Why I'm Against Ripped Stockings

The raped prostitute look is in among alternative girls. I remember punk, new wave, and grunge... And then my son was old enough to take over. Assaulted Sailor Moon is the new punk. This is convenient for the guys who already have no respect for women. And pedophiles. But what girl does this look work for?

 I've seen the self-hatred that causes 16-year-olds to push a pound of metal into their faces and inject the entire surface of their bodies with ink that will not scrub off. Those girls have already been violated and have learned from it to violate themselves. But the fresh ones, the virginal girls who look raunchy as a fashion statement, what's up with that?

No, I'm really not just jealous, I'm angry. Looking "Juicy" in the sorority house isn't your thing, I get that. But understand Japanese culture and the Lolita style with me for a moment. It comes from a society that both pretends to revere and actually violates women. Prostitution is exalted, and women have little hope of attaining liberation. They are the equivalent of slaves. And they are sold as such.

 The manga trend means something else in the US market, but it's supposed to turn guys on a little bit. And the wealthy Japanese can afford to dress their girls like Sailor Moon. But in the US, where we have ComicCon, where guys who love comics either make a fortune as software designers, or live in their Mom's basement way past high school--or both!--the fantasy of having a real girl is something of a pipe dream. (Blow Link's ocarina and you'll get about as far.) So if any girl will do, and they cannot be attained in US culture unless seen as equals, why would girls in US culture dress in such a way as to suggest they are trashed out rape victims?

What they are is legally untouchable. And perhaps that's the key. It's flaunting a look that is both a tease to men, intended to touch something dark inside them, and a middle finger to underscore the fact that men cannot touch the girl wearing the getup. Our society protects even alt girls who dress like they're asking for it. And they're not asking for it, if they even know what "it" is.

They've never been raped, hopefully, and the look of young, violated prostitute is just fashion. It holds appeal for the girl who needs a lot of confused attention. And if she shows up in the ER looking that way, it might be a foregone conclusion that she's been battered.

So to those with misplaced self-mutilation fashion sense, perhaps the coolest thing is not wearing your creations, but putting them to use on the set of Law & Order SVU, or in a nice haunted house. After all, Halloween isn't every day. (Yes, that's a Ministry lyric reference circa 1981, I realize.)

 As a footnote, I've never understood the desire to opt for stockings, ripped or intact. They're hot, confining, and too often fetishistic. But then, I’m 4 blocks from the beach, so it's not even an option.