The Huron Emery Volume 7 Issue 6 June 2022

THE @THEHURONEMERY

HURON EMERY HURON HIGH SCHOOL, 2727 FULLER RD., ANN ARBOR MI 48105

We’ll k eep a look out for your eyebrows i n t he lost and found.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 6

Why are her eyes s o t eeny t i ny ? A nd i f t he dark si de exi st ed, it would be found under her eyes.

It’s s o fla t.

Voldemor t who ?

e ds Som e on e n e n t o s li m do w we t h e i r fa c e… ow do n’t k n o w h t we fe e l a b o u po ta t o h e a ds.

Man shoulders much ?

Is t hi s hai r or dry moss ? Sooo bori ng.

L ook s li k e s omeone forgo t t o wear s un s creen… for li k e 10 years.

BALLET - PAGE 2

MAKEUP - PAGE 4+5

A Huron ballerina accounts for the body image difficulties she faces as a dancer

River Rats reflect on makeup as an expression

RIVER RAT EXPERIENCES PAGE 8 Body image struggles exist everywhere. Wrestling is no exception

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 6: JUNE 2 | BODY IMAGE

Dealing with body issues as a man: My story seconds, waiting for me to be surprised.

196.65 pounds.

DANIEL LEE STAFF WRITER

7:10 a.m., Sept. 3, 2017.

I did not want to wake up. I snooze the alarm Well, for the very last time. The my 10 little alarm rang. I did not want to pushups yesterday clearly wake up. I forcibly dragged did not help. I regretted that myself out of the bed, I decided to scale myself shutting the curtain so that on the first day of school. I not a split of sunlight could regretted that I could not invade my room. I stared at control myself from eating the calendar for straight ten another bag of popcorn. I seconds and sighed, regretted being the way I “Seventh grade.” was, looking the way I look.

I tried to take a Still trying not to shower so I wouldn’t stink look at myself in the mirror, from the first day of school.

I escaped behind the shower I quickly walked past the curtains.

Water splashing bathroom down my face, mirror avoiding I started to any eye contact imagine my I regretted being the way I with myself.

Then, I realized was, looking the way I look. day.

What if that I almost DANIEL LEE, 11 someone forgot the refuses to sit with me on the most important task of my bus again because I take up day.

Knowing too much space for them wet hair weighed a pound to squeeze in? What smile more than without, I always should I make when someone weighed myself before I took a shower. Desperately hoping in engineering class makes fun of how much I changed, two bags of microwave or should I say “gained,” popcorn I ate the night over the summer? Of course, before would magically I can’t take that seriously. I disappear from my stomach. should not be offended and I carefully stepped if I was, I would look softon the scale. minded. It was a joke that A second in, it was all fat kids are so used to already at 100 pounds. hearing, that they just cover How merciless those their face with a big smile. three small digits I shut down the are. They finally water, trying to escape my stopped after a never-ending daymare. I couple checked some of the stories of slow

“

my friends posted over the night while brushing my teeth. I saw a couple memes about the first day of seventh grade, screenshots of their schedule for the school year, and a couple of body positivity reminders that clearly did not seem to apply to me.

I headed downstairs and smiled at my mom packing my lunch so that I would not get caught on how much I wanted to bury myself back in bed. I sat down at the dinner table and frowned at the leftover pizza my mom reheated for me to eat because she knew I would like it.

“Pizza for breakfast?”

I complained.

I started to blame the pizza for everything. The miserably dry-looking dough and ketchup-like tomato sauce with four slices of plasticy pepperoni made the morning even worse.

“This is what you have been eating all summer,” mom said.

That was true, and I actually did eat the pizza that morning. At least I left the crust though. I knew I should not be too hungry when I got to school, knowing how funny I would look rushing

to the cafeteria out of breath.

Based on how I look, why wouldn’t I? I packed my backpack so full because of the lunchbox I forcibly shoved in, not to let others see what and how much I was eating.

