Clothes say a lot about us—even about what we may want—but they don’t make decisions. Only people make decisions.
Just because you wear a suit to an interview, doesn’t mean you’ll take the job. You may even want the job and go on several interviews, but you still get to choose whether or not to accept it.
It’s the same with sex. There’s a stigma out there: If you dress provocatively—say, in tight jeans—you must want to have sex.
Thankfully, not everyone believes this. We’ve come a long way in the last century. We’ve learned that people aren’t property, that women can accomplish things outside of the kitchen, and that no means no—period.
And yet, in 1999, the Italian Supreme Court overruled a rape conviction, “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans.”
We’ve come so far, and yet we still have far to go.
This is why we are participating in #DenimDay on April 26 in support of The Julian Center and women worldwide. We will shimmy into our too-tight jeans in protest of the decision made by a judge nearly 20 years ago, and to finally erase the stigma associated with sexual assault victims wearing provocative clothes.
Will you join us?
Dig through your closet for your favorite pair: mom jeans, skinny jeans, torn jeans, boot cut, or studded—it doesn’t matter. Wear them on Denim Day. Take pics, put them on social media, and remind folks that tight jeans don’t mean you want to have sex—or any physical contact, for that matter.
Join other advocates in their jeans in a march around Monument Circle from noon to 1 p.m. on April 26. Then consider donating $1 to $5 (or more) to The Julian Center.
We hope to see you there, rockin’ it in your painted-on jeans!
