It’s that time of year again—falling leaves, cooler weather, pumpkin spice everything and the inevitable renegade of outrageously over-sexualized costumes.

The point of Halloween is to partake in a night of fun by making yourself look as ridiculous as possible. This often involves playing up clichés, being culturally insensitive (unfortunately) and appreciating the hilarity of pop culture, especially its flaws.

In a world where sexuality offends so many, Halloween is that one night a year when we are allowed to have an unspoken commentary on the sexual stereotypes, objectification and ridiculous sexual expectations of our culture.

From “sexy Olaf” to “sexy Ebola nurse,” costumes satirize the over-sexualized attitudes of modern times. The more prevalent and the more ridiculous these costumes become, the more people begin talking about the misogynistic flaws of the world we live in.

No longer do “slutty” Halloween costumes seem to exist to play out male fantasies, such as the cliché sexy nurse or flight attendant. Sexy taco, pizza and pumpkin now join the ranks.  

Now, guys can even get in on the joke—the number of men I saw dressed as male genitalia last year was astonishing, and this is proof that objectification is not for women alone.  

When men dress up in costumes that objectify them as much as women’s costumes do, they promote equality by calling out misogynistic culture. By reversing the social scripts, these men illustrate how silly objectification looks.

Let’s leave the moral judgments about provocative Halloween costumes in the past. Instead, we should appreciate the pop-culture spoofs and humor and even the creativity.

Costumes are much less indicative of the type of person you are and much more just an indication of which friend’s closet you raided last minute to find something that could pass as a costume.  

We put too much pressure on being smart and witty all the time. This year, take the pressure off and go for the cheap laugh. How about a can of sexy tomato soup?

Bottom line: One night in a ridiculous Halloween costume is not going to undermine the credibility of your feminist ideologies, religious beliefs or rigid stance as a nonconformist.

Halloween isn’t about showing how smart or moral you are, it’s an opportunity to be utterly ridiculous. Halloween allows us to make fun of ourselves and get people to notice truths about our culture in a way that isn’t preaching, attacking or placing blame.

This Friday, make a statement. You can do this without saying a word. But most importantly, have fun, and wear that sexy Olaf costume with pride.