The Washington Post tackles one of today's most important issues of inequity: Sexist Halloween costumes…for your dog.

Mmm, it seems that dressing up Fluffy as a sexy nurse on Oct. 31 can perpetuate harmful "gender" stereotypes that might discourage Fluffy from applying to medical school.

WaPo staffer Abha Bhattarai reports:

The glass ceiling appears to be firmly in place at PetSmart, where career costumes labeled “male” include firefighter and police officer, while female dogs can choose between a pink cowgirl costume and pink loofah.

On the site BaxterBoo.com, options for your female pooch include “sweet heart nurse” or French maid. “Any tidy girl dog will look adorable wearing this French Maid Dog Costume,” the site’s description reads. “Whether your pup is a clean freak or a messy mutt, she will enjoy playing ‘dress up’ in this fun costume.”

The choices for male dogs, meanwhile, include fireman, mob boss and doctor (suggested pairing: “match up with a girl friend with the Sweet Heart Nurse Dog Costume.”)

And social justice warriors are taking this Very Seriously:

"It seems silly on the surface, but this is part of a larger message we’re sending, that there are certain jobs for men, and certain jobs for women,” said Scott Lawrie, 36, who co-hosts a podcast, ‘She will not be ignored,’ about gender issues. “The career options for women — and dogs — need to go beyond pink loofahs and pink cowgirls.”

I had no idea that a loofah was a "career." But we don't want Fluffy to feel that she can't be a lawyer.

Furthermore, it seems that Halloween costumes for girl-dogs are more expensive than Halloween costumes for boy-dogs–just like in the real world where we ladies have to pay more for shampoo:

At Party City,  Supergirl and Wonder Woman doggie costumes were priced 30 percent higher than Superman costumes ($16.99 versus $12.99). Batgirl costumes, meanwhile, were selling for $19.99, a 33 percent premium on Batman’s $14.99 price tag.

Fluffy's going to develop an eating disorder when she hears about that one!

The aim of all this seems to be the usual social engineering:

National retailers have begun taking steps to eliminate gender labels from their products. Target last year announced it would stop separating girls’ and boys’ toys in its stores. Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Amazon.com have taken similar measures.

Because if Fluffy gets the idea that she's going to be stuck in that French maid costume for Halloween, she might not want to major in STEM after all.