I love people.
I always have, and I always will. Coming from a very small town, even at a young age I loved visiting cities, not because of the shopping, the events we attended, or for how much children love staying in hotels. It was the people. Walking down a street and passing hundreds of different people, all dressed differently and interacting in different ways was always fascinating to me. I remember sitting outside at a downtown restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska watching as bridesmaid groups in matching tiaras, girls going to parties in short dresses, and men in jeans and button up shirts trying to choose a bar all walked by. Their ability to dress however they pleased enamored me. I myself was very tom-boyish up until (and well into) my pre-teen years. My wardrobe did not much reach beyond the limits of jeans and graphic t-shirts from the boy's section.
Now, recently 19, I am much more evolved in my sense of style, while I still do primarily wear jeans and men's style t-shirts, my closet does include a few dresses. However, one thing that did not change is my love of people and how they dress. Now at college and seeing hundreds of different people a day I still smile when I see a curvy girl slaying in a crop top or a guy who obviously primarily still shops at Hot Topic (not that I can much blame him).
One thing, however, that apparently comes hand in hand with people, primarily women, choosing outfits today is slut shaming. There are many different ways that slut-shaming happens in our society today, but one way that bothers me in particular is judging a woman based on her clothing choices.
Slut-shaming is a practice that I have never understood. In the world we have today why are we still allowing clothing to be something that permits you to judge a women on how promiscuous she may or not be. Clothing does not prove anything about a girl’s personal morals, and to assume rude things about someone based of something as trivial as clothing is absurd.
Another discouraging thing about slut shaming is who is performing it. You may think that men would be the bad guy here, but I have heard far more women make disgusting comments toward a girl based off an inference about what she chose to put on that morning. Women should recognize their right to dress however they choose and respect other women using that right.
Recently, I attended a college football game and witness an instance such as this. I overheard some disparaging comments being made about two girls dressed in tank tops and shorts. This person stated that “they were looking for attention” and “they didn’t come to the game to watch football but to get boys.” These girls were not within range to hear, so they continued walking, talking amongst themselves and sat down to watch the game just as everyone else did in the stadium. They brought no attention to themselves, however, it had been decided that they were begging for it because of the length of their shorts. This person fixated on them, essentially ignoring the game to discuss two oblivious girls minding their own business. By doing so they were doing exactly what they had accused the girls of not moments before. See the problem? By allowing something not affecting them at all they were not only trying to bring those girls down, but were also bringing themselves down.
These girls had every right to dress as they did. They were not breaking any dress code created by the stadium, they were not distracting others from the game by any actions or words, they were simply watching a game in clothing that was cool on a hot day sitting with no shade.
Why people choose to fixate upon negativity I will never understand. If you see someone wearing clothing that you do not like, make a mental note not to dress like that and move on. There is no need to sit and stew about something you dislike but cannot do, or have no right to do, anything about.
What another woman is wearing in public does not negatively affect you in any way, shape, or form. How others dress does not physically harm or endanger your personal well being. There is no dress code for life. One person’s moral code does not have authority over others’ decisions. Respect women’s right to dress however they choose, as you have no say in the matter.
I think we can all agree that there is enough negativity in the world, why add to it?
