Thursday, April 17, 2014

Feminism Fatale

A few days ago I headed into the second floor bathroom of Bracken and found what appeared to be a form of modesty "propaganda" for young women:


The top meme-like photo reads, "Hey, girl. I like the look of your DIGNITY...better than the look of your short-shorts and crop top."

The bottom meme-like photo reads, "Hey, girl. I think MODEST...really is HOTTEST."

After much discussion from our "Girls Rule, Boys Drool" lecture a few weeks ago, I could not help but become a little infuriated about this flyer.

Back in the 19th century, modesty was something to uphold as many women held strong religious beliefs and, according to an article from the University of Richmond, moral standards "by sporting the conventional style of a long simple frock, by making sure no skin from her neck was exposed, and by presenting herself in a tidy and presentable manner by doing her hair up."

As we are currently living in the 21st century where, from time to time, certain fashion trends have come & gone, seeing other young women, especially those of faith, dress in said crop tops and short-shorts does not and should not affect whether they are devout enough towards their respective religious beliefs. Who is to say that you're not "hottest" when you're wearing a nice dress that exposes your legs and some of your neck line? Or say that you don't have any dignity when wearing shorts?

From my perspective, the fact that they used a photo of an attractive famous man only reinforces the fact that we are back-pedaling in the feminist movement; you don't need the approval of a man (or anyone in that matter) to tell you how attractive or beautiful you are as a person. Fashion is a form of individual expression and by shunning someone to dress more modestly, it hinders that expression which creates a sense of doubt of how comfortable they are as a person.

Though this flyer ruined my mood, a smaller more simpler note card just did the trick:


No comments:

Post a Comment