I left the house with an uneasy smile on my face, trying not to look unconfident.

7:10 am., February 16, 2018. I was woken up by the cold wind that sharply hit my face through the window.

Luckily, the sun was not out yet. I headed straight to the bathroom. Still ignoring the mirror, I stepped on the scale even before I put my glasses on.

138.64 pounds.

I got off the scale without a reaction. I turned back facing the mirror. I squeezed my biceps hoping it would get any closer to looking like an 11 inch football. Not even close. I released the stress on my thin muscles and turned on the water.

Not much has changed. I still imagined what would happen the whole day during that ten minute shower, and I still thought of what I could do better that day that would let me lose a couple more pounds off my belly. I thought of how I should deny my intention to lose weight

so that I do not get caught off having an insecurity because it is not something that I am allowed to have.

Sometimes, I thought of going back to how I was in the beginning of the school year and started to wonder why I did not start earlier so I would not have to go through all of this.

Then, I started to question if it is worth cycling around the continuous loop of dissatisfaction and self-hate over the way I looked.

I realized that I had to stop. I knew I had to a long time ago, but I believed losing weight would make a difference, at least on how I would think of myself. It never did. Even after I cut 60 pounds off my soul.

I turned off the water, feeling rather defeated than liberated. I picked up the scale and took out all the batteries, letting it fall on the ground. It slowly lost its power.

I went downstairs and sat at the dinner table.

“What do you want?” mom asked. “We have cereal or I can make you a smoothie if that is okay.”

“I’ll have the pizza from yesterday,” I replied.

I finished the pizza. Even the crust.

GRAPHIC BY KELLY PARK

Inside the mind of a ballerina: A personal narrative about body image ANONYMOUS It hurt me.

Everytime I would look at myself in the mirror, those words would replay in my head, over and over again.

“You’ve been eating a lot recently, haven’t you? Your body has a lot more fat, I can see it in your stomach.”

I was speechless. My teacher laughed as the words slipped out of her mouth and I smiled uncomfortably, my face red as a tomato. Never has someone commented on my body looking heavy.

“Thank you” I said as I walked out of the room to thank my teacher because class had just ended when my teacher stopped me. All the other students were in the room when she spoke. The words didn’t really hurt me until the train ride home where I replayed what she said over and over

again. Those words shattered me. I felt embarrassed and disgusted at myself for gaining weight. “Had I gained weight? Was it that noticeable? Do I need to start limiting the amount of food I eat?” It was the start of my issues with body image and my unhealthy relationship with food.

I had just moved to a new country and started dancing at a new ballet school. I hated everything about it. I never spoke to anyone unless I had to, and kept to myself. I can speak Japanese but since I grew up in America, I felt like I didn’t know enough for me to talk to the other girls.

The environment of my new studio was completely different from my

GRAPHIC BY KELLY PARK

old studio where I danced. It felt cold and unwelcoming.

I was always uneasy when I was at my new studio.

I started

dancing at the age of three and quickly fell in love with it. When I was younger, all I wanted to be was a professional ballerina when I was older. From a young age I’ve always been very petite and small, and never worried about anything that I ate or how my body looked. After living in Japan for a couple months, I had gained some weight from all the new foods I had been eating but I didn’t think it was noticeable.

When my teacher made the comment about how my body looked, that is all I saw in the mirror.

I watched what I ate and limited the amount of my food intake. I knew it was unhealthy but I needed to get skinnier. That is

what I kept telling myself. If I ate a big meal, I would skip my next meal. If I ate unhealthy food, the next

READ THE FULL STORY ON THEHURONEMERY.COM

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 6: JUNE 3 | BEAUTY IN THE MEDIA

All for a dress not made for her ANNA ESPER ASSISTANT WEBSITE EDITOR *Trigger warning for eating disorders Monday, May 2, I sit on my couch watching E!’s live coverage of The MET Gala. As I watch all of the stars in beautiful and unique outfits take over the screen, I keep hearing how Kim Kardashian will be wearing the dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang “Happy Birthday” to John F. Kennedy. After hearing the story on how she was given the opportunity to wear the dress, I was shocked.

