Author: Leora Tanenbaum

Leora Tanenbaum is the author of Sexy Selfie Nation: Standing Up for Yourself in Today's Toxic, Sexist Culture. Leora began researching and writing about slut-shaming before the term even existed. Her first book, Slut!, called one of the 20 "must-read" books of all time for women, is regarded as a significant contribution to feminist thought and the foundational text on slut-shaming. Leora lives in New York City.

The ‘Subway Shirt’: How Young Women Are Dressing to Deflect Unwanted Attention

An excerpt from Sexy Selfie Nation: Standing Up for Yourself in Today’s Toxic, Sexist Culture, in which Leora Tanenbaum offers an incisive exploration of why many young women wear body-revealing outfits and share sexy selfies and what these choices say about our toxic, sexist culture:

“As temperatures in New York City climbed, young women faced a dilemma: They wanted to wear summery tank tops and miniskirts but were concerned that as they traveled around the city, especially on the subway, they would be met with predatory stares, harassing, ‘Hey baby, won’t you give me a smile?’ comments, and even unwanted touches and gropes.

“And so, being resourceful New York women, they hatched a solution: the ‘subway shirt’—an oversized, shapeless shirt one slips over her ‘real’ outfit.”

Why Do MAGA Women Dress Like That?

No judgment, but the women featured in Evie Magazine, a “conservative Cosmo” for women 18-34, are more likely than not to show off their breasts. In a nod to the tradwife fashion trend, milkmaid dresses with low décolletage are featured on young, voluptuous white women. An article making the case against body positivity and fat acceptance, “The Return of Skinny,” is accompanied by a photo of a busty white woman on a beach wearing a thong bikini. A photo spread of Eva Vlaardingerbroek showcases the Dutch right-wing activist wearing a gold cross necklace—along with her breasts falling out of a low-cut gingham dress.

To people with conservative views, only some women—those who look and act like ‘real women’—get the privilege of being sexy.

Are You There, God? My Nude Photos Are All Over the Internet.

Slut-shaming has become more rampant and acceptable than ever before in our surveillance-saturated culture. Lacking privacy, we are denied dignity.

By normalizing the behavior of pre-adolescent girls obsessed with sexuality that they don’t yet comprehend, Are You There God? is an excellent reminder that girls—like all of us—need space to act foolishly, sometimes cruelly and then grow up—without being treated like a sexual object and without the whole world knowing all about it.

The One Good Thing About School Dress Codes

dress code

School dress codes are agents of slut-shaming, driven by the belief that girls who don’t cover up are deviant and distracting. But the one exciting upside is that students are so disgusted and outraged by these sexist, racist regulations that they are galvanized to become feminist activists.

“The administration had been looking at my photo, and what they saw was my chest. It was concerning to me that they were basically viewing us just as bodies that were distracting. They were sexualizing us even though we’re still children.”

Gendered School Dress Codes Get an F. Here’s What Schools Should Do Instead

Gendered School Dress Codes Get an F. Here’s What Schools Should Do Instead

Strict, gendered dress codes teach that someone with power can, should and will control the choices girls may make about their bodies and sexuality. The best way to reduce sexual harassment and assault is to do the opposite: Let girls have autonomy over their appearance, and demonstrate that no one should ever get to sexualize anyone else without their consent.