Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.
My experiences going against sexism, the stereotypes against women.
WARNING: This article contains sensitive content and may be found offensive or triggering to some people. It is intended for educational and awareness purposes to help victims and their loved ones to recognize signs of Racism, Harassment, Human Trafficking, Sex Trafficking, and/or Rape. Very graphic details may include explanations from my personal experiences. If for any reason you are not ready to see details of abuse, feel free to move on and come back when you are ready. It is also recommended that you view this with a friend or family member for emotional support.
Image by Cotahuasi from Pixabay.
Sexism involves sexual harassment. They go hand in hand as the sexual harassment focuses more on the body parts and not just the gender. It gets very specific as the same immature trends pass down the generations throughout history and still need so much improvement especially for women before things get a lot better. Whether occurring in person or online, there is a particular situation that I want to share that I've learned also from friends and family who have gone through similar and have been unsure of what to do.
To Wear or Not to Wear, What is the Answer?
When the others want to get into her panties and then the first thing that pops into her head to go against it is…
“Well, then I won’t wear panties,” so they don’t get to be in the panties. Sounds good at first, but then there goes the other stereotype of what a woman is called who is pantyless.
When a woman doesn’t wear panties, she is considered a “ho”, which is also sometimes spelled as “hoe” too. Personally, I have seen both versions all around in many different places.
After realizing this, she may think of putting a substitute on like pantyhose. But this is a popular fetish on pornography and it does tear easily. It has been mentioned that pantyhose are meant to be ripped apart. On pornography, it is concentrated on tearing the pantyhose around the genital region first to have access. It is also known to be “prostitute wear” on the streets, which is another reason why I avoid wearing this. It is silly, but it is true especially for fishnet pantyhose as an option. It is preferred by mostly men for a female to have holey pantyhose. The more holes visible, the sexier it looks to them as well as labeling her as “easy”.
To avoid these detrimental rumors and stereotypes, it seems wiser to just find a pair of panties and put them on.
Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.
Fighting Back Another Way
My solution that I have used to fight against all of this is wearing larger clothes and less fitted clothing including more sweat pants for any occasion. As a serial victim of sexual assault and a survivor, I’ve been seen and yelled at as undesirable when I wear sweatpants. This is how I received confirmation that what I was doing worked against hearing the double standards of how I should look more presentable and prettier instead of wearing sweatpants. Another way I refer to these pants is as sportswear besides the usual street style of the overly baggy pants that can sag below the waist.
In response to the panty situation, Victoria’s Secret and Pink stores taught me more classifications of panties to choose as options. Take a closer look at the photo above. I have purchased cheekies (shown as the yellow in the photo) and boyshorts (shown as dark blue in the photo) instead of the thongs and bikinis. Recently, I have shifted to only wearing boyshorts as it looks more like shorts instead of lingerie. The cheekies happen to be too revealing for me as I’m still healing from extreme sexual assault. Boyshorts are also seen as less desirable to my attackers.
Plus, if there is a more comfortable material available, I get an additional benefit out of it. More money for the buck, so to speak. They are comfy, nonrevealing, and provide a sense of safety. This helps me in multiple ways fighting against the stereotypes of peeping toms and voyeurs trying to video me as they stalk me around town. Who knew that something as simple as changing my wardrobe would save my life at least sometimes?!
Perhaps if you get to try these out, they may work for you too. Let me know how your experience turns out to be.
If you're experiencing the same, here are some reminders to take with you:
Please #becareful and try to #besafe.
#stereotypes #sexism #surviving #sexualviolence #sexualassault #healing #selfdefense #awareness #personalexperience #victim #survivor #truestory #UnseenFortitude #empowerment #blogger #poet #writer #KnowTheTruth
This information was gathered from friends, family, and my life experiences combined.
Inspired by my true story.
Thank you for reading.
Feel free to leave a comment below.
This article is written by:
Andrelyn Izquierdo
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