Would you wear that if your parents came to visit? What about your grandparents?
Sometimes I wonder if people look in the mirror after they get dressed in the morning. I don’t know what it is about this year, but I continue to see girls in short skirts and low cut shirts walking to class. I’m talking something you would see a drunk girl wearing on Friday night coming back from a “crazy party.”
This year I have seen so much worse than I have in the last three years. If that’s the way many girls choose to present themselves in an everyday situation, I can’t even imagine what Halloween will look like.
I get it. We’re in college, and Halloween has turned into this big holiday that gives girls an excuse to dress provocatively, one where they can wear practically nothing and get away with it. Halloween gives guys the excuse to stare inappropriately.
Girls dress like this and then wonder why guys don’t act like gentlemen. If this is you, maybe you should start dressing and acting like a lady with some class.
The last few weeks I have seen countless thin girls dieting and hardly eating because they want to look sexy in their Halloween costume. Whether it be a bad cop or an innocent school girl, the costume involves practically nothing and the chance of being bloated on Halloween is one that isn’t going to happen.
You’ve all seen it. And if you haven’t, you will this year. A group of girls walking in weather that is close to freezing, wearing just enough to cover those places that are “necessary” to cover. High-heeled boots that took weeks to find and fishnet leggings complete the look of the outfit. Going for sexy? I think it looks trashy.
What is really the point of dressing like this? Many girls will say they do it to look good or feel confident or show that one guy what he’s missing. But it’s hard for me to fathom the fact they don’t understand the type of attention they’re attracting—it’s not good attention.
You may have the guy drooling over you. But if you have to dress like that to get his attention in the first place, there is something seriously wrong with the situation.
You may meet some guy, dance with him all night long and then end up drunk in a room behind closed doors with him. You wake up in the morning to unfamiliar walls and a bed you’ve never seen before.
You walk back home wearing your costume that allowed you to get to that point. What was his name again? You can’t remember, and it doesn’t matter anyways because you regret the whole thing.
You’ll look for sympathy from your friends because you had a lapse of judgment and he took it too far.
But honestly, did you ask for it? By putting on that costume that covered practically nothing, did you honestly not expect to get attention from the guys who are looking for a good time?
Next time you’re deciding what to wear on Halloween, to the party on Friday night or even to biology class, think about the messages you’re trying to send.
If you just want to be another tally on a random guy’s headboard, keep dressing like it.
I found this article to be rather degrading on many different levels. The article is stereotyping all women in a very derogative way. Women have the freedom to express themselves whether that is expressed through speech or the items of clothing that they choose to wear. Regardless if it is Halloween, or not, NO women goes out at night hoping to get taken advantage of or sexually assaulted. This article places the direct blame on the victim rather than on the perpetrator, and gives the perpetrator the idea that the CRIME they just committed was okay. Sexual assault is NOT the victim’s fault rather you believe they dressed up “trashy” or not. Sexual assault can happen to anyone regardless of what they chose to wear and regardless of what holiday or day of the year that it happens to be. Think about what message that you are sending to men across campus as you had this article published. Do you think that you sent out a positive message? NO! You basically have published in the school newspaper that it is okay to call girls “trash” and that stereotyping is okay. You have given perpetrators the sense that girls are asking to be taken advantage of and that just because they chose to show more skin than you they are looking to go home with someone. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and everyone’s families believe different lengths, types, and styles of clothing are okay to wear. What my family might deem as acceptable could be completely different from the girl sitting next to me in biology class. Just because we come from different backgrounds doesn’t make your style of clothing more acceptable than mine, or mine more acceptable than yours. Men get the idea that it is okay to call women “sluts”, “trashy”, “whores” and etc. because of what we call each other. If we want men to stop calling us that then don’t you think that we should have more “class” than to call other women that? Most importantly don’t you think that as women we should stick together and help stop sexual assault and place the blame on the perpetrators instead of telling the victims that it is their fault? This article is absolutely appalling and the fact that so many women that could have been a victim of sexual assault or even domestic violence have read that article makes me sick to my stomach. Sexual Assault is NOT the victims fault! The perpetrator’s NEED to be held accountable for their crime.
-Jessica Spencer
There was no mention of sexual assault at all, if a girl get’s wasted and sleeps with a guy there is no sexual assault, your way off base on your argument here.
“You’ll look for sympathy from your friends because you had a lapse of judgment and he took it too far.” I think the “he took it too far” implies non-consensual sex” and regardless of the content of the article, Jessica Spencer is right… if a girl goes out dressed provocatively it doesn’t mean she’s “asking for it” and it doesn’t mean shes the type of girl who is going to get drunk and go home with somebody. The girls who get drunk and hook up will do this no matter what they’re wearing.. and if that’s what they want to do then… so what? It’s her body, it’s her choice. But saying that a girl is going to get taken advantage of or a guy is going to “take it took far” just because of her outfit is ridiculous
Its apparent that you don’t understand what sexual assault is. Even if he/she is drunk, it can be sexual assault. I find it to be a rather dull, skewed view. You paint the men to be helpless victims who are forced to drool over a woman because she’s wearing skimpy clothes. Let’s talk about a man having some “class”. If you didn’t want to sleep with her when she’s wearing normal clothes, don’t sleep with her when she’s wearing skimpy clothes. Maybe men shouldn’t partake in allowing this cycle to be appropriate by choosing to not sleep with anyone who presents an opportunity.