I couldn’t believe that the information was put so much on display for all of us to see. From the dress itself and the event, what stood out to me was how Kardashian lost 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into the dress.

After wearing the dress on the carpet, Kardashian took it off right away after the media event. carpet. She changed into a replica for the rest of the event.

Throughout the week, I continued to see headlines about the strict diet that Kardashian put upon herself to fit into the dress. With the diet, Kardashian would also wear a sauna suit twice a day and run on a treadmill. All to fit into a dress.

Although it is Kardashian’s job to get people talking, it was executed very irresponsibly. Someone with the following like Kardashian should be promoting and encouraging positive body image. By bringing weight into the tribute to one of her fashion icons, Kardashian took us in the wrong direction and promoted distorted eating.

“I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict,” Kardashian told Vogue.

When we begin to normalize dieting and changing what your body needs, it creates the expectation that we need to change our bodies to “fit

in.” Our bodies were created to help us survive. Clothes are made to fit you. When we normalize changing what we need, it can start to create bad habits.

Building off of this, Kardashian has 314 million followers on Instagram, not to mention the amount of people who see her on their feeds. This means that there are 314 million+ people watching her every move. What she posts we see. Every second she spends posting, millions of people can become affected by. This is dangerous because when we are taken backwards, everyone is watching.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders “9 percent of the U.S population, or 28.8 Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.” Instead of normalizing binge eating, we should be providing resources for help. Additionally, we should be watching what we say and do, taking into consideration the impact on the viewers. For example, including me there were many young people watching and consuming media about the MET Gala.

To add, teens and young people are going through many changes, including body image. It is important to be preaching body positivity and creating safe spaces to reach out for help.

It is time that people with a platform, like Kardashian, begin educating themselves. Your body is just how it should be. Although it can be easy to compare and listen to others, find what is right for you. The pressure to look or act a specific way isn’t important. No matter what, whatever way you express yourself, look, and dress is valid and beautiful. Feeling confident i s what matters. Not fitting into a dress.

GRAPHICS BY SAMANTHA GOLDSTEIN

The reality of plastic surgery RIDHIMA KODALI MANAGING EDITOR

*The individual in this article has chosen to stay anonymous and will be referred to as “Rebekah” The decision to get plastic surgery had already been sealed for Rebekah, a former Huron student. At the age of 16, that is.

“The doctor said I could get it done at 16,” Rebekah said. “I wanted to get it done as soon as possible.”

Rebekah knew she wanted to obtain plastic surgery, especially since a majority of her family had undergone a rhinoplasty or in common terms, a nose job.

“To me, it made me so much more confident,” Rebekah said. “My family was always supportive. It was painful and hard to see myself in a cast but after that it was easy.”

After the surgery, Rebekah was very scared to look at herself because of her swollen nose and it “didn’t look how it does now.”

“It was very shocking, but it was also very exciting because it was something I have wanted,” Rebekah emphasizes.

She notes that the only downside was that one needs to be careful to not get by anything for a year. Otherwise, that can hinder the effectiveness of the procedure.

Many people do not know that Rebekah had plastic surgery, but she has never been ashamed.

“I do tell people all the time because people should feel happy to do it if that’s what they want to do,” Rebekah said.

Though sometimes she hears people say “things” about those who have chosen to get plastic surgery.

“It’s just not the truth,” she said. “I’ve heard people say how people only do it because of societal norms and they just want to fit in, but that’s not why I did it. I did it because it was something that made me personally happy.”

But she never faced any criticism. If she did, her response is clear: “[I would say] it’s none of their business and I’m way happier. That is all that matters.”

Rebekah believes that people should be able to get plastic surgery, if it makes them happy and confident.

“That’s all that matters,” she said.

