Video encouraging female virtue enforces male dominance
Wenatchee Education Association President Kris Cameron
I attended the pep assembly at Wenatchee High School on Sept. 26. It was great to see Ramon Rivera, Mariachi Huenachi, and Hispanic culture recognized and honored. It was great to see the girls’ varsity sports teams get their moment in the spotlight. Our new Athletic Director Jim Beeson’s comments about getting involved in sports and activities as a way to give back to the community was great. Brent Grothe’s comments about school spirit extending to how we respect and treat ourselves and each other were great. What was not so great was the WHS version of the “Virtue is Beautiful” video that followed those remarks, which demoted girls to second-class citizenship.
Apparently this video originated at a Mormon school and has been repeated at private Christian schools around the country. We are one of the largest public high schools in the state, and female students at our school should not be subjected to this puritanical message of male superiority as part of a school activity. I have no doubt that the participants had good intentions and that the video intended to convey that girls don’t have to dress in certain ways to please boys, but the message it sent was the opposite.
What gives boys the right to pass moral judgment on the way girls dress, or define and control others in any way? Why weren’t girls given equal time to speak to the way boys dress? I totally agree that we all should be modest in our dress and actions, but why sexualize it? The video sent the message that girls should somehow be ashamed of their bodies and dress in a way that is acceptable to their male peers. The way we dress is a form of self-expression, and telling girls that they should dress in ways that are pleasing to boys is backward. This idea taken to the extreme, results in women being publicly flogged for “immodesty” in places like Afghanistan.
The song’s refrain was “your virtue is beautiful.” When that word is directed at girls only, it is typically a code word for “virginity.” It is damaging and unfair to send girls the message that their self-worth is based on their sexuality, especially when their male counterparts are not held to the same standard.
The most insulting lyric the (all white) boys sang and that appeared on the screen was, “a girl with integrity is hard to find these days.” This is absolute nonsense and so insulting to all girls at WHS!
The beginning of the school year has been marred by yet another male suicide, and male on male sexual assault. The way females dress doesn’t seem to warrant being at the top of the list of what we should be talking about as a school community right now. I believe the girls at WHS deserve an apology from their ASB and its advisor.
Shane Whitaker • Nov 20, 2014 at 12:51 pm
Perhaps a more productive conversation to be had publicly is how boys can honor and show greater respect for women regardless of how they dress. Focusing on women’s appearance and their level of self respect is a redundant conversation that’s been had 1000x and does not confront the behaviors and mentalities of men.
I graduated from WHS in 2010, and remember often being taught (usually in school assemblies, but also by teachers and administrators) to criticize my female peers’ moral character according to how they dress. However, I cannot recall a single instance in which I was taught to respect them as 3-dimensional human beings, nor was I ever told that girls are more complicated than their appearance. As a male student, I was never taught to believe girls can be incredible leaders, or that I have something to learn from them, or that they may possess skills and knowledge I do not. Instead I was only taught to view women as potential mates, and that I should find a mate that dresses modestly.
Boys are already being taught to be critical of girls’ moral character. What about teaching them to honor and cherish women as equals?
Megan Cook • Nov 12, 2014 at 9:48 pm
The truly offensive statement that “boys can’t think with anything but their penises” is exactly what the boys in the video are rallying against. The boys aren’t telling girls how to dress because they “can’t control their sex drive”, they’re just letting girls know that not all guys look for girls who are into wearing skimpy clothing. They know that a girl who respects herself and her body doesn’t need to show lots of skin to get guys to like her. Whether or not someone is a virgin is not the point here. Someone can still be a virgin and dress provocatively out of desire to please the opposite sex (which might not be the case for everyone who dresses this way, but still.) The issue of boys dress isn’t discussed because, let’s face it, guys don’t walk around wearing hardly anything to cover themselves. The line “girls with integrity are hard to find these days” does go a bit overboard in trying to press the fact (dress simply does not imply overall morality and integrity), but the videos main theme about promoting self worth is not a harmful idea. And yes, maybe girls could make a video about how guys don’t have to act macho and aggressive or something. That would be interesting to see too.
The video attempts to tell girls that there are other, maybe more effective ways of getting a guys attention other than showing a lot of skin, which is the intent of a lot of girls who dress provocatively. There’s no need to fear flogging or female discrimination might come from a video like this. The group of young men are stating their opinion of what they find attractive in a woman, someone who respects herself. Also, why should we silence them just because they might be religious? Why are any beliefs influenced by a religion immediately labeled as offensive? It’s good to allow people to express their beliefs and opinions whatever they are. We can take or leave whatever we choose from it.
Opinions like these aren’t damaging anybody, and promote self worth. If you already have good self worth while wearing skimpy clothing good for you you have nothing to learn from this video and can move on and talk about more pressing issues. But maybe it might help someone else…
Matthew Tangeman • Nov 10, 2014 at 4:16 pm
Thank you for writing this column. My reaction was the same as yours and I’m glad someone was able to put it on paper, it speaks for many!
Kelly Allen • Oct 17, 2014 at 11:49 am
Thank you, Ms. Cameron, for speaking out on this issue. I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise, and I think most female high school students are too intimidated to speak out for themselves on this.
As the designers of Pep Assemblies, ASB leaders should read this opinion piece carefully and re-dedicate themselves to presenting equitable and fair representations of all students. It sounds like their personal opinions and morality are keeping them from being critical thinkers about how best to reach their fellow students. Think harder, be creative, and be fair. Instead of using pre-canned propaganda, create your own media that respects everyone.
Jeanette Marantos • Oct 17, 2014 at 8:06 am
How can we STILL be sending the message that virtue, virginity and responsibility must be protected and enforced by girls because boys, alas, can’t think with anything but their penises? This isn’t just insulting to girls; it’s a ridiculous disclaimer about male behavior: boys can’t help themselves because they are too addled by sexual need to make intelligent, thoughtful decisions. Therefore it’s up to girls to figure out how to keep everyone on the right course because heaven knows boys haven’t got the strength. Even more insulting: if girls succumb to this apparent male disability it’s their fault because we all know boys can’t control their behavior (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), we shouldn’t expect anything different and it was probably the girl’s clothing, posture, provocative shoelaces, etc. etc. that caused the poor powerless, witless male to lose control.
What horse feathers. And we wonder why the world is so messed up.