Teens Fighting Sexist Dress Codes with #IAmMoreThanaDistraction
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| time.com |
Props to whoever did this! #iammorethanadistraction pic.twitter.com/SZNK8yJhrU
— Elizabeth Hannan (@ehannan3) June 2, 2015
Last year a group of schoolgirls in New Jersey started #IAmMoreThanaDistraction
as a protest against what some believe are unfair dress codes for girls,
enforced to stop boys being ‘distracted’. Now that the school year is starting
again, the hashtag is doing the rounds on social media to highlight these sexist
standards once more.
It's summer. I'm not gonna cover up head to toe just so you won't be "distracted" #iammorethanadistraction pic.twitter.com/miXictCmUb
— Aimee Leonard (@aimeeleonard_) August 24, 2015
Many take issue with dress codes because they sexualise women
and enforce rape culture and slut shaming. Over-sexualising the female body
puts the blame on women for ‘distracting’ men and teaches them to be ashamed of
exposing their body parts. It’s a similar ideology that says women are 'asking' to be raped if they dress in a certain way. What is more, if we use ‘boys will be
boys’ as an excuse for sexualising women, we are saying that men are inherently
uncontrollable and unaccountable for their actions. Doing so shames and blames
women for the few men who haven’t been taught that women are more than sexual
objects. Instead, we need to teach that women shouldn’t have to stand for
inappropriate behaviour like cat-calling and sexualisation.
#iammorethanadistraction is so important because my collar bones, shoulders, and knees shouldn't get me sent to ISS.
— Kayla Brooks (@KaylaBrooks98) September 9, 2015
For the high school girls who still have to deal with this problem, there is hope!
#iammorethanadistraction pic.twitter.com/8XZ1Wci729
— Morgan Drum (@theMorgandrum) September 6, 2015
In May, Toronto teenager Alexi Halket started the hashtag
#CropTopDay after her school banned her from wearing a crop top deemed ‘too
much like a sports bra’ by a male teacher. Halket refused to accept the ban and
organised Crop Top Day on her birthday to protest against the sexualisation of
female body parts. ‘Please wear a crop top, sports bra, bralette, bandeau, or anything
similar and stand in solidarity against the sexualisation of women’s bodies on
my birthday,’ she wrote on Facebook. #CropTopDay gained traction on Twitter,
with women sharing pictures of themselves in crop tops to show their support and
many echoing the sentiment of #IAmMoreThanaDistraction.
#croptopday because that little strip of skin is not offensive pic.twitter.com/3ipcTtHfQj
— Maddie (@IndecentDelight) May 27, 2015
because if my bra strap stops you from learning you should seek counselling #croptopday
— MJ (@manjuRobertson) May 25, 2015
Another teenager was put in detention for wearing a dress
deemed to be a ‘sexual distraction’ to male pupils at her high school in New
Brunswick. In a letter to the school’s vice principal – for which she received
a one-day suspension – Lauren Wiggins iterates that dress codes enforce the unfair
standards which women are held up to in today’s sexist society, as well as
being symptomatic of rape culture. ‘So no, Mr Sturgeon,’ she wrote, ‘I will not
search for something to cover my back and shoulders because I am not showing them
off with the intention to gain positive sexual feedback from the teenage boys
in my school.’ In a Facebook post Wiggins said, ‘I’m absolutely fed up with
comments that make us feel like we can’t be comfortable without being
provocative.’
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| cbc.ca |
Aaron Waterhouse
Aaron is a recent English graduate from Durham University who is now working as a content writer intern. An enthusiastic traveller, he hopes to become a journalist and report from around the world. Follow him @AaronAtSMF.
Teens Fighting Sexist Dress Codes with #IAmMoreThanaDistraction
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