I came across a post by someone in a Facebook group I am a part of. One more story of a girl who was sent home because her body was a “distraction.” Her crime? She was wearing a t-shirt with a little bit of cleavage showing. She happened to be a more well-endowed girl, so it didn’t really matter that her shirt was pretty modest. She didn’t have a low scooping neckline, but a tiny bit of line appeared at the top.

This girl was sent home because her collarbones showed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have been living under a rock lately, you may have missed the #metoo movement that has been spreading across social media that has women acknowledging that they have been raped, molested, or have received unwanted, unsolicited sexual advances from men. This is in response to the news of Hollywood’s Harvey Weinstein, and the women who have come forward about the acts that he did.

There are some things in our American(and dare I say “Christian”) culture that I believe needs to change. One thing that we need to stop doing is shaming girls for what they wear. Now, I’m not saying that anything goes when it comes to school dress codes. There are reasonable things to expect students to wear. But when people accuse shoulders, legs, collar bones, and navels for causing boys to be distracted, I think we are sending the wrong message. First, we tell girls that they are responsible for how boys see them. Second, we tell boys that they can’t help themselves, and feed into the rape culture issue that has been brewing for years.

I have two young boys-one is a teenager, and I believe in teaching them that shoulders, legs, and midriffs aren’t a thing to be afraid of on women. How is it the male species can survive seeing girls and women in swim suits on a beach or at a pool, but the minute they step away from water, those shoulders and thighs become pornography? How are we teaching our young men that women should be respected, but then we body shame them and tell little girls they are immodest when they wear a sleeveless sundress?

Finally, we need to speak up against “locker room talk.” When Conservatives elected a man into presidency and dismiss his attitude toward women and things he has said as “locker room talk,” it sent a poor message to boys.