This morning, I came across an article on The Odyssey Online called, “To Girls Wearing ‘Cheeky’ Bathing Suit Bottoms, Please Stop”. What followed such a title, as you can imagine, was an plea from the author, Kayla Ratajczak, for young women to dress “modestly” at the beach, for the sake of their own dignity and respect. Among other things, it implored the reader to consider it from a parent’s perspective, asking, “would you want to see your daughter flaunting her ‘hot stuff’ in a bathing suit that barely covers everything while boys flock to her every side?” Finally, it ended with a sassy bit about how the author would be spending the summer in a bathing suit that covered her entire behind.
The first of many blunders made was assuming that women only wear revealing clothing for attention from men. But is that the case? Why can’t women wear something because they like the way they look in it? Why can’t a woman dress for herself? In asserting that a woman’s outfit choice is made with the male opinion in mind, we assert that a woman cannot think freely, in choosing an outfit or any other endeavor, because she needs male approval in order to be respectable or dignified. Don’t we want little girls to grow up thinking that they can be independent, that they can do things on their own accord? Wouldn’t that add more value to society than teaching girls to be submissive and reliant on male opinion?
The article went on to talk about how the women in this world who cover up and dress modestly are the ones that prove that women have substance and value beyond just their bodies. She thanks them for showing respect to their bodies as well as themselves. But why does a woman need to dress modestly in order to respect herself? Why is a modestly dressed woman more deserving of respect than one who likes to show more skin? This whole concept of choosing who and who not to respect, purely based on their outfits perpetuates rape culture. It tells girls who wear less that they are worth less. Is that the message you want to be sending to little girls? That, in order to be respected, they must dress a certain way? What about their substance and value? Their intellect? Can a girl be smart AND wear revealing clothes? Our friend Kayla at The Odyssey Online seems to think not.
And, despite all this, the author had the audacity to say that she was a big believer in body positivity and self confidence. I understand that body positivity is different for everyone. It doesn’t mean that you have to wear as little clothing as possible or as much clothing as possible. It’s about being comfortable with who you are and what you’re wearing. However, despite the broad meaning behind the words “body positivity”, I’m fairly certain that if you’re telling another person how to dress, you don’t get to call yourself a supporter of it. You can cover up at the beach and be confident in who you are, and that’s great, but you don’t need to bash girls who choose to do otherwise.
Ultimately, in judging a woman by what she wears, you tell men it’s okay for them to do it too. You tell men that they don’t have to respect women who wear less, that they can determine who contributes value to society by looking at an outfit. In order for the feminist movement to be successful, we must overcome internalized misogyny. Honestly, this trend is ruining women’s dignity and it must be put to an end.
