Sitting on a tram this morning, I was wearing a short dress and thick tights. You know when your stop is nearing and you get ready to quickly stand up and get out? At this stage I caught myself thinking whether there were any sharp angles on the metal seat that could potentially ruin my tights. And then I asked myself - do men find themselves in this situation? What about other hassles that not-entirely-comfortable clothing leads to? Shoulder bags that always threaten to slide off your shoulder, high-heels that slow you down or make-up that prevents from enjoying the rain? I'm not sure about the shoulder bag situation, but others are only lived through by women.
In Sweden, men ride bikes in expensive suits and women ride bikes in high-heels. Because why not?
Getthing back to the topic though, whilst on my stay in Newcastle, England, I wrote a paper on how clothing is meant to restrict women. I stumbled upon that topic barely out of curiosity. I was in the library and I randomly opened a random book that happened to be about gender performativity. And it definitely drew me in. I read plenty of book chapters and articles on it. I read way more than my paper demanded.
And now I see it. Women are unconsciously restricting themselves every day with their clothing. I sat there on a tram this morning thinking about my tights, and that girl stood under a roof in pouring rain the ofher day for half an hour to save her makeup. Yes, my tights are alright, but maybe that girl got a cold afterwards? Again, I'm going back at the #LikeAGirl campaign I mentioned in "Beautiful as we are (II)" - yes, a woman can be physically powerful and open jars in the kitchen herself. She just doesn't know it most of the time.
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