In hindsight of Trump’s Inauguration and many protests against his presidency, there is one quote that I saw that still baffles me. It was a sign that I saw from the Women’s March in my hometown. The sign read “A woman should not have to be modest to be respected.”
Now let’s look at the definition of modesty for a second. According to the Webster-Merriam, modesty is “propriety in dress, speech, or conduct.”
My biggest problem with this sign is that it perpetuates the sexualization of women. This march was about women’s rights and someone was out there asking for men to keep treating women like objects? No.
Women being looked at as a collection of body parts goes way beyond the president. We see this in the news, social media, and television. We see it in our hometowns, across the nation, across the world. Women are appreciated and valued based on how they look and the amount of skin that they show.
Yes, men should be able to control themselves and be able to look past a women body, but modesty is a two-way street. It’s easier for men to be modest, but that doesn’t make it any less necessary for women.
There is a reason why there are rules and expectations in the workplace to be modest and professional. Professionalism is respectable, and by association so is modesty. No one is going to take you seriously if you show up in a short skirt that barely covers anything and a shirt to match. It’s sexy to leave things to the imagination, ladies.
Not only does modesty show professionalism but it shows that you value yourself. I’m not saying that you can’t show your ankles and you have to wear a turtleneck, but you get what I’m saying.
However, despite all this negativity about women being sexualized in society, we have been making strides to improve. For example, beauty pageants are moving towards eliminating the swimsuit competition. The Miss America and Miss Universe pageants still include the competition, but for younger girls, it has been cut from the program.
This is good for us as a society because we need to move toward being more accepting of women’s bodies. No matter the size, shape, tone, a women’s body is special and should be treated in that way. We as a society need to build each other up, spread body positivity, and love each other for how we are.
That all starts with our own selves. We have to respect ourselves and not take any crap from anyone else. It’s sad that we are still in a society where women are treated like objects. However, no matter the change in times and opinions, professionalism and modesty will always be respected. That is just a matter of fact.