According to the Harvard health blog, about 220,000 rhinoplasties are conducted every year. In fact, many celebrities like model Bella Hadid underwent a rhinoplasty.

Hadid told Vogue magazine, “‘I wish I kept the nose of my ancestors,’” regretting her decision of her nose job at the age of 14.

This was not the case for Rebekah. It made her a happier person.

“I have never regretted surgery and never will,” she said. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

THE EMERY STAFF EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Vish Gondesi 408215@aaps.k12.mi.us Allison Mi 403010@aaps.k12.mi.us ADVISER Sara-Beth Badalamente Ridhima Kodali Managing Editor Anna Esper Assistant Website Editor Lydia Hargett & Anita Gaenko News Editors Gina Ko Feature Editor Zain Charania Sports Editor Samantha Goldstein Opinion Editor Tarik Fermin A&E Editor Maya Fu Copy Editor Sandra Fu & Jewel Storrs Photo Editors Annabelle Ye Design Editor Sandra Fu & Jackson Pollard Social Media Editors Visruth Rajendran Marketing Manager Muhammad Ba Kandyce Barnes Kaylee Burton Chun-Elliott, Aleila Nicholas Finamore Mya Georgiadis Nora Gibson Rhianna Gides Trey Green Mihail Gueorguiev Carson Hawkins

Shakira Hughbanks Areej Hussein Kantaro Inoki Noor Allah Ismail Mark Kerekes Suhybe Awwad Jaden Boster Lallami Boulama Carlos Castrejon Eliot Dimcheff Dominick Douglas

Daniel Lee Robert Hall Zachary Hildebrandt Braedon James Jaia Lawrence Quinn Newhouse Iva Panyovska Jose Vega John Verga Stacey Viurquiz Ky’ell Williams

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 6: JUNE

4 | MAKEUP

Makeup as a personal choice: It’s about confidence ANITA GAENKO NEWS EDITOR

“Just close your eyes, and make sure you don’t open them or I’ll mess it up,” my friend Anu said, brandishing a small black brush and coming closer to my face. The proximity made us burst out laughing. It had been a long day, and we were excited for our upcoming dance performance.

After a couple of false starts, we finally composed ourselves enough, and I could feel the soft wet brush across my eyelids and the corners of my eyes.

When I was permitted to open them again, I walked over to the large dressing room mirror to see Anu’s work. I could see the

change instantly. The few strokes of eyeliner seemed to finally balance my face; they made my eyes look larger and brighter somehow. To me, the difference was astounding. My friends seemed more nonchalant about it — everyone was wearing performance makeup, after all — but that didn’t change the fact that I felt prettier.

After that, for the first time, makeup became an actual part of my routine. Before, I had only used it on special occasions or at sleepovers. Now, I take an extra minute every morning to carefully apply eyeliner. I bought makeup remover to fix the unbalanced wings. But the sudden addition to my morning routine, while it gave me a confidence

Editorial: Why Body Image?

Body positivity isn’t just a social media trend. It’s a necessary component of keeping one’s mental health in line with their physical health. Body image is so important for people to be conscious of because its effects can be very damaging, especially with many teens consuming popular media.

Unhealthy body expectations set in place by not only media consumption but even family members can be detrimental to the health of the entire population. From eyeshadow to eyeglasses and corsets to lifting belts and all cosmetics and training regiments in between, we all have our ways to alter our own image in the ways we want, or the ways we’re expected to. Expectations are placed upon young

people to look a certain way from every aspect of life. Whether it be pressure from parents or meeting standards set in place from online culture, it’s a universal theme we all experience and will inevitably continue to deal with and have to support each other in as a community.

We,The Emery, want to emphasize on the fact that nobody is alone in these struggles. We present some personal experiences and opinions around body image to show how connected we are, with the goal of not only normalizing, but also empowering the breaking of barriers.

Remember, Huron and our surrounding community have resources available to you in the counseling office.

boost, had a side effect. I couldn’t feel pretty without it.

