Policing women’s bodies is unacceptable
STOP POLICING WOMEN’S BODIES – Women can’t catch a break. Not only do women get scrutinized without a clear reason, but they have to put up with random moments of harassment. “No one should fear being raped or sexualized just because of their gender or the type of clothing they wear,” Hailey Rios, a sophomore, said.
March 20, 2021
It’s National Women’s History Month, which means all women deserve to be appreciated. It also means that more needs to be done to stop the shaming of women’s bodies.
For starters, what does “policing women’s bodies” mean? It can be defined as looking at their bodies and saying, “you can’t do that.”
“I see it every day. My parents are old-fashioned and believe that women today wear clothes that are too short or show too much skin. It’s a horrible thing to witness because the way somebody dresses is the way they want to express themselves,” Ricardo Padilla, a junior, said. If a woman feels confident about the way she looks, who is anyone to question it. If she’s confident about herself, why should anyone put chains around her creativity?
According to The Queen’s University Journal, a viewer, dubbing himself “The Vancouver Cleavage Patrol,” shamed CHEK News Broadcast’s Kori Sidaway. The name itself says so much. This was meant as a joke, but realistically speaking, when was it ever fun to humiliate women for something out of their control? In fact, it could be quite uncomfortable.
Comments that might seem flattering or a bit of fun can be unpleasant and at times, creepy. “A time I remember was when I was with an older cousin of mine. She was wearing a short dress and this guy kept on calling her. It was just really uncomfortable for both of us,” Hailey Rios, a sophomore, said.
There’s discomfort and then there’s fear. “Feeling that someone would try doing something to me. Like it’s very tense. You want to wear what you like not having to be forced into clothing for your own protection. It’s so dumb and exhausting half the time,” Rios said.
Dress codes are also a debate that brings the earnestness of conversations. “Why should women be the only ones that are presentable? Everyone should have the same standard put in place,” Rios said.
The double standard placed on women to present themselves a certain way is unfair. Nevertheless, if we, as a society, can do something about it, there’s no excuse not to.
