TRIGGER WARNING: SLUT SHAMING AND SEXUALITY
GIRLS BITE BACK BY MARISSA YACKENCHICK
2020 is proving itself to be one of the most aggressively tumultuous years in history. As of this year alone, Gen-Z has played a crucial role in generating waves of social change, experienced a global pandemic and felt a political division in our country that has been felt only a few times before. The importance of being loud is one of the many takeaways of this year — and that applies to fashion, too. As a matter of fact, one of the only times a “Karen” holds any power is the way their judging eyes make you regret wearing the outfit you already were reluctant about wearing. With recent strides for inclusivity regarding body positivity, it’s shocking that some people are still bothered by cleavage and cellulite. We are loud, yet in ways that aren’t so loud, what we wear continues to be a source of hierarchy. Internalized misogyny is what keeps blazers synonymous with success and short skirts a distraction to others, a barrier to success. At a young age through school dress codes, we are introduced to the idea that the more skin you show, the less successful you will be and the people around you. Essentially, wearing skimpy clothing will make you a still point in a turning world. Female sexuality is only celebrated when it adheres to society’s narrow set of beauty standards. Dr. Laura Spielvogal, professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Penn State, says that despite our hypersexualized media, society challenges women to look sexy but not to have sex. She says that slut-shaming is not about the clothing, rather it is a result of patriarchal control over a woman’s body and sexuality. “All women are still judged according to long-standing, puritanical ideas about sexuality that restrict a woman’s right to engage in sex outside of a monogamous heterosexual relationship,” Dr. Spielvogal says. We all know the classic “she was asking for it” justification for sexual violence. In an effort to mitigate the responsibility of the abuser, many suggest that it is the responsibility of the women to dress appropriately. By calling anyone “slutty” based off of the clothing they wear, you are promoting the proposition that we must be considerate of others’ lack of self control. Internalized misogyny is what makes Kim Kardashian controversial and Anne Hathaway a breath of fresh air. In ways that go unspoken, how much you wear is how much respect you want. Contrary to popular belief, self-respect is not how much skin you show. Self-respect is respecting yourself enough to wear things that you feel good in. There is no stretch mark, no number, no cellulite or amount of body hair that takes away your ability to feel powerful and sexy. 56
Feeling beautiful and powerful is not conditional. It is time to start dressing like the person you aspire to be and hopefully that person does not care about what others think. “My advice would be to strive to understand the context of the criticism of ‘slut-shaming’ and instead seek to change the narrow standards of beauty, female sexuality and femininity that are contradictory and limiting for all,” Dr. Spielvogal says. Finding the freeing element to fashion can be absolutely powerful. Some of the greatest fashion staples were pioneered by brave women who refused to cover up. If it wasn’t for women cyclists in the 19th century who put their comfort and safety over that of the men who championed for large bustle skirts, we may have never had our ride-or-die alliance with mini-skirts. Even bikinis were taboo until the 1960s, and the “controversies” still continue today. When Rihanna showed up to the 2014 CDFA awards in a fishnet gown with more than 216,000 crystals, she left little to the imagination. As she accepted her award for Fashion Icon of the Year, she showed the whole world her body won’t get in the way of her success. Dolly Parton’s iconic style is based off of hyper-femme. Her unapologetically overdone style has become an inspiration to bold women everywhere. Dolly made being a woman her greatest asset, making sure to accentuate all the taboo features that make women women. At the age of 8, Parton’s first inspiration was a painting of a woman in red lipstick, her eyes all painted up and her clothes all tight and flashy. “I just thought she was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. And then when everybody said, ‘Oh, she’s just trash,’ I thought, ‘That’s what I’m going to be when I grow up! Trash!’” Parton says. So if you too are “trash” just know that you are in fabulous company. The amount of scandalous styles that have become classic norms are endless. What are you waiting for?
