#PullYourSkirtDown: Stop tolerating ‘uncomfortable’ male teachers
The correct response to your child making a grown man sexually uncomfortable is calling the police
Here’s the thing, male teachers: you shouldn’t have found any of us sexy at thirteen. You shouldn’t have been aroused by the sight of our knees under our grey school skirts. You shouldn’t have had ‘uncomfortable’ urges at the sight of our Barbie crop tops. Because, if I’m honest, you shouldn’t have been teaching us while openly having pedophilic tendencies.
Never have I ever encountered any female teacher who was even slightly ‘uncomfortable’ (what a euphemism) around a 13 year old boy, no matter what he was wearing. They’ve never had to divert their gaze or write a letter to his parents about his ‘inappropriate’ uniform violations. Because that would be extremely disturbing. I’d advise absolutely anyone with sexual thoughts about children, particularly ‘uncomfortable’ intrusive ones, to quit teaching immediately and report themselves. And yes, that includes female children. Particularly teenage girls.
The idea that it is in any way a teenage girl’s fault for a forty year old man sexualizing her is completely revolting. I was a teenage girl a thousand years ago and I can tell you, categorically, that when I dressed up or wore my uniform too tight, it wasn’t to arouse my geography teacher, it was because that was cool. Fashionable. Popular. Sexuality didn’t even come into it, far less making it a ‘come hither’ signal. And even then: the sight of my sticky lip gloss or lumpy New Look bras should have only reasonably been met with a roll of the eyes at how ridiculous I looked, rather than any kind of arousal. Because that’s the thing: normal people don’t find children erotic.
I have a horrible memory that still scars me to this day of a weird threat one of my classmates got from a female teacher. The classmate, about 14, had a leopard print bra on that was showing slightly though our ugly red and white striped blouses. To be honest, anything would have shown through that shirt, to the point we were advised to wear white vests under it. She was told off for being ‘on display’ and rolled her eyes at the teacher. “Well, people shouldn’t be looking at my bra if they don’t want to see it,” she said, with some tween proto-feminism guts. The teacher looked shocked. “Well!” she replied triumphantly, “You don’t want Mr Garrison seeing you in your bra and thinking about you like that, do you?”
That was grim for many reasons, namely that a teacher openly admitted and acknowledged that her colleague would have sexual thoughts about a minor, and that was a reason why the poor 14 year old girl should be embarrassed enough into changing her underwear. It was some weird kind of threat, almost, like she would be at some kind of risk or shame just for a male teacher knowing she was wearing a bra. All the boys in the class snickered, and the girl blushed deep red. I wish I’d said something then. I just remember thinking it was unfair.
I’m not saying all male teachers are pedophiles, before you come after me. I’m saying all male teachers who have sexual thoughts, whether they find them ‘uncomfortable’ or not about children are pedophiles. And they need to be the ones feel very uncomfortable. They should be the ones who should face consequences for voicing such disgusting emotions and feelings. They are definitely the ones schools and parents should be investigating, not whether Annie in Year 9 had a short skirt on in History.
Let’s all push back against this. When your daughter, sister, niece or grand daughter is told to pull down her skirt, don’t be part of the narrative that normalizes the sexualization of her body. Push back. Question why a male teacher is working with little girls if he finds their very legs so sexual. Question why he feels uncomfortable, but female teachers mysteriously don’t.
Because let me repeat it for the back row:
Normal men don’t find little girls erotic.
