I understand the problem of slut-shaming. People, almost always women, are criticized and judged for their appearance or their dress in ways that either demean and objectify them, or place some blame or burden on them to change. This is done for a variety of reasons and is almost always unfair to the person being judged.
That being said, I have come to wonder if there is a way to enforce reasonable dress standards while not also being guilty of slut-shaming. There must be some reasonable standards for dress so that people aren't needlessly distracted or disgusted by others' bodies in ways that might detract from their own comfort level or their productivity/ability to concentrate and get things done.
I was recently struck by this example from HuffPost.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...vy-body_us_57d95cafe4b0fbd4b7bc8be6?section=&
The article focuses on a 4th grade teacher in a very tight dress who has been criticized for being unprofessional and inappropriate for school. The author takes the stance that this is ridiculous and unfair and that no one should have a problem with this woman's clothes. The argument seems to be that since this dress looks a lot different on skinnier white women, any criticism is based solely on the teacher's skin color and body type. I understand this line of reasoning, but I have a hard time believing the dress is meant to be that tight based on the pictures of these skinnier women. In this sense, the criticisms seem to be coming from a feeling that the dress is too small, rather than the teacher's body being too curvy.
The article also claims the dress should be fine because it fully covers the chest and thighs, but I feel like this ignores the fact that it accentuates many of her features because of how small it is.
Now I personally would be fine with this type of dress as a co-worker, but since her job involves teaching young kids, it seems reasonable to assume that many of her students would be distracted by her body. While her dress certainly does not define her quality as a teacher, I can't help but feel a parent or principal would have a decent argument to make that she should dress differently at work for the sake of her students.
I guess I just want to see people's opinions on this. Slut-shaming is wrong, unfair, and often sexist. But where do we draw the line? How do we enforce reasonable dress standards while still honoring a person's body type, culture, and personal sense of expression? How do you feel about this case in particular?
That being said, I have come to wonder if there is a way to enforce reasonable dress standards while not also being guilty of slut-shaming. There must be some reasonable standards for dress so that people aren't needlessly distracted or disgusted by others' bodies in ways that might detract from their own comfort level or their productivity/ability to concentrate and get things done.
I was recently struck by this example from HuffPost.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...vy-body_us_57d95cafe4b0fbd4b7bc8be6?section=&
The article focuses on a 4th grade teacher in a very tight dress who has been criticized for being unprofessional and inappropriate for school. The author takes the stance that this is ridiculous and unfair and that no one should have a problem with this woman's clothes. The argument seems to be that since this dress looks a lot different on skinnier white women, any criticism is based solely on the teacher's skin color and body type. I understand this line of reasoning, but I have a hard time believing the dress is meant to be that tight based on the pictures of these skinnier women. In this sense, the criticisms seem to be coming from a feeling that the dress is too small, rather than the teacher's body being too curvy.
The article also claims the dress should be fine because it fully covers the chest and thighs, but I feel like this ignores the fact that it accentuates many of her features because of how small it is.
Now I personally would be fine with this type of dress as a co-worker, but since her job involves teaching young kids, it seems reasonable to assume that many of her students would be distracted by her body. While her dress certainly does not define her quality as a teacher, I can't help but feel a parent or principal would have a decent argument to make that she should dress differently at work for the sake of her students.
I guess I just want to see people's opinions on this. Slut-shaming is wrong, unfair, and often sexist. But where do we draw the line? How do we enforce reasonable dress standards while still honoring a person's body type, culture, and personal sense of expression? How do you feel about this case in particular?
