All eyes on you - and you don't even know it
let's talk about sex, baby
a feminist view
sexed up media portrayals damage girls
women - not sex objects
Let's talk about sex, baby
Three girls from three countries discuss the difference between
looking 'sexy' and 'slutty'.
Sexiness
Georgina "'Sexy' is looking charismatic and confident, and it’s probably based on the celebrity world."
Victoria "In fashion sexiness is based on body shape. It's not so much what you wear, but how you look in it."
Night-time fashion
Georgina "Night-time fashion in the UK - skirts are so short, they're basically the size of a belt. Young girls dress really... badly. And you know, a 15-year-old going out in a belt-sized skirt, that's just wrong for me. I understand girls like going out and stuff, but all they do is seeking for something they're not ready for, for sex. They don't know what they want yet, they're just 15!"
Victoria "Especially first-year students just want to go out and... get laid."
Too much?
Victoria "My friend came out with me the other day. She was wearing absolutely nothing, seriously. You could actually see her bum at the bottom of her skirt, her bra was showing, it was ridiculous. And then she kicked off the biggest fuss when a guy went under her skirt and pinched her. But you can't really say much to that, because she kind of was asking for it."
“At night I personally wear a tank top and jeans, for example. It depends on where we're going. You know, it's much more appealing to wear something more conservatively sexy, showing just a little bit of skin. Much more than when you look like an easy-shagging target.”
Rose “In France it’s so different; you just don’t dress like this.”
Georgina “Even the girls back at home [in Greece] won’t wear anything this slutty, because the whole town will talk about them and they’ll lose all respect if they’re looking like a tramp.”
Judgment
Victoria "I don't particularly judge girls who dress conservatively at all, I just judge people who like sluts, haha. If they got themselves in a really horrible situation, and this is horrible to say, where they were treated horribly by men, I would be kind of like, well, you were looking for it... I mean, it's not their fault, but girls should understand that when they dress slutty, they're giving out the wrong message, even if they didn't necessarily intended it."
Too young?
Georgina "When I was growing up I had to pass through a) my mum, b) my dad and c) my brothers. My brothers... Well, one night my parents were away and I went out in a miniskirt, I think I was 16. My brother actually carried me out of a club back home and made me change!"
Victoria "If I look at a 15-year-old now, I'd now say they look absolutely ridiculous. But I have to admit that when I was 15 I wore exactly the same, like a short skirt and a top completely showing off my cleavage. Just to get some attention. Oh yeah, I felt sexy when I was 15, haha, in a slutty way.”
Rose "Girls have a wider range of choice of outfits now. Clothes, shoes, accessories... They almost have as much choice as adults. So no wonder they decide to dress inappropriate for their age."
Victoria "If my mum now says I’m wearing something inappropriate, I’ll change, because at the end of the day, if my parents' friends see me on a night out, it will be reported back if I’m looking like a slut. You know, you just don’t want that reputation on your parents, friends, boyfriend..."
Influence of the media
Victoria “Women are definitely sexualised in the media. Body weight relates to how sexy a girl is, according to the media. But for instance this Coleen McLoughlin, she's not too fat. I mean, my God, if I had her figure... I'd love it. But the media portray her as too fat and thus unsexy. So all the normal people think, okay, if she's too fat and I’m bigger than her, I’m not sexy.”
Rose "It's true, I had this conversation with a friend who just had a boyfriend, and she was actually scared of sleeping with him... So I asked her: ‘Why are you scared of sleeping with him?’ And she said: ‘Well, I see all these girls and magazines, and they're all so attractive, so perfect. I’m just worried of getting undressed with him and getting to the act.’"
Victoria "Exactly, and the media teach us that we have to attract men. It's an idea you grow up with."
give YOUR view! What's the difference between 'sexy' and 'slutty'? Discuss it here!
shout it out!
give YOUR view! What's the difference between 'sexy' and 'slutty'? Discuss it here!
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