by Kimberly Foster @KimberlyNFoster
Earlier this week, Erykah Badu went on a tweet storm about dress codes for school-age girls. What began as a problematic, but, generally conciliatory, take on the nature of attraction quickly devolved into a full-blown defense of predatory male sexuality.
She advocates dress codes for girls, namely knee-length skirts, so that girls will not distract their heterosexual male teachers.
Badu asserts that it is normal for men to be attracted to girls of child bearing age but never specifies when that is. Girls can get pregnant as soon as they start ovulating which is about a year after they begin menstruating. In the United States, the average age of menarche, or the beginning of menstruation, is 12.5, but Black girls enter puberty earlier and begin menstruating sooner for a variety of reasons. Thus, Badu makes a case for men's attraction to pre-teen girls. Frankly, it's disgusting.
Wardrobe-based solutions are not offered to boys who are susceptible to predation because the expectation that girls will shoulder the responsibility of male desires for domination has been normalized. No this isn't "fair to everyone" as she states.
The science behind Badu's comments has been debunked for decades, but let's say, for a moment, that this sort of attraction is natural. We do not use nature as an excuse to accommodate violence. Badu's attempt to cite it as a cover for internalized misogyny failed. Those of us who know better will not accept the continued sacrifice of the bodies and autonomy of girls.
Take a look at her comments below.
There was an article ruling that high school girls lower their skirts so male teachers are not distracted. I agreed because...— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
...one way to protect youth is to remind them we are all sexual in nature and as they grow and develop it is natural to attract men...— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
...it is not them who is doing anything wrong by being beautiful and attractive but with such imbalance in our society it is smart to be...— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
... aware and awake. Men and women both go thru cycles of arousal. Men automatically are attracted to women of child bearing age....— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
...I want my daughters to understand this. I want them to be themselves and wear what they like, yet be aware. Not ignore our differences...— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
Males should be taught to be responsible for their actions from childhood. It's not ok to "prey" on young women...— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
...But do I think it is unnatural for a heterosexual male 2b attracted to a young woman in a revealing skirt? No. I think it is his nature..— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
..Consequently, we must all be aware and responsible.— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
We must protect our young women. We must teach our young men...
...if I had a school I would make sure that the uniform skirt length was a nice knee length... It is fair to everyone...— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
...young women you are beautiful. Young men you are beautiful. Protect one another.— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
Being attracted to a young woman in a short skirt does not make one a "pervert"— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
It makes them human. https://t.co/ih4AA3bKX0
Morality is set up to protect our young but when it fails & nature over rides we must step in and use intelligence. https://t.co/ih4AA3bKX0— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
Incorrect. An inclination to be attracted to women of child bearing age is natural. PEDOPHILIA is deviant behavior. https://t.co/nDBXBHiloU— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
Let's observe that LAW has attempted to dictate