DISTRACTION Sexualization starts young, but doesn’t stop there

Women are ridiculed for what they wear beginning in elementary school. Young girls are taught that their bodies need to be hidden as if their bodies are the actual problem. They are told too much of their own skin showing is inappropriate and a distraction. The message that is given to those girls is their bodies are objects and not their own.

Shorts must go past your fngertips, no matter how long your arms are. Shoulders must be covered up, even if the straps aren’t thick enough. No tank tops thinner than three fngers are allowed, no matter how warm it is.

Women of all ages have been sexualized with dress codes for decades. They are made out to be worth less because of what they choose to wear. This is not OK. The Editorial Board acknowledges this issue and wants to bring awareness to it.

It not only starts at a young age — but continues into adulthood. The Missouri State House of Representatives made the dress code for female legislators and staff stricter Jan. 11. The newly revised policy requires women to keep their arms covered with a jacket or a cardigan.

This is saying women in the House can’t do their jobs properly if their arms are showing. Let’s repeat that — their arms, a normal limb of the human body, can’t be exposed because it is a distraction to their colleagues. It doesn’t matter if these women feel uncomfortable — they must cover up.

This isn’t just a problem in the Missouri government and schools — it is a problem across the globe. Every society judges and ridicules women for their appearance and let’s be real, a woman’s social standing or body type has an effect on the criticism they receive.

Dress codes not only sexualize women, they prevent self-expression. People express themselves with clothing. They show who they are and what type of personality they have through their wardrobe. Dress codes limit that self-expression and personality. Creativity and expression are taken from women since they are little.

Another bad angle this gives is the promotion of rape culture. Women must cover up or they are a distraction. Women must cover up or they are asking for it. Women must cover up if they want their boundaries to be respected. Women must cover up if they don’t want to be sexualized.

Perspective needs to happen. We must stop objectifying women through their clothing and appearance.

The Editorial Board is composed of majority women who have all been affected by the impact of dress codes, but the issue does not stop with us.

We talked with people across campus and are not the only ones who have seen the effect of dress codes and objectifying women. We want women’s voices to be heard, so we took the initiative to use our platform to give them the chance to speak out.

“All I’ve ever known throughout elementary and high school was dress code. It started when I was corrected by an administrator to “put on a longer shirt.” I have seen the dress code affect my peers, but for others, the dress code didn’t exist, what they were wearing was considered cute. Since then, I have been self conscious of what I wear and how I wear it, making sure what I’m wearing is “appropriate.” It’s hard for me to feel comfortable in anything other than a big t-shirt/hoodie and jeans or leggings. There are endless examples and experiences. This needs to stop.”

“Dress code has been ingrained into our lives since we started school. My frst experience was in elementary school when my tank top straps were too thin and my shorts were too short. As an eight-year-old, that wasn’t something I was thinking about. Every day since then I ask myself if what I am wearing is distracting, if my shorts are too short or if my tank top is covering enough of my body. Many others have the same experience, theirs starting even before mine. That isn’t something that goes away when you leave school, it’s a worry that women have to deal with daily.”

SAVANNAH ATHY-SEDBROOK

“For the longest time I didn’t feel like I could comfortably live in my skin. I was judged, criticized and analyzed, even from my own mother, for wearing clothes that made me feel confdent. People underestimate how hard it is to love yourself enough to stop caring what other people think — especially with receiving unsolicited opinions since age nine. I fnally embraced it and wore a dress for Yearbook photos. Then my teacher told me I needed a jacket because my shoulders were showing. I’m tired of people determining how much I’m worth by how much of my skin is showing.”

SOPHIE WILLIAMS

I attended a small public school, and the dress code never affected me until I was a little older. I was in junior high, and I wore a blouse that wasn’t cropped and wasn’t showing cleavage. There was a section on my shoulders that showed skin. I went through the day not thinking twice about my shoulders being exposed, and I am sure most of my classmates didn’t either, but I was told to put on a jacket. I remember feeling embarrassed. I question why I didn’t stand up for myself. Telling a girl in junior high that her shoulders are a distraction to the rest of the students is not OK.”

MARISSA BOWMAN

“... I know that women weren’t really allowed to show their shoulders. Whenever I was younger in church, women weren’t allowed to wear bikinis in camp but guys could have their shirts off. I know sometimes at certain gyms, women aren’t allowed to wear just a sports bra, but guys can take their shirts off or wear cut offs. In general, I just feel like women’s bodies are sexualized in any context. So I feel like it’s hard to go to a space where the dress code feels fair for everyone.”

ELLIE MAGUIRE

“Growing up, dress codes did affect me, preschool to second grade I went to a private school. We had a strict dress code with a uniform, and at the time, I did not really know anything outside of that dress code so I didn’t really have an opinion on it when I was six years old. Looking back on it I do feel like that was very restricting of self expression. ... I also feel like it is more targeted towards females than males, most of the time in high school when I saw people get dress coded it was always girls and not boys. I just feel like it is very sexist.”

