Being Thin and Showing Skin

      Throughout my years in college, I've seen girls wearing everything from sweatshirts and sweatpants to girls wearing almost nothing.  If you're wearing a tight black bandage mini dress with five -inch high heels does that mean you are a party girl?  Or is it right for someone to think that since you're wearing this outfit you're asking for it? By wearing provocative clothing, does it actually provoke thoughts?  Attention? Desire?  Everyone’s ethics on what is too revealing is going to be different, therefore you'll never be able to please everyone.  As time has passed, the aesthetics of clothes has continued to change, in modern society, these new changes are clashing with the ethical beliefs of people; due to how scandalous clothes are nowadays.  What was once considered fashionable in the past is no longer considered appealing in modern day society.

         During the 18th and 19th centuries, clothing was conservative and it was about being modest.  Women used to only show their forearms and neck.  They'd wear dresses that would cover their entire body.  In today’s society, the word modesty has changed.  Modesty today may mean dressing in short shorts and a v-neck top.  In the past this may have been perceived too “showy” but these days it’s normal to see girls wearing clothing just like that. Girls these days seem to want to alter their looks based upon what society is now portraying in the media. This is because models are supposed to follow strict guidelines in order to maintain their ideal weight.  Their ideal weight is 110 pounds for a girl who is 5’11”.  Is it ethically correct to give women an unrealistic role model or goal of what types of clothing they should be wearing?

         I believe that it is not ethically correct to give women an unrealistic role model or goal based on the type of clothing they should be wearing.  I believe people shouldn’t have to follow the “it” trends in the media.  If someone wants to wear provocative clothing, they should be able to because it’s a way someone wants to express themselves.  Does that mean it’s okay for someone to think that a woman is “asking for it” when they’re dressed provocatively?  No.  Why should women have to have dress codes because men can’t “control” themselves?  Should I be punished for the way I dress?  Society is teaching us that if a girl is to wear inappropriate clothing it’s her own fault if a guy harasses her or is distracted by the way she looks. 

         From my personal experience, I used to want to wear mini skirts, short shorts, and spaghetti strap tanks to school because I wanted to fit in with the trends that society and media had labeled as cool.  I never really thought that the clothing I would wear would mean I was “asking for it”.  I don’t think that girls should have to pay the price based on the fact that guys can’t respect what another person is wearing. In college wearing provocative clothing is a “norm” because we’re trying to get attention.  Of course, only good attention that is.         

        It’s not just another fashion “faux pas”.  When you’re wearing extremely provocative clothing you’re not just “asking for it”—you become a target.  Violence and social marginalization are serious consequences.  We’re only human; we’re going to make mistakes surrounding boundaries of what is acceptable or not are constant moving targets.  What might be considered “cute” in one setting or to one person is “scandy” in or to another.  There is the constant worry or fear of getting it wrong. 

         Skinny seems to be the hottest new trend not only in the fashion industry but in society as whole.  Women who are deemed skinny or petite wear provocative clothing because they feel comfortable wearing it and it is meant for their body type.  Whereas, someone who is curvy hides their body in more conservative clothing because they don’t feel comfortable wearing the same clothes that the petite girls are wearing.  In the essay, “Slaves to Fashion” talks about the perception of fashion.  “The perception can make the ensuing desire and act ‘seem fitting in a way that silences any demand for justification.’ The clothes just look good; and this seems to justify the judgment that they are good, and also the desire that you should wear them” (145).  Think about how destroyed short shorts weren’t considered popular, but all of a sudden they looked aesthetically pleasing.  The short shorts became intrinsically attractive.  The media and the fashion industry have created a world where unethical standards promote unrealistic ideals of “scandy” clothing.