Saturday, October 31, 2015

We can debate your ovaries, so why can't we debate what you wear?

            Dress appropriately. Wear something higher cut. Cover your butt. Don’t wear leggings unless you’re going to wear a longer shirt. Make sure your skirt is finger length. You should really wear a tank top under that. Beware of white jeans they tend to be see-through. And if you do wear them, make sure your underwear are nude or white. Speaking of underwear - don’t wear a black bra with a white shirt. Also make sure you always wear “real underwear” with dresses and skirts. Better yet, wear shorts or Spanx if you’re feeling a bit pudgy. But, if your wearing Spanx make sure you plan not to go home with anyone – not that you should ever go home with anyone with anyone unless your completely monogamous.


Okay, yes some of this is an exaggeration, HOWEVER, these are just some very real rules of womanhood girls learn as soon as they begin to smell when they sweat and grow leg hair. They are widely excepted and socially enforced. I began maturing quite early and remember at seven and eight being passed the survival guide. I was taught the ways I needed to present my body in order for it to be appropriate. However, these tips were just the beginning – these issues grew more present the more I grew into my adult body. In 7th grade, I was teased for my boobs and butt being bigger than the other girls. By the time I was in high school, my body seemed to be everyone else’s problem – from my male and classmates, to my doctor, to boyfriends and clothing stores, it seemed like everyone had an opinion on my body and what I did with it.

I have come to understand this in the greater picture of me, as a woman, not having liberty over my own body. My experience is not unique.  Many girls experience this. It result from an infrastructure, where women are not trusted with their bodies and thus are policed (Gay 369). A biological female since, the beginning of man has been capable of getting pregnant, carrying a child, and nourishing that child before and after birth. Her hips are wide, to support a child and her breast fill with milk to feed it. Yet, 100,000 of years of biology and evolution, has not granted her power over the most natural and necessary function of her body. Instead, women are born bound to a patriarchal society, with a rulebook in hand where, they either abide or are scrutinized. 


Looking at my own family dynamic, my brothers, two years my junior, were never taught ways they must act toward women. They were never told not to sleep around, or to dress a certain way, or talked to about rape – because you know, boys will be boys. However, for me, these rules were inherent and were equally imposed by the men and women in my life. This double standard depicts how bound to patriarchy we are. In American culture, rules are imposed by someone more powerful to keep order because cannot trust people to make the right decision – what ever that morally right decision may be. For women to have certain rules, both written and unwritten in regards to their bodies, while men live without any, depicts that as culture we do not trust women to make sound decisions. 

Thus, policy wise, topics such as birth control and abortion are consistently up for debate and insensitively spoke about and decided upon by men in power, not women. In September, a representative hearing was held on Plan Parenthood. Jason Chaffetz argued his opinion on abortion, demonizing Plan Parenthood. His main argument featured a chart with no axis and two lines allegedly proving a decrease in mammograms and increase in abortions thanks to Plan Parenthood. Richards quickly shut down telling him to check his source (which was an anti-abortion group) ending the argument. Yes, he sounds like a full-blown idiot and Cecile Richards the OG bad bitch. However, the fact that this man has a voice on policies about women when he doesn’t even know what a mammogram is, is frightening. He is not the only one either – there are plenty of uninformed men in positions of power who have a hell of a lot to say about womanhood and women’s body (check this Rolling Stone Article from 2013). Each statement, regardless of how absurd, is heard by many and makes this type of policing OKAY.


The female anatomy is debated and fought over by politicians who have no knowledge of the female anatomy. They create legislation in a very public way. With a government that obtrusively discusses some of the most difficult decisions made about women, it is no surprise when its microcosms police women’s body for other reasons. This structure ingrained in in patriarchy makes it OKAY. It makes it okay to slut shame, and tell women to cover up – or to wear more make-up (as I was most told recently by my male manager at work). Just last weekend, Time Out featured an article written by a man about an increase of “Walks of Shame” for Halloween weekend with a focus on women in Halloween Costumes, once again shaming women's bodies and what they do with them. If those in power are allowed to create policy on female anatomy, something which many of them know little about, we are setting precedent every single person in America.

Roxane Gay, The Unalienable Rights of Women
John Berger, Ways of Seeing
Wykes Gunther, Conclusion: Body Messages and Body Meanings
Bell Hooks, Understanding Patriarchy




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