“I started being sexualized for my body in the fourth grade when I was told that I needed to dress more modestly — fourth grade. I wasn’t like my classmates, I didn’t ft into clothes from Justice and I never could shop at PINK. I already didn’t feel like I ft in because of my body, then my clothes weren’t allowed either. My worth then started to be measured by the amount of skin I was showing. I still struggle with confdence and wearing what I want because society has told me not to. I am more than what I am wearing. What I am wearing does not defne my worth.”

“I went to a large public school full of students of all shapes and sizes, yet I spent every day being shamed for what I was wearing. My friends always wanted to go to the mall and get the newest shirts from Victoria’s Secret, yet I would always leave without a bag. Instead, I was asking if we could stop at Target. Women live in constant dread based on what they are wearing, and for most, that starts with their own self image. Magazines, TV and even our toys were placed in front of us as the “ideal fgure.” I still struggle to this day accepting that I am able to wear what I want.”

ANGELA LITTLE

“In the past, dress codes have affected me because it makes me think twice about what I have to wear, and I feel like whenever you want to wear something you should wear it to express how you feel. Sometimes it makes me feel like I can’t wear something because it’s against a certain code or rule.”

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“I feel like especially for girls it’s easier to get called out for something as simple as showing your shoulder where a dude can get away with it no problem. I’ve been told to wear a jacket before, like over a tank top or something when it has thick straps.”

The Tigers have also made themselves one of the top defenses in the conference, as they are No. 1 in points allowed per game with 58.1. The Bearcats are No. 2 in the MIAA, allowing 59.3 points per matchup.

“They’re one of the few teams that sticks with what they do,” McCollum said about Hays. “That’s why they’re good. They stick with what they do, defensively. You’re not going to see a lot of gimmicks, you’re not going to see a lot of, ‘don’t guard this person, don’t guard this person’ and so on.”

“It always adds a little excitement to it, trying to say, ‘Our offense is better than their defense,’ but, in the end, it just comes down to whoever plays the best overall,” Dreamer said.

The first rematch of the season, though, will be Kearney. In the first meeting between the two squads, Northwest won 8474. It was a close contest until the Bearcats were able to gain separation on the scoreboard with roughly 12 minutes left.

Northwest has won seven consecutive matchups with the Lopers. Since the two squads’ first game of the season, Kearney has lost all but one of its next nine games. The Lopers are last in the MIAA, record-wise.

McCollum, who has coached against Kearney in 15 games throughout his career, doesn’t care where the Lopers are in the standings.

“However many wins they have, they’re the best ‘that’ team I’ve ever seen,” McCollum said. “They’re a lot better than people think, so we’ll have our hands full.”

CONTINUED FROM A8

Sophomore Ally Hammond took first place in the women’s 60-meter dash with a Division II provisional qualifying time of 7.61, while sophomore Lexie Gilbert claimed second place with a time of 7.67.

Sophomore Kaylee Harp won the women’s 800-meter dash and met the provisional qualifying mark with a time of 2:12.82.

Hughey and sophomore Luisarys Toledo met provisional qualifying marks in the women’s 200-meter dash with times of 24.20 and 24.44, respectively. Those finishes were also good enough for the duo to capture first and second place in the event. Additionally, freshman Kennedi Cline claimed third place in the race.

With a time of 3:50.00, the quartet of Cline, Harp, sophomore Bailey Blake and sophomore Jaedy Commins won the women’s 4x400-meter relay.

Coach Brandon Masters said Northwest is strong on the women’s side. The polls agree with him, as the first rankings of the season by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches As- sociation have the women’s track squad No. 3 in Division II. The No. 3 ranking is the highest the women’s team has ever been ranked in the first poll of the season.

Masters also said, even with the athletes earning good times over four weeks before the conference championships, motivation isn’t hard for his team to find.

“We’re not laying off the gas,” Masters said. “It’s been hard work. The girls have been working extremely hard, and it’s not like we’re changing our philosophy or the programming to get fast times.

… Girls like Caroline aren’t interested in school records, winning a meet or facility records. She’s not interested in that, and I’m putting words in her mouth because we haven’t had this conversation, but what drives Caroline and girls like Caroline are trips to the national championships.”

On the men’s side, two athletes won their events while two other athletes met provisional qualifying marks.

The Bearcats get the week off, with no meet on the weekend for the first time in two weeks. When they do return to competition, though, they’ll be back in the Hughes Fieldhouse for the Bearcat Invite Feb. 2-4.

“I feel like I stay pretty confident in our team,” Hartnett said. “I know what we’re capable of, we put the time in the gym so don’t have any reasons to not feel confident. It’s just a matter of how well we play on the court and if we can come together and do what we know how to do.”

After its two-game road trip, Northwest will return to Bearcat Arena once again. Before then, though, the Bearcats will look to improve their 3-3 record on the road. Meyer said winning on the road in the MIAA is tough to do.

“These are two of the toughest places to play in the league, so we just want to go in there and compete,” Meyer said. “We need to take it one possession at a time, we know we’re not going to be able to play a perfect game. We got to make sure to focus on the next play and if things go against us, we can’t get ourselves down. We just want to go in there, play hard, play well and compete and just kind of see what happens.”