I have to wear eyeliner to go anywhere: to school, to the store, even out for a walk around my neighborhood. I have to wear it every time I join a Zoom meeting or take a picture of myself.

Despite multiple people saying I “don’t look that different,” I can’t let go of it. Makeup made me feel better about myself, but only while I was wearing it.

It didn’t stop with eyeliner. A sudden influx of extra work and lack of sleep gave me dark circles that didn’t seem to go away except with a layer of concealer.

In the moments I wore makeup, I was able to hide how tired I really felt, which somehow made me feel less tired. It gave me

confidence and energy, up until I washed it off.

Some people call makeup a disguise. For me, that was never the case. I didn’t look like a different person. I wasn’t hiding the shape of my face, or attempting to look like someone I wasn’t. Many people who wear makeup do it for the same reason I do: to feel better about themselves and look more put-together, not to deceive.

Just like clothes, people like me wear makeup to show off their best features. It allows us to present the best, most self-assured version of ourselves. But at the end of day, despite both positives and negatives, everyone has the right to make their own personal choice when it comes to wearing makeup.

We asked Huron...

Have you disliked any part of your body?

THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 6: JUNE 5 | MAKEUP

It’s time to normalize makeup use for all genders TARIK FERMIN A&E EDITOR For the longest time throughout history, humans have always found visually stunning ways to express themselves.

Makeup is no different from a vibrant oil painting or fashion. And this can be said regardless of gender. Our society’s gender-norms and backwards taboo surrounding men using makeup need to be torn down. Makeup should simply be seen as another form of personal expression that is not tied to gender.

Men wearing makeup is becoming increasingly more common nowadays, but it’s already more prevalent in today’s society than most people really realize. In any piece of digital media that involves male actors, whether it be a movie, a series, or even advertisements, every male actor on television uses a lot of makeup. In the film industry, we see our favorite movie characters and star actors wearing makeup with no exception of gender and nobody bats an eye. Why should there be any difference when men wear makeup off-stage? This is just the tip of the iceberg of men’s use of makeup in digital media. On most social media platforms, a lot of male social media influencers may use makeup in their videos

to make their content appear more professional. Makeup isn’t just a tool that only certain people can freely choose to utilize to improve their appearance, it’s something far beyond that. Makeup can be a form of art, and can work wonders in helping people quell their own physical insecurities, or it can be an electrifying way to express one’s self through artistry on one’s very own face.

Movie stars are not the only pop culture symbols that use makeup in their daily lives though. The world’s biggest designer brands, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada use male models to showcase their newest pieces and garments of clothing.

People often refer to fashion models, male or female, as the peak of conventional attractiveness by society’s standards. But, every single one of these revered supermodels, including the male models, use large amounts of makeup to prepare them to look their best for the runway. How can we as a people place male supermodels, who use makeup, yet not accept those who aren’t supermodels but use makeup as well?

To go more in-depth into the topic of gender stereotypes and makeup, a lot of men seem to feel as though makeup is too “feminine” and makeup as a whole carries a “female connotation.” This couldn’t be farther from the truth though. Just because makeup is something typically used

by women, doesn’t mean that men using makeup makes them “feminine” in any way.

But to those that have a distaste for makeup on men because makeup doesn’t align with conventional gender stereotypes, who are some of the peak examples of physical masculine gender stereotypes? Bodybuilders.

Every one of the world’s best male bodybuilders, some of the most physically fit and stereotypically “masculine” men in the world, cover themselves in a spray tan paint solution, called “bronzer,” to cover blemishes and stretch marks on their muscles and to make them less pale on stage with the bright stage lights. It’s contradictory to turn a blind eye to certain demographics of people who use makeup for their performance in their careers, yet scowl when a man who’s not on that same performative stage uses makeup.

Nobody should be shamed because they wear makeup, especially not simply because they’re a man. We as society must stop catering to negative gender stereotypes and norms, and we need to be more accepting and comfortable with any level of makeup a man may use for his own harmless personal expression. If somebody else is expressing themselves through any medium, and there’s no harm coming to others, why should anyone care?

