This topic has been covered over a multitude of media and for some reason, it still isn't sticking. So here is another article on why my body is not your permission, on how just because I chose to wear what I'm wearing, no matter the amount of skin showing, I am never truly, and never will be, "asking for it."
I'm not quite sure where it happened, where exactly along the way we seemed to drop the respect for women. I want to say it was recent, but I feel as if we were to indulge back 20 or 30 years, we would find a pattern of disrespect and lack of real life reason for doing so. We have stepped so far over the line that campuses (OU in particular) create flyers on Halloween that say "My costume is not my consent." We have teetered so far past the point of return that on those flyers, there is one with a male body too. The blatant horror we have come to as a society is something I am fairly certain we would not pride ourselves on.
I don't like the fact that any time I go out with my girls, whether it's to a party or even just running to Walmart at midnight because we were all craving cosmic brownies, that I have to genuinely consider what kind of clothing I will decorate myself with. I don't like the fact that if I don't want to actually fix my hair if I am dressing cute for something out-and-about, a ponytail is considered a "rape handle," so if I am going anywhere late at night I do need to be conscious if that. I don't like the fact that wearing my yoga pants or leggings because they make me comfortable, draws attention and I almost without a doubt will always receive some sort of comment on my pant choice from the opposite sex. I don't like the fact that cat-calling is still a thing. Honestly, no woman appreciates being whistled at or yelled at from across the street, or at a stop light, or walking through the parking lot. How is this degrading action still even plausible to some of the male species.You aren't cute, so let it die out with your dwindling integrity.
Right before I graduated from high school, and the question of which college, living plans, etc. was a hot topic, my dad took me aside one evening for a serious conversation. Among these many topics, was that of my living in the dorms alone, or rather on my own. With this, he told me he wanted me to take a self-defense class for the nights I would be walking home late from the library. He also informed me that anytime I ever felt unsafe while walking into the wee hours of the morning, that I could either call an escort from campus police, or to have 911 already dialed just in case. I was taught a young age when walking alone to my car to hold my keys between my knuckles in case someone were to come up behind me or grab me, my fighting back would cause more damage. My roommate and I began sharing our locations on our phones with one another after a night of losing the other on a Friday night. These sorts of things shouldn't be something a young, 19 year old sophomore in college should be worrying about. I should not have to constantly check myself to make sure I'm not giving off a vibe of "asking for it," or my make up being too slutty which apparently is an invitation of its own. I should not have to repeatedly address the same boundaries with every boy I come across, seeing as though women are becoming nothing more than an item to tally up on the big board of who got laid.
It is 2016. Women and men should not have to fret over the costume they chose for one night of fun because to someone else it is some sort of permission slip to take advantage of and touch. This is not a "touchy" subject. It isn't grey, it is painfully black and white. There is no confusion or misunderstanding by any of the words written above: it is simple matter of fact. This is another article about my body not being consent, but how many more do we have to go through before the idea of decent humanity is not such a hard thing to swallow?
