Sunny Day, Sweepin' the Clouds Away...in a "Sexy" Big Bird Costume This Halloween

Who would have thought that after more than forty years Big Bird would make a scene like this? Big Bird is known as the giant yellow bird who hangs out down on Sesame Street, but recently he has made his way into the political scene.

Due to Mitt Romney's plan to cut funding for public broadcasting, Big Bird has received a lot of attention.  This issue has brought protesters to organize a Sesame Street March on November 3, and it has also led to another problem in the form of a Halloween costume.  This year's Big Bird costume is flying off the shelf, and this is not your traditional Big Bird costume - it is the "sexy" Big Bird.

According to the Huffington Post, the new sexy Big Bird costume comes with a ruffled yellow dress, huge pink platform Mary-Janes, and a Big Bird headpiece. According to some representatives from the costume companies, it seems the new "sexy" Big Bird costumes became even more popular after Mitt Romney's announcement regarding public television funding. The costume representatives said that the traditional Big Bird costumes sold out before the debate even occurred, but the more risque bird costume became very popular after Mitt Romney's comments.  One cashier from New York's Halloween Adventure said that the costume started to sell out after Obama's anti-Romney ad aired featuring Big Bird. People are taking this costume and turning it into a political statement. A San Diego reporter made a comment that she believes people who choose to sport this furry friend costume might be adding a sign that says "endangered species" for an added effect.

According to an article in the Herald Sun, the creators of this kid-friendly bird are not too pleased with this new costume.  Sesame Street Workshops, the non-profit group that makes Sesame Street, are very unhappy with the way their character is being portrayed. They have recently taken legal action to try and have the costumes removed from the market. They do not want their well-loved children's character to be represented as a scantily clad Halloween party-goers. The Sesame Street Workshop stated, "The costumes are not licensed or authorized by Sesame Workshop. We are working with our legal team to have the costumes removed from the market." Apparently Big Bird is not the only Sesame Street character that has been made into a skimpy Halloween costume.  One of the Halloween costume websites sells Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, and Cookie Monster costumes.

It is a really interesting to see the controversy over something as silly as a Halloween costume. The creators of Big Bird are taking a lot of offense to the "sexy" version of their character. It is interesting to see their response because most characters are made into "sexy" Halloween costumes. The style for Halloween costumes has changed over the years, and now people, especially women, are more interested in buying a flirty sexy costume. Most kid friendly characters such as Pebbles, Raggedy Ann, Little Red Riding Hood, Little Bo Peep, Dorothy, Super Heroes, and the Disney Princesses have all been transformed into a sexy Halloween costumes. Maybe the reason this particular kid show character has become such a major controversy is because of the political issue that goes along with it. What kind of statement is your Halloween costume making this year?

~ Karrah Barber, Katherine Barnes, Kyla Defazio, Cara Dipiazza, Sarah Refait

Photo credit: Yandy.com

Posted in: Halloween, Politics