Using one’s face as a canvas: Makeup as a form of art Have you wanted to change your body?

Has social media affected your body image?

ALLISON MI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Senior Maggie Thomas’ makeup journey started when they were a middle school theater kid.

“I was fascinated by the makeup,” they said.

Soon, they began playing with their mom’s makeup. They practiced.

And they got better.

“Makeup allows me to express myself,” Thomas said. “It makes m e feel like a boss.”

Overtime, they went beyond mascara and concealer and began using their face as a canvas to express their imagination. At times, that imagination is picturing cotton candy skies and stars streaked across their face. Other times it’s a sketched dragon or Avatar replication.

“It’s whatever I’m feeling that day,” they said. “It’s a very random and unplanned idea that pops up. I just let my fingers and imagination do the work.”

Despite the detailed artwork on their face and seamlessly-blended colors and shapes, Thomas says

Data from @thehuronemery Instagram

But when it comes to the face, “my mind just knows how to make it work.”

“What I love about makeup is how I can put whatever I want on my face, keep it as long as I want,” they said, “and then go back to just being me in a swipe of a wipe.”

For the future, Thomas is planning on attending Eastern Michigan University and pursuing business. They hope to continue doing makeup and nails on the side to save up money until they can start their own makeup brand.

Thomas also acknowledges that makeup is not for everybody, and that is “A-okay.”

Their endeavors in makeup haven’t come without criticism. Thomas is often asked why they wear so much makeup.

Their simple response: “Because I want to.”

they are not a good drawer, finding it difficult to draw on a flat surface.

Thomas showcases their makeup looks on their Instagram account @ maggiethomasofficial COURTESY OF MAGGIE THOMAS

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THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 6: JUNE 8 | RIVER RAT EXPERIENCES

Behind the elite: student athletes struggle with body image GINA KO FEATURE EDITOR Stereotypical body imaging for wrestlers, such as “muscular” or “masculine,” is another leading factor that causes these particular athletes to go on extreme diets to fit their body into the ideal body image.

According to recent research from the Department of Health and Exercise Science, quantitative data highlights a positive relationship between eating disorder (ED) risk and body image (BI) satisfaction in male wrestlers in the contexts of importance on appearance and body weight vigilance.

And this is no exception for high school wrestlers.

“Everything you do, there’s always going to be the ideal body image,” Huron Wrestling Varsity Assistant Coach Kayla Wheeler said.

“Sometimes it’s stuck with people and especially in wrestling, they want to look like a specific shape. They want to look like the wrestlers they see.”

Head Coach Sean Cruz also acknowledges the struggles that wrestlers have to shape their body to be more

muscular.

“I’ve had one of my freshmen [wrestlers] who had the skill, the speed, the endurance but his body just didn’t look intimidating,” Cruz said. “You can work out as much as possible and still not have the tone you want to.”

The stereotype and pressures from body image of wrestlers makes them heavily focus on muscles and weight lifting, missing other essential parts of wrestling.

“A lot of my wrestlers who dropped out [from wrestling] were focusing on bodybuilding,” Cruz said.

“They found how hard it is when they don’t keep up with specific training in the sport of wrestling. [When] we took them to an offseason practice, their endurance and their speed weren’t there. They were just trying to muscle all over their body. But that’s just not how it works.”

Wrestling is not just about the muscle. It requires the balance between flexibility, speed, strength, endurance, and muscle is just one part of wrestling. Once wrestlers start to only focus on building their muscle to fit the ideal body image, the balance eventually falls down.

“If you want this perfect body, you have to understand that with that perfect body, you’re going to have more limitations to fully achieve that,” Wheeler said. “Some wrestlers don’t have much flexibility. Their speed is starting to go down because they focus more on weight training and less on cardio. So it’s mostly us trying to get them away from a perfect body, encouraging them that they’re perfect the way they are, and all we need to do is give them the technique, cardio and weight training.”

