, and no other girls can say anything about it.”

discussion

What does it mean to dress like a “slut”? What does it look like? Is dressing like a “slut” the same as dressing “sexy”? Why or why not?

Who gets to define what is “slutty” in our society? What are the consequences of a woman dressing ‘like a slut’?

Do you agree that on Halloween a girl is allowed to dress like a slut? Why or why not?

How important is it for girls (or women) to wear the “right clothes”? Why do you think it is or is not important? Do you think there is the same pressure on boys to look good, wear the “right clothes,” and be sexy?