An
astonishing program was shown on public TV recently.
Spain's
main public television station channel 1 featured a workshop for
parents on “how to teach their children to dress appropriately”
in its daily afternoon update on May 14, 2013. Although the
report was barely a minute and a half long, it featured soundbites
such as “it seems we live in an era when everything must be shown”
and “the big question: is my daughter dressing provocatively?”
I
don't believe there's actually anything wrong with discussing what
kids wear in this country.
I
just think there are a lot bigger problems such as use of
over-technology, bullying, commercialisation of young people or
infantalising them.
This
TV program raised the question of “provocative” dressing by young
girls. There is certainly a de facto summer-time “uniform” of
very short jean-pants for teens and some pre-teens and this is
generally conformed to by plenty of this age group.
The
issue to me is not so much whether this is somehow provocative but
whether girls are simply dressing like other girls because they think
they should. Following a fashion because others do is sheep-like and
dangerous more because it shows a tendency to act without
individuality than it is wrong to show bare legs.
It
is so much easier to focus on what we can easily see, rather than
investigate deeper, more serious problems that are not so apparent to
the eye.
(As
is so often the case, the commenters on this
Global Voices article are also really worth a read.)
