Stop Looking at My Knees!
Just as absurd as the clothing term “one size fits all” is, the idiocy follows us beyond the “Brandy Melville” store all the way to our school campus. Specially in high school our bodies are changing constantly, as our very detailed mandatory biology class has made it clear to us; so how is posible to keep up with the expectations of our middle aged caucasian male founders created in 1938? Originally our school was a male boarding school, which probably explains why our uniform makes most of women feel like we’re one step away from getting our prostate examined.
As unfortunate as it might seem, most of us don’t have the all-american tall, slim and flat figure; which seems to be the model made out to reflect and represent the standard which couldn’t be further from the truth; our uniforms seems to be specifically designed for only one type of person, but in reality, we’re not that person. Society tells young ladies like myself to hide their bodies, their curves, their own selves to make men comfortable. This is unacceptable; no matter how “neat” or “formal” you want to make the school look; the inside can’t be as rotten as you’re making it. I wholeheartedly understand the fact that it has to be appropriate for our school environment. But who determines what exactly is appropriate? Our disciplinary dean who literally spends his time checking if our rear end is sticking out as much as he would fancy. So the educational system is telling me that an inch past my mid thigh is completely wrong but a grown man in charge of approving woman’s figures is completely ethical? it’s equally absurd as expelling a woman for getting pregnant but not expelling the sperm-giver of the situation.
Sending young women home because of dress code is the billboard edition of saying that the way a woman looks is more important than her education, but aren’t we all supposed to be worthy? Shaming woman for having big thighs, a big butt or even a small waist and calling them out amongst a crowd telling them once again, to put away the sole foundation of their physical being shatters their already microscopical self confidence… Thighs aren’t supposed to be sexual, they’re part of our lower body, as simple as ankles, as simple as calves, as simple as kneecaps. That leads me to the main question, what is so sexy about my kneecaps? If we aren’t supposed to be sexy at school and are mostly looked down upon while being sexy everywhere else (except the bedroom of course, but then we’re shamed for having sex as well) why are we being sexualized in every single scenario. We’re lucky enough to go to a school and receive an education but what is the use of our minds being taught if our bodies are being shamed, shunned and shattered.
If the focus is our education and not image, stop looking at my damn kneecaps and start valuing what we have to say, because there is much more then where this is coming from. We are woman: not meant to be dissected and definitely not meant to be picked apart or altered in the way society would like. We are smart, worth much more than how we look in our uniform, deserving a safe space to be ourselves and to look like ourselves as well. We are standing tall with our chins to the sky looking forward to a world not attracted to our knees.