Wheeler always reminds wrestlers the truth of body image stuck to wrestlers: It is okay to not get to the perfect body image.

“A lot of them are still going through puberty,” Wheeler said.

“Some of them aren’t going to really fully develop muscles until their senior year and coming out of their senior year. It’s okay that you don’t look like that as long as you’re making sure that you’re training and you’re doing everything to

make yourself as strong as you can be.”

Wheeler continued.

“We want them to have the idea that you don’t have to look like a wrestler,” Wheeler said. “We want to make sure they feel like a wrestler. We want to make sure that they have the confidence of a wrestler, even if they don’t feel like they

look like it. Because as long as they’re training and doing their part, they’re getting stronger. That’s all that matters. They don’t need to look a certain way.”

GRAPHIC BY SANDRA FU

River Rats speak out about misogyny at Huron ANNABELLE YE & RIDHIMA KODALI DESIGN EDITOR & MANAGING EDITOR How has misogyny been prevalent throughout your high school career?

How have those experiences affected you and the people around you?

I do think there’s a lot of internalized misogyny, whether that’s students or even teachers. Sometimes I definitely do feel like there’s some teachers that are, without even trying to, they either favor the men or, I won’t say names, but a certain teacher has said multiple times, “oh, you need to be like a strong man.” And there’s definitely a lot of men who sexualize women a lot and look down on women when they speak out for themselves.

—Julianne Cucos (11)

I definitely question myself a lot.

I’m a lot more insecure than I used to be. Even my parents tell me all the time, “oh, you used to be so much more outspoken, and you used to be so much more confident in yourself.”

Where is misogyny the most prominent?

I feel like when guys wear more revealing clothes, it’s not that people don’t judge them and call them “slutty.” But when girls wear more revealing clothes their motives are questioned and guys tend to become more controlling towards girls in those situations. But in terms of Huron, the dress code is not strict.

But I think among students the culture is still kind of bad. There’s a lot of people who still have misogynistic thoughts and comments. I think they just don’t realize what’s wrong with it because it’s so normalized. —Priscilla Du (11)

I remember when I was younger, I loved feminine things. But then I started seeing feminine things as bad things. Because all these men around me were like, “Oh, she’s so feminine” in a bad way.

So I started to only do masculine things. I wouldn’t wear skirts, I wouldn’t listen to love songs or stuff like that because I didn’t want people to think “oh she’s so feminine, she’s seeking male attention.” It has definitely still lasted in me. I’m still so insecure to wear a dress because it’s just those long lasting effects.

—Julianne Cucos (11) How do you think we can actively try to mitigate misogyny at Huron?

Education is a big one. We’re taking steps such as getting women in positions of power, like having a female vice president is a big win for women everywhere. Allowing men to step away from feeling like they have to be stoic and strong, allowing

men to express emotions and teaching men that it’s okay to be emotional. And that it’s okay to take traditionally more feminine roles. Teaching is still a female-dominated position. And nursing is still a female-dominated position. So I think allowing, like breaking the stigma that men have to be strong and tough physically and emotionally, to help them understand maybe the positions that women are in, and I think educating. Education is the best tool we can use there.

Because of women’s historical suppression of women’s rights and not it goes back to so many so many things like back in Victorian era times when women were literally prescribed bed rest for being emotional. The word hysterectomy when a woman has her uterus removed, it’s worded in the word hysteria, because women were said to be emotional and let their emotions get the better of men especially after having children and men not understanding how women’s hormones and emotions work so differently from theirs. It just ultimately comes from the stigma that they need that women need to be controlled. Because we are the more emotional of the sexist. choices that have historically been made by men all the way back to the founding of our Constitution.

There needs to be a seat for women at the table.

Women are tired of being messed with and having choices made for them and I’m really encouraged by what I see young women doing.

—Alison Eberts (English Teacher)