Justice

Tumblr Comic Describes the Double Standard Women Face With Clothing

June 11th 2016

Summer is here, and one brilliant comic nails the annoying appearance double standards women face during this time.

Created by Tumblr user Kendrawcandraw, these illustrations highlight the many ways women struggle more with grooming during the summer.

For starters, the graphic points out that men can walk around shirtless when it's hot, but women are often sexualized for doing the same thing. It also acknowledges that many women are shamed for refusing to shave their armpits, which tend to be more visible in the summer when people wear tank tops. Finally, the comic shows the street harassment women can face when they dress down in hot weather, a reality that can ultimately persuade them cover up in the summer and get questioned for this decision.

The apparel double standard starts early in life for many women.

And summer isn't the only season for it. Many young women have called out the sexist dress code policies at their schools on social media to highlight the double standard women face in the classroom. Some schools advise their female students to dress in a way that is not distracting for their male peers, shouldering the blame on women for the behavior of men.

Earlier this year, a New Zealand teen named Sade Tuttle publicly called out her school in the media for forcing female students to wear longer skirts to avoid distracting male classmates and superiors.

NewshubNewshub - co.nz

"Basically we were told that our skirts needed to be lowered to below our knees," Tuttle told New Zealand publication Newshub in April, noting that the school said the policy was meant to "keep our girls safe" and stop "boys from getting ideas, and "create a good work environment for our male staff."

Students all over the world, however, have fought back against dress code sexist through popular hashtags such as #IAmMoreThanADistraction:

Various movements have recently confronted the double standards noted in this comic.

Using the hashtag #FreetheNipple, many women have tried to de-sexualize the female body by posting photos of their breasts on social media. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's daughter Scout Willis also shared photos of herself walking around New York City topless two years ago to make a point about Instagram's policy that forbids female nipples but allows male ones on the platform.

As for armpit hair, several female celebrities have embraced it to prove that it's nothing to be ashamed of:

Many women are starting to talk about their street harassment experiences on social media.

The comic highlights a problem facing women year-round: street harassment and catcalling. For some, however, it might be an even bigger issue in the summer, when the weather is warm and women want to wear less clothing to stay cool.

Last year, a Boston musician named Jase Dillan gained a lot of attention on Facebook for posting a video of a man who allegedly filmed her without her permission and did the same thing to women on the street who looked like they were underage. Dillan followed the man down the streets of Boston with a camera to show him just how unpleasant it is to be filmed without consent, and her clip garnered more than three million views.

RELATED: 21-Year-Old's First Bikini Pic Reveals Something More Important Than Skin

[H/T Mic]

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