Althouse: "In my youth and still somewhat to this date, I learned to view my body as a threat, both to myself and to others."

September 14, 2019

"In my youth and still somewhat to this date, I learned to view my body as a threat, both to myself and to others."

"Taking care to cover those bits that act as a sexual signal felt like a necessary step to de-weaponize my body.... Just as heavier women are assumed to be 'unhealthy,' and skinny women are evaluated as 'needing a sandwich,' you are cast as a harlot; a man-eater. A simple T-shirt over an ample bosom is rendered obscene, and you mustn’t be too tempting.... [S]chools and sports teams should be mindful that they aren’t ostracizing girls based on arbitrary modesty codes that have the effect of penalizing certain body types. When they do this, they are not only participating in the oversexualization of these girls, but they give power to the negative attitudes toward curvier body types by turning them into policy."

Writes Amanda MacLean in "The Obscenity of Curves/Oversexualizing female athletes is dangerous" (NYT)(writing in reaction to that story about the high school competitive swimmer who was disqualified for her too-revealing bathing suit).

63 comments:

Anthony said...: And in other news, the sky is blue and water is wet.

I notice the author didn't mention any of the benefits that go along with being attractive. Gotta be oppressed.; 9/14/19, 11:35 AM
Jupiter said...: The World is coming to an End in twelve years, and this dumb bimbo is worrying about her tits!; 9/14/19, 11:41 AM
Andilinks said...: There are benefits, learning to cope with both is part of growing up.; 9/14/19, 11:42 AM
traditionalguy said...: We could elect Beto. He could absolutely outlaw and confiscate all sexual attractiveness and have the State Police do mandatory surgery that confiscates sexy attack body parts.; 9/14/19, 11:49 AM
Martha said...: sort of a ........HUMBLEBRAG; 9/14/19, 11:49 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: When I was in high school, the general idea was that it was good for you to accept the rules and the diktats of authority, although you might sometimes think that’s silly.

This was thought of as preparation for life in the workplace.

And, indeed it is. In this age of crazy PC censorship, quotas and such, that lesson is only more important.

It’s probably a good idea to have a rule that girls should not hang their asses out in high school swimming events.; 9/14/19, 11:52 AM
Sebastian said...: "In my youth and still somewhat to this date, I learned to view my body as a threat, both to myself and to others."

What "threat," exactly? What threat to yourself, specifically?

"Taking care to cover those bits that act as a sexual signal felt like a necessary step to de-weaponize my body"

Then again, for girls who are not as self-centered, covering up is a way to keep space sexually neutral. You know, like Althouse immediately recognizing the good sense of the principal who told her not to wear skimpy skirts. "What was I thinking," she said.

"you are cast as a harlot; a man-eater."

Ah, must be the creative-writing type.

"the oversexualization of these girls"

So downplaying sexual signals is a form of "oversexualization"?

"the negative attitudes toward curvier body types"

Missing the point, girl.; 9/14/19, 11:52 AM
Michael K said...: Police do mandatory surgery that confiscates sexy attack body parts.

Without his dick, Beto would be looking for a job instead of spending his wife's father's money.; 9/14/19, 11:54 AM
Jupiter said...: Shouting Thomas said...
"When I was in high school, the general idea was that it was good for you to accept the rules and the diktats of authority, although you might sometimes think that’s silly."

Where did you grow up? North Korea? Sorry, I don't remember it that way.; 9/14/19, 11:55 AM
Martha said...: Burkas for all those sexy women would solve this problem.; 9/14/19, 11:56 AM
rcocean said...: Jesus, what a bunch of fem-marx-speech. Could someone translate that into English?
I suppose all the jargon, and weird word combinations are necessary to give importance to a subject that isn't.

Here's an idea, don't wear Swim suits that are so tight or skimpy we see your breast nipples, butt crack, and/or vagina.; 9/14/19, 11:58 AM
JAORE said...: Gotta hide 'em until it's time to bring out the big guns?; 9/14/19, 11:58 AM
Seeing Red said...: Get breast reduction.

Yeesh.; 9/14/19, 11:59 AM
n.n said...: Self-moderation is not an extreme sport. That said, most people do not affirmatively ogle and corrupt your dignity. I think there was a Seinfeld episode that covered human aesthetic etiquette.; 9/14/19, 12:02 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Rural Illinois in the 50s and 60. That’s where I grew up.

kids were expected to do as they were told and to have their lives directed by parents, school authority and church.

It’s really a great system that bears no resemblance to North Korea. I’m in contact with many of my classmates on FB. They are remarkably successful. Remember that highly publicized study several years ago of areas of the U.S. that produce the greatest upward mobility? My home county is at or near the top.

I don’t remember feeling oppressed. Although we were poor, our day to day lives were really quite enjoyable.; 9/14/19, 12:03 PM
Jupiter said...: "kids were expected to do as they were told and to have their lives directed by parents, school authority and church."

