I agree with what both of you have said and would add to it too.

I do think that there are women who cover up because they are oppressed. I also think there are women who chose to cover up because they prefer to be covered. I also think there are women who wear revealing clothing because they are oppressed (prostitutes, strippers, some waitresses, some girlfriends) and there are other women who freely choose to wear revealing clothing.

I would love to see a society where all women are free to cover or not (in both dressing and breastfeeding), where the spectrum from fully covered to not covered at all is both accepted and well represented in society.
Annie @ PhD in Parenting´s last [type] ..Covering Up is a Feminist Issue Video

I look at it as similar to the burqa debate. The burqa is IN ITSELF oppressive. The entire reason for its creation was to shield men from female physicality and sexuality, something they believed was an affront to their sensibilities and would disturb their moral fibre. But instead of learning to control their reactions to females or simply averting their eyes, these men instead decided to cover up the women and shift the onus onto them to keep out of sight and be ‘discreet’. Both the burqa and the breastfeeding cover can prevent women from fully participating in society and interacting with others because it puts up a wall, sends the message, “I am doing/am something/someone shameful under here.”

Women now CHOOSE to wear the burqa and women now CHOOSE to wear breastfeeding covers, yes. I don’t blame these women individually one tiny bit. No one expects every single woman to be on a crusade for change. We were born into and live in a culture that says it’s okay to enforce or encourage these coverings. No one is judging individual women who decide not to fight that battle and who actually find their nursing cover or mode of dress empowering and it gives them a sense of safety and belonging, which I know many women find reassuring.

But again, I believe that both are, by their very nature and implementation, oppressive.

It’s a lot more complex than she allows. What we feel is appropriate or comfortable isn’t some free-floating personal choice. These things are inevitably defined by time and place. If a Victorian showed her ankle, that was shocking. Clearly it isn’t today. There isn’t an absolute.

I see this in the approach to breast-feeding in the US/UK. The way babies are hidden away under blankets in the US seems silly to me, but that’s because it’s not my cultural norm. I couldn’t believe it when Pam in The Office wore an apron on a hoop to learn breast-feeding, that allowed her to look down and see the baby, but would keep everything hidden from view from others. That was in the privacy of her own hospital room. (This scene has been my only access to what a post-natal hospital experience is like in the US!)

So yes, I agree that being told what to wear or not wear can be a form of oppression. But I don’t think it necessarily is.

Am I not digging deep enough here? I can see that change only comes when individuals challenge the status quo, but I don’t want to see guilt piled on the individual for following norms that others might see as ‘oppressive’.
Iota´s last [type] ..Google- Blogger- my dishwasher- and my ill child

I fear it really is entrenched into their youth culture, with words such as ‘gash’ meaning women and (this is truly awful) ‘beat’ meaning sex. It will be difficult for this generation to mature their opinion of women if their language perpetuates a negative view.
Kate Treacy´s last [type] ..Fraudulent Feminist no 1- Birthday Boy

This is yet another good reminder to take a second and think carefully about how I can raise my boys *not* to think that femininity makes for weak, soft, jealous leg-crossers (heh) and that masculinity makes for gruff, emotionless, mean slobs.
Kristen´s last [type] ..Week 5- The Princess and the Pouch

The message is sad but true, but I just don’t think a male can deliver such a message, given that he never has to face the same choices. Perhaps we should all just freeze our eggs when we are 25! Of my friends here in SF fully 50% had their babies by IVF after the age of 35, and all were surprised that it was hard to have kids at this age. I had mine at age 35 and 37, being a biologist I knew I was pushing it if I waited any longer, and as it was it took me over a year and two miscarriages to have my first. So the biological facts do need to be presented without the political overtones.

At least we are not as bad as Japan, where women simply choose not to have children at all, the career/child choice being so very stark.
geekymummy´s last [type] ..Snow- Sand and Bounce Houses- Reflections on a year