I joined the International Justice Mission (IJM) chapter at Ouachita Baptist University a couple of years ago, full of righteous anger about the now 32 million people trapped in modern-day slavery. Out of that number about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly made up of women and children, are trafficked across the United States. Forced into prostitution and pornography, these people are abused, become addicted to some kind of drug, and lose their self-worth.
The IJM chapter at Ouachita and other organizations like IJM strive to bring awareness about the dignity and innocence that is stolen from those being trafficked. Last December, one of the members mentioned Dressember. Dressember is an organization and event that takes place during December. It's basically a month long fundraiser in which the participant raises awareness about human trafficking by wearing a dress the entire month.
I didn't do it last year. I didn't even own a dress last year. However over the Spring semester and summer break, my wardrobe upgraded and when December 2016 rolled around, I found myself with four dresses and some nerve.
I first learned about modern day slavery and human trafficking my senior year of high school during a D-Now weekend when the band playing paused their set and gave a speech about the then 21 million people enslaved. I was sold after the few minutes spent on this plague. There are people in forced labor, there are people who are being sold to the highest bidder. This makes me sick. This makes me angry and if there is anything within my power to show people the atrocities going on in this world, then I want to do it.
So, Dressember 2016 rolls around and I ceremoniously ditch my pants and trade them in for leggings, dresses, and a half a month of shapewear. You should know that anytime I wear anything remotely dress-like, something always gets bunched up unless I constantly check to make sure that no flowing material gets bunched up by my backpack. Not only was December the month of wearing dresses in order to raise awareness about human trafficking and raising money to combat it, but it was also the month where I became the master at discreetly brushing my hands against my butt to make sure that nothing was becoming exposed.
The best thing about doing Dressember, aside from throwing away my shapewear half a month in, was the support in IJM. The other member who introduced me to Dressember set up a GroupMe that involved other people at Ouachita who were participating. The encouragement helped me continue to wear the dresses even when I really, really wanted to ditch the dress for a practical pair of pants.
By the end of the month, I found I didn't miss wearing pants as much as I had thought. It's like giving up cokes for Lent, their not as great when you find alternatives. This doesn't mean I've cut out pants from my wardrobe. I'd have to absolutely insane to do that. But I have become more comfortable with myself when wearing a dress or a skirt and found a simple and fun way to raise awareness about human trafficking.