Hmmm... I recall some such expectations, but it was the parents, school authorities and church that did the expecting.

I have long wondered about that "upward mobility" schtick. It seems we are supposed to be really excited when someone starts out in the bottom 20% and ends up in the top 20%. No one ever seems to notice that this just means someone else has been demoted from each of the top four quintiles. Upward mobility necessarily equals downward mobility. So they're really just celebrating churn.; 9/14/19, 12:12 PM
DavidUW said...: To be followed up with why am I invisible to men now that I’m 60?; 9/14/19, 12:14 PM
walter said...: Paul S
Minneapolis1h ago
Times Pick

People who are concerned with covering women's bodies do so because they are not in control of their own sexual urges, or trying to protect men who also can't control their own sexual urges. It is the men who have the problem, not the women. Women should be free to wear (or not) whatever they choose. It is perfectly fine to expect men to be able to control their reactions to nudity. Nudity is not a big deal. Somehow Christian extremists have decided their sinfulness is something the rest of us have to change our behavior for. Just like the Muslim extremists.; 9/14/19, 12:20 PM
tim maguire said...: Just because there are positive as well as negative consequences to being attractive is no reason to tolerate any specific consequence. Each on its own is either ok or not ok. Disqualifying a competitive swimmer because the suit the school chose was slightly inappropriate for her body type is not ok. That I may be nicer to her because of the way she looks is an entirely different issue.; 9/14/19, 12:27 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Many people have looks seemingly at odds with their personalities. It's a strange but fine existence. Interesting at least.; 9/14/19, 12:29 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: If you dig a deep enough hole, everyone will want to jump in.; 9/14/19, 12:34 PM
Earnest Prole said...: I wonder what Jessica Valenti thinks about all this.; 9/14/19, 12:57 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: In my school the womens' swimsuits were translucent when wet and we had lots of cute swimmers (not many busty ones except for a couple divers and they wore thicker suits to protect them from breast whiplash). So always a lot of male support at swim meets. But all the young women athletes were sexy to us - the v- and b-ball players and track women in incredibly short shorts, the gymnasts. The athletes always looked sexier in their workout clothes than their cheerleader outfits. Personally, I thought it was great.; 9/14/19, 12:58 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "You know, like Althouse immediately recognizing the good sense of the principal who told her not to wear skimpy skirts. "What was I thinking," she said."

I guess that's sarcastic. If not, you sure misread me. I am angry at this man even though half a century has passed.; 9/14/19, 1:04 PM
buwaya said...: She objects, it seems, to ordinary human biology.

This is worse than tilting at windmills.
The errors of Quixote were those of mis-perceptions created by an addled mind.

Hers are made in full possession of her faculties. She demands to change other peoples nature, to suit her pique.; 9/14/19, 1:09 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: Just as heavier women are assumed to be 'unhealthy,' and skinny women are evaluated as 'needing a sandwich,' you are cast as a harlot; a man-eater. A simple T-shirt over an ample bosom is rendered obscene, and you mustn’t be too tempting....

Bitch bitch bitch. That's all they know how to do.; 9/14/19, 1:19 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: I am angry at this man even though half a century has passed.

Wow.; 9/14/19, 1:22 PM
bleh said...: No pics?; 9/14/19, 1:26 PM
Clyde said...: The swimmers have nothing on the high school girls who play volleyball in those short shorts. In any case, it's not just the woman with a perfect body that men look on with desire. Just about any reasonably attractive woman is going to draw the male gaze, even if she is less than perfect. I won't say we like you all, but we like most of you. If you don't want to be admired, wear a tablecloth like an Iranian.; 9/14/19, 1:32 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: "I am angry at this man even though half a century has passed."

Most people who read these comments are aware of that. As I recall, you were in fashionable attire (at the dawn of time), and the principal admonished you. Was it getting the boys stirred up? I can't remember, but that was the mantra at my high school.

Well, high school principals are a bit thick, and they feel like they are in a three ring circus. As my mother used to say, "The poor man is doing the best he can." But is was unfair to pick on you. In my school, the principal picked on everyone and called it good citizenship training.

A classical liberal (me) was then born.; 9/14/19, 1:37 PM
Francisco D said...: I am angry at this man even though half a century has passed.

Seriously?

How many high school principals do you know? They are simply bureaucrats whose focus is keeping many different education stakeholders happy so that they can keep their job. They do not have the power and discretion we imagined 50 years ago.; 9/14/19, 1:40 PM
Bilwick said...: I think Olympic athletes, men and women, should go back to their roots and compete nude.; 9/14/19, 1:46 PM
Roy Lofquist said...: Ain't the internet amazing? Obscure journals of abnormal psychology are now mainstream.; 9/14/19, 2:09 PM
bagoh20 said...: "I learned to view my body as a threat, both to myself and to others."

