Teen's epic response after being told to 'put clothes on'
A woman who was scolded by a random stranger for wearing shorts is sharing the “disturbing” experience on Facebook.
Taylor Beth Walker, a 19-year-old student, was filling up at a petrol station when a man at the next pump told her to “put your pants on.”
Posting a photo of the shorts she was wearing on Facebook, she recounted the whole incident, saying, “I am disturbed….It’s hot as hell here in South Carolina and I’m dressed appropriately for that weather.
“This man saw me at a gas station and said, ‘Where are your clothes? You need to put some pants on! Haha!’ I could tell he wasn’t trying to be rude, so I said, ‘I am wearing clothes, I have shorts on,’ to which he replied, “I have a daughter your age, that’s why I felt justified saying that.’”
Even though Walker laughed off the man’s remarks, she was left fuming. “He actually thought his opinion mattered — it was so patronizing and condescending,” she tells Yahoo Style.
The issue, according to Walker, is bigger than her experience and points to a larger about Western society.
“When this man saw me, he immediately saw a body that SHOULD be covered up, something sexual that shouldn’t be on display for others to see, something to be ashamed of showing,” she explains.
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“He didn’t see a body dressed for the summer heat, he saw an object that could be ACTED upon (not necessarily by him but by any person), a thing to be observed by other’s eyes.
“Well guess what, I’m a WHOLE person with thoughts and feelings and intent. I’m so much more than skin, flesh, and bones. More than the amount of skin that you can or can’t see.
“But that’s not what he saw and that’s DISTURBING.”
She makes a strong point.
A similar incident occurred recently in Texas when a teen wearing a long T-shirt and shorts was approached by a woman who told her she looked “trashy.”
And high school students — mostly girls — are often shamed for breaking school dress codes that tend to unfairly objectify female bodies.
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