Either way, this article goes to show how ignorant some people can be and how easy it is to point fingers at everyone but yourself. Talk about “being classy”…
It’s pretty simple then don’t go back to a guy’s room, i guess i didn’t realize all those times i was sexually assaulted by women who take advantage of me when i was drunk. Not in all cases but women tend to throw words out like sexual assault or rape to cover up the fact that they had sex with a guy that they chose to leave with from the bar, because they are totally not a slut so they must have been raped. Now what happened on campus to that girl that is sexual assault, not women who choose to go home with someone
This article is uncalled for. Do you realize that YOU are stereotyping EVERY WOMAN on campus? Not every woman on campus dresses like a “slut”, “trashy”, or “whorish”. Not only that, we don’t dress or go out to be sexually assaulted. You are implying like its what all the women on campus do. They don’t wear signs that say, “Hey come assault me because I am wearing promiscuous clothing.”. Girls dress the way they do because it makes them feel unique. Just because its Halloween, and girls wear revealing clothing, doesn’t mean they are “sluts”, “trashy”, and “whores”. So good job, you just let all the sexual assaulters/offenders know that its okay to do what they do to girls and get away with it because of how they dress. What does that say for the poor girl that just got assaulted on campus not too long ago and the offender got away with it? She didn’t choose to get assaulted. Maybe you should take into consideration of how others feel before you write an article implying that all women dress like “sluts” and that its okay for them to be assaulted. Your message is degrading, and you clearly need some insight on what the real issue is.
To the author,
I think you would benefit from taking an educational course on sexual assault/sexual harrassment. Also, you may want to take a class on how to express your opinion “with class”. This displayed the level of ignorance some people have towards judging someone else. This article could only be compared to “cyber bullying”, if you wanted to be affective or make a difference maybe you should try a proactive/positive approach instead of being degrading, myopic, and obtuse. Just a suggestion. To make a comparison in the language you used: your article is trashier than the people you think are being trashy. It was classless in and of itself.
Obliviously, Jessica, you decided not to use your brain when reading the article. In no way did this article condemn the victim of sexual assault. I see that your lower level of intelligence can’t seem to understand the difference between a regrettable sexual situation and sexual assault. You also assume that a sexual assault occurred in the writing, the author never says that a sexual encounter occurred just that the person woke up in a unfamiliar place and regretted their actions. The article was a endeavor to show that women need to think about what they decide to wear out into public places. As to your familial difference in dress code example, regardless of your family background, there is a socially accepted manner of dress and any member of society whether male or female that breaks this dress code will be looked down upon.
T1. You have no standard to say that there is a “lower level of intelligence”. Degrading someone else to get your point across? In many ways this indicates an inability to effectively communicate in a socially acceptable manner. Its obvious that the article attempted to address that people should increase their “dressing standard”; however, the article was essentially classless as was your degrading comment regarding intelligence level. That type of ‘insulting behavior’ is common in childrend, but not socially acceptable for adults.
And this is why I love America. Women can wear whatever they please to a certain extent, and citizens can speak their mind. If you don’t like how some women dress, and it is some not every woman has the confidence to dress as a “bad cop or an innocent school girl” nor do they have the desire to, then go move to some countries in the Middle East where every woman must be completely covered and can only show their eyes, no woman is allowed to leave home without the company of a man. No? Doesn’t sound appealing to you? Then learn appreciate the freedoms that are given to you.
Thank you for the feedback. However, I just want to clarify that this is not a news article, it is an opinion column; this is the writer’s opinion and not a hard news article. Feel free to send a letter to the editor in chief if you would have any thoughts you would like to share. Thank you.
if you have any thoughts you would like to share.*
The message of this OPINIONS (can’t stress that enough) piece is simple: Girls all over campus need to stop dressing like it’s still summer because it’s November now and snow is just around the corner. Just because it’s a Friday night does not mean it’s okay to wear short, skimpy dresses. Stay warm and classy.
I actually happen to think that the article was genious! And I am entitled to that OPINION. And it was also a reality check for those who are choosing to dress in that manner and give off certain stereotypes. The author did a great job on addressing the issue. Kudos to you Katelyn. I don’t know how many times I have seen a girl walking around campus dressed inappropriately. Yes, it is their choice, but it’s about time you look in the mirror before you go to class for the day. Thanks for the great read and wonderful insight!