#shirtlessshamers2016

[belle-brita]

From the article: “Who are the #ShirtlessShamers2016? They’re the half-naked dudes berating half-naked women on social media. Because obviously it’s okay for all dudes to do whatever the fuck they want, but all women must meet the exact “modesty” standards of all men.”

Read more.

[cbravo5-blog]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-calls-out-shirtless-men-who-shame-shirtless-women_us_56a0fdb3e4b0d8cc1098e364

According to an article in the Huffington post, women have been taking to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to fight against online harassment. A Minneapolis based women’s advocate named Lindsey has decided to fight against the double standard of women being harassed for showing skin by males who do just the same. Women are told to have more respect for themselves by men who post shirtless and sometimes half naked photos of themselves. Hence the beginning of a movement called #ShirtlessShamers2016. Men who make posts, tweets, status updates, etc. about women’s bodies and the freedom in which they express it are then screen shot and pictures of them doing the same are included (as shown in the picture above).

In a way, the movement is opening the door to conversation about the double standards of between men and women in terms of clothing and the acceptance of nudity. Men use photos to show off how masculine they are with images of how muscular and fit they are. It is a way of showing pride for one’s body. But women aren't allowed to be proud of their bodies. Instead that sexual pride is shamed because they don’t fit the idea of a pure women, someone who is “wife material.” 

Lindsey touches on the more serious effects of this mindset. That this sexual harassment is a doorway to sexual violence. Misogynists believe that if a woman were to dress “appropriately” she would in turn be respected. But if a woman were to dress “inappropriately” she would be welcoming any violence and disrespect that they receive. She also mentions that men who shamed women for how they portrayed themselves, often had a “likes” list full of porn and images of naked women. This means that men are not against nudity or sexuality, but with women showing pride in their bodies and reflecting it in their own way. 

There’s a lot that I personally support with this movement. I like that women are finding a way to show the hypocrisy and double standards that are present. It’s an active way to bring attention to the subject without personally attacking anyone, and it does have an appeal of humor. With the growing use of social media, this is a great way to get people to notice that this is an issue that must be worked on. She also explains the dangers of continuing this cycle of oppression. If men are allowed to shame women for how they present their bodies, then there will be a continuation of victim blaming in more serious situations. It focus on equality on the basis of sexual freedom in presentation of oneself.

There isn't much that would disagree with this movement besides that it might be an invasion of privacy. Men are judged by people all over the world and I’m sure that it comes with it’s own harassment.  But they sort of bring it upon themselves to be judged when they actively choose to judge other people. 

Is there a way to go beyond social media, as in, is there a way to make more concrete changes?

It would be difficult to say. Change starts when people become open to discussion about a topic. This twitter hashtag is bringing to light some double standards in terms of sexual expression and highlighting the hypocrisy that is so widespread. Drawing awareness to an issue is the first step towards changing and ending oppression through slut shaming. This in turn would, hopefully, lead to a time without victim blaming, and a place with equality in terms of sexual freedom and its expression.

[letsdobullshit-blog]

wtf

girl: imma post this random pic of me posing naked and make the guys love me.

*everyone yells at them*

*shirtlessshamers starts*

me: girls, we all need confidence, and that is not through showing off our bodies to strangers on the internet. when we do that we are immediately putting ourselves out there in the sea of sex robots. just because we want attention doesn't mean we cant get it from those we love, those we care about, those from our family of friends. we need to see the light, not just the internet all the time. we are all beautiful in some way, and we don't need to take shirtless pictures to show it. we can show it in the truth. I know from experience that it can be frustrating, even hard sometimes, but we need to face the facts: we aren't in that time anymore. this is 2016, we need to start fresh. even though I'm hiding myself behind a computer screen doesn't mean I'm a human on the other side of life.

I am a woman.