End " Dress-Coding" #BansOffOurBodies

 

                                           Mid-forties and PROUDLY wearing a short skirt. Poto by Brian 

 I came across an interesting article a couple of days ago while aimlessly scrolling the Internet. It deals with an issue that affected me in school. 

Here is the link:

‘Our bodies aren’t distracting, you’re just disgusting’: High school student calls out school dress code for being sexist during assembly (msn.com)

Girls and women have been " dress-coded" at school and at work for far too many years. Contrary to popular opinion, this is NOT a " new wave feminist" issue--- imposing unfair and often arbitrary regulations on female people's clothing is nothing new. 

As a slender person with long arms and legs, my choice of clothing has always been sanctioned. As a matter of fact, most of my visits to my high school's vice principal {a real toad of a woman} were related to skirt/ shorts length.  Due to my long limbs, the " fingertip rule" made most fashionable skirts and almost ALL' shorts not appropriate for school'

Meanwhile 1990's teen males were sagging their pants so that their brightly colored boxer shorts were in full view from 100 feet away. For boys, underwear as outerwear was fine, but a tall, long-limbed girl was sanctioned for wearing a skirt. 

This practice is rooted is misogyny. Some people claim that girls' and women's bodies must be covered completely as to not tempt the boys and men. I call bullshit. 

Yes, a nice pair of legs is aesthetically pleasing. But stop making me pay the price for grown men who cannot control their thoughts in public. What a woman chooses to wear DOES NOT invite unwanted attention from male persons. Furthermore, it is NEVER OKAY to ask a victim of sexual violence what she was wearing at the time of the assault. It's NEVER okay. Again, for the hard of hearing in the back: Its NEVER OKAY to ask an assault victim what she wore at the time of her attack. This is victim-blaming. 

But for the sake of all that is good--- please STOP eroticizing teen girls!!!  Let them be teenagers who feel safe and validated by choosing their own wardrobe 

At middle-age, I am grateful that I can confidently wear shirt skirts. Frankly, I do not care if people clutch their pearl when tey see this " old gal" showing off her toned legs in a short skirt. 

My choice of a casual wardrobe does not directly affect you. 

Amen

Sarah McCarren

17 September 2022

Feast of St Hildegard.