That sounds like something Barney Fife would say.

As a man with no young daughters, I support the right of sexy young women to weaponize their assets like this. Go ahead, have your equality all over the place. I'll watch from a safe distance.; 9/14/19, 2:11 PM
Mark said...: You know, if boys or men wore some of the clothing that girls/women wear, they would be condemned for exposing themselves.; 9/14/19, 2:12 PM
FullMoon said...: I am angry at this man even though half a century has passed.

I wonder if his thinking has evolved over fifty years. Has anybodies?; 9/14/19, 2:28 PM
stevew said...: This is timely. I am in Italy and have noticed many women - travelers, not locals - are wearing revealing clothing. This includes shorts that leave parts of their bottoms exposed, tight fitting tops with no undergarments, and a few with full body tight sorts of outfits that leave nothing to the imagination. I don't care what they choose to wear, but do wonder why they would be offended by a man's gaze or attention. Honestly not clear to me why they dress as they do and what they expected when dressing that way.; 9/14/19, 2:34 PM
mikee said...: I once forgot to tie the knot on my Speedo before a 50 meter freestyle race, and had a very slooooow swim. Males have problems with swimsuits, too.; 9/14/19, 2:43 PM
hstad said...: Feminism a theory so full of holes today's practitioners cannot see its fleeting impact.; 9/14/19, 2:55 PM
stever said...: As a factual matter, the gradual appreciation for the female form which eventually overtakes many young men is a very natural thing. You can try to hide them but the imagination has clear vision. Learn how to launch a thousand ships instead. Its a gift, not a curse.; 9/14/19, 2:59 PM
whitney said...: Did anyone else think it's funny her name is Mac-Lean; 9/14/19, 3:14 PM
Lucien said...: The Handicapper General would know what to do! (Of course, I mean the Differently-abler General).

(Did I just virtue signal?); 9/14/19, 3:31 PM
Dude1394 said...: All I have to say is “racism my ass”. That girl looks like any kid any here. Damn democrats drive me crazy with their constant barrage of racism chants.; 9/14/19, 4:12 PM
blnelson2 said...: Pretty soon someone will suggest that to be less "sexual" busty women could wear a long black dress that covers them from head to toe - even their faces - oh wait. That's a burka, isn't it?; 9/14/19, 4:23 PM
Paco Wové said...: The WaPo hurries to tell me the news -
the NYT pauses, in its hunt for the great white racist -
the New Yorker rushes to explain
that somewhere, a woman is unhappy.

Someone looked at her, or didn't look at her,
or looked at her, but not in a right way.

Someone talked to her, or didn't talk to her,
or talked to her with the wrong tone,

Somebody wrote a thing, and that thing
ignored her, or didn't ignore her.

It doesn't matter. The point is,
that somewhere,
a woman is unhappy,
and I should care.

Because
a woman being unhappy is clearly
the worst thing in the world.

A woman is unhappy
and all the world is out of joint
until it is set right!

And yet.

I have grown callous;

I no longer give a shit
about the travails of the angsty woman
of the modern media.

Years of this sort of thing
now cause stories like this to slide off,
unexamined.
(Oh God, another bitchy woman
in the Times.)

Yes, somewhere
a woman is unhappy.
And I do not care.; 9/14/19, 4:28 PM
Unknown said...: I was curious about what Jupiter said, responding to Shouting Thomas comment "I was in high school, the general idea was that it was good for you to accept the rules and the diktats of authority, although you might sometimes think that’s silly."

Jupiter: Where did you grow up? North Korea? Sorry, I don't remember it that way.
9/14/19, 11:55 AM

I figured it was probably an age thing, assuming ST is close to my age vice Jupiter much younger, but then AA still burning after all these years and Jupiter living in OR, maybe it's the nascent liberal culture (assuming Jupiter was raised in Oregon). I was raised in a small town in Kansas where my father was a jr high teacher; there were a few girls that pushed the envelope but overall community support was behind reasonably modest clothing for girls; this was long before guys had saggy pants, but boys did not wear shorts outside gym class and muscle shirts were not worn (I don't remember this was rules or some kind of general unconscious more). My father occasionally pulled girls wearing 'party dresses' or see through blouses or short skirts. Wasn't that big a deal, and the girls knew the rules -- this was (as far as I could tell) some kind of rebellion without a cause.; 9/14/19, 4:41 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: Visiting museums with classical statuary and 18th and 19th century paintings should be SO high school.

With sexting, kids think they have seen it all. But check out Manet's Olympia. Woo-woo! Goya's naked Maja. Ya-ya! Rubens's Het Pelskin. Early edition of Playboy! Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Be still my heart! Venus di Milo. Who needs arms? Zeus of Artemision. Studly to the max!

Nope, this writer is missing the point. Boys like to think about girls, and vice versa. It is part of growing up. Later, you figure out that looks aren't everything. And if you don't figure it out, you are in for some rough sledding.; 9/14/19, 4:44 PM
Unknown said...: I was in Italy about 1976 and was amazed that teenage girls and young women could get into blue jeans that tight. Somewhere since then I read an article that this was medically risky, and I've wondered if that made a difference.; 9/14/19, 4:46 PM
JAORE said...: "It is perfectly fine to expect men to be able to control their reactions to nudity."

Talk to the dick.; 9/14/19, 4:49 PM
Maillard Reactionary said...: "I am angry at this man even though half a century has passed."

Ye gods, Althouse. You were doing so good, and now this.

You have a lot of growing up to do even at this age. Let it go, and take another step to free yourself from the past.

I would give you the same advice even if he had actually harmed you.; 9/14/19, 5:11 PM
Maillard Reactionary said...: Hearty thanks to Jupiter @11:41 AM for my best laugh of the day, so far.; 9/14/19, 5:12 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "Opportunity Knockers" --Shakespears Sister

Here come those tired old tits again
You're getting looks but losing friends
Even as the party ends
You're still here
Haven't you noticed my distress
I wish you'd worn another dress
Must I witness your excess, again
etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8IfvmlpdOQ; 9/14/19, 5:35 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: My dad believed the system I described was good. The reasons might surprise you.

It wasn’t because he thought the authority of parents, church and school was infallible and virtuous.

He was a Second Louie in the Artillery and fought in some of the worst combat of WWII. He was among the liberators of Dachau.

My dad’s life experience convinced him that all authority was capricious and self-interested. But, authority is who you work for. Dad considered the world a hard, and often arbitrary place. He thought it was a best practice to learn to deal with that.; 9/14/19, 5:38 PM
Sam L. said...: As I understood it, it was the school's fault for giving her that particular suit.; 9/14/19, 6:11 PM
Michael K said...: My sister was sent home from school by the nun for wearing a sleeveless blouse to a recital.

She was in 4th grade.

You people have no idea.; 9/14/19, 7:28 PM
bgates said...: In my youth and still somewhat to this date, I learned to view my body as a threat, both to myself and to others. Taking care to cover those bits that act as a sexual signal felt like a necessary step to de-weaponize my body.

I'm the same way with my erections.; 9/14/19, 8:11 PM
Sebastian said...: ""You know, like Althouse immediately recognizing the good sense of the principal who told her not to wear skimpy skirts. "What was I thinking," she said."

I guess that's sarcastic. If not, you sure misread me. I am angry at this man even though half a century has passed."

I guess it was.; 9/14/19, 8:41 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Pretty much everyone can say that they learned in pubescence that their body could be a threat.
God save us from banalities pretending to be profound and peculiar insights.; 9/14/19, 9:46 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Where I grew up in the Midwest in the 1960s, girls were sent home for not wearing skirts, and boys were sent home if their hair came over the top of their ears. This was a public school.
The "hair over the ears" rule was tough on young families with many boy children. If you cut it just above the ear, you had to stay on top of it lest their hair grow into forbidden territory. No wonder buzz cuts were so popular for boys.; 9/14/19, 9:51 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Seb, if you’re going to be sarcastic, please give a heads up so we all understand.; 9/14/19, 10:49 PM
Kirk Parker said...: { Hers are made in full possession of her faculties }

Objection! Citing facts not in evidence!!!; 9/15/19, 12:09 AM
Deanna said...: Nobody will probably see this but I need to say it anyway. Have been watching the swimmer/ref brouhaha from a front row seat as the ref is a friend of mine and I have other friends in the local swim community, including other refs who stand in solidarity with the ref who the school district wants to see decertified. It's a debacle and IMHO the swimmer's mother is in the eye of the hurricane and she is doing her talented and accomplished daughters no favors by pushing the "discrimination/that ref is a racist obviously" argument.

The argument that you were issued the same suit as your teammates so it's not your fault that when you exited the water it looked like you were wearing a thong is one that holds no water. "My girls' suits are the team issued suits that just show more because they have more to show because they are biracial so that ref is a racist" is pretty much her argument. The rules the volunteer ref was following be damned. And the school district caves to that argument. Sad day for the swimming community. Especially sad for the future employers of the daughters of their mother.; 9/15/19, 12:31 PM
Nichevo said...: bgates said...
In my youth and still somewhat to this date, I learned to view my body as a threat, both to myself and to others. Taking care to cover those bits that act as a sexual signal felt like a necessary step to de-weaponize my body.

I'm the same way with my erections.

9/14/19, 8:11 PM

That was Ann, right? She's the one who's still seething FIFTY YEARS LATER that someone said No to her whore skirt, and simultaneously, shits herself over men in shorts?; 9/15/19, 1:31 PM