Monica Lewinsky on Being Made Into a Halloween Costume: ''There Is a Fine Line Between Clever and Cruel''

Author opens up about hurtful costumes

As Halloween gets closer, the same fear that's been haunting Monica Lewinsky for 20 years will creep back up again: running into somebody dressed up as her.

The contributing editor opens up about being made into a Halloween costume for a new column with Vanity Fair, writing about one of her most cringe-worthy experiences.

"Thankfully, I have never gone to a Halloween party where I've bumped up against, well, myself," she explains. "I did, however, get an idea of what that might be like when, several years ago, I went to see the movie Made of Honor, starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan."

She continues, "It opens with a scene in which Dempsey, dressed as Bill Clinton, mingles at a Halloween party—with three Monica Lewinskys—all clad in blue dresses and berets, holding cigars. (Cringe Factor: 10.)"

But for more reasons than just herself, Lewinsky explains how the "darker side of Halloween" can be more hurtful than funny or clever, especially when surrounding people like Caitlyn Jenner.

"One can naïvely envision the act of turning up as Caitlyn as a purely flattering gesture, an homage to the empowering way she emerged this past year," she explains. "But as one begins to untangle that, the symbolism of the costume becomes layered—and not necessarily in a positive way."

She uses a statement from Sarah Kate Ellis, the C.E.O. and president of GLAAD, to clarify: "There are so many elements to consider here: the stereotype that being trans can be reduced to what someone wears [or] how they look; the commodification of trans identities in the face of disproportionate rates of poverty faced by trans people; and, of course, making trans women the butt of a joke, since these costumes may be worn by men whose sole intention is to imply that all transgender women are simply men in dresses."

Essentially, Lewinsky says to be wary of the image you want to project this year with your costume.

"In the age of social media and the irresistible, almost-pathological drive to curate our images, the costumes we choose must deliver a message about who we are, how clever we are, and how fabulous our lives are. But there is a fine line between clever and cruel."