Smells Like Teen Spirit
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James Joyner | Thursday, June 3, 2004 |
If someone can explain to me what point Susan Estrich is trying to make, please do so in the comments below.
As an aside, it would seem to me that, if one doesn’t want one’s 14-year-old to wear slutty clothes, two easy steps would be a good start: 1) don’t buy her any slutty clothes and 2) don’t shop for your child’s clothing at a place called “Wet Seal.”
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Oh you would be surprised. This *IS* a problem. A big one. And one I run into when trying to find clothes for my six year old and myself (try finding small women's trendy casual clothes that doesn't show too much).
Nearly every store from Wal-Mart to the Children's Place to Department Stores to Wet Seal (a store you'd find in any suburban Mall, mainly catering to rebellious wanna be alterna-punk teens with cash) offers slutty clothes for girls. It's a pain when you have your kid try on clothes and her belly is hanging out of her pants. Not good at all.
There is also Step 3 - send your child to a private school that prohibits slutty clothing. That way they can only look skanky on the weekends, and you get the added benefits of a better education and the added feature of blaming the school for the choice of clothes - it's a Win-Win situation! In the spirit of full disclosure, I have a teenage son who goes to a private school with a dress code. Anyone who is familiar with the raging hormones of teenagers will appreciate the value of a dress code that stresses modesty.
To Paladin's point ... Step 4: Instead of writing a stupid column on how your daughter is being forced to wear slutty clothes, write one on the merits of school uniforms for public schools.
Joy is right--I shop for clothes for my eight-year-old daughter, and the only place I can find pants in her size that don't drop to show her underwear are consignment shops--since the selection is two or three years behind the fashion curve, you can still find decent jeans in those stores. Otherwise, I have to buy t-shirts two sizes too large in order to cover up the waistline of the pants. I don't know how much longer companies can experiment to make clothes shopping a miserable expereince--I've about hit my limit.
John Henke has an excellent take on it.
It's Jon Henke, btw. Sorry about the typo!
Her points, as I see them:
1. Men are evil, and have no rights to do anything that would affect females in any way.
2. Men who are directors of corporations and who want those corporations to make lots of money are particularly evil.
3. Parents have no responsibility for what their children wear.
4. Any male charged with rape is guilty.
Good advice, indeed. I mean, Wet Seal? Uh, like, hello 21?
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