New York Times gift articles

I’m gonna get downvoted and/or banned, I hate to even make this argument as I’ve seen it used to make shitty justifications before, but on this one topic it does seem apt, so whatever.

If you do two separate google image searches, one for ‘Stephanie Courtney’, the other for ‘Milana Vayntrub’, just the names and nothing else, you’ll see two very different sets of images. The top hits are all legit images and many of the top images are of these two people at different social functions or just out in public, it’s how they’ve chosen to present themselves to the world.

You’ll notice a stark contrast in how each person has presented themselves. ‘Stephanie Courtney’ images are pretty tame, not much to see, mostly just casual clothes mixed with her Flo outfit, while Vayntrub’s images are showing… a bit more to her, clothing that she herself decided to wear. That’s not to say people haven’t photoshopped nude images of Flo, BUT we’re talking about the basic name search, the first thing you’re likely to see if you google these people.

It’s not fair when only one gets trolled and made to feel sexualized, but at the same time, when you yourself invite leering by putting yourself and your body on display in a certain way, you shouldn’t be surprised by the kind of attention you end up getting. If you repeatedly put your breasts or your cleavage on display at public gatherings, you’re inviting people to look because you’re confident in the attractiveness of your body or you just feel comfortable or whatever, don’t be surprised when men want to see more of it and that’s what they know you for, that’s just how men are.

I’m not conservative, I don’t think women should have to dress modestly, wear whatever you do or don’t want, that’s your choice, but how you present yourself in public affects what people think about you, men are affected by this as much as women. Certainly men aren’t affected in the same way, but the point still stands. And no, I don’t think clothing can be blamed for rape, that’s completely unacceptable, I’m talking about public perception of a person based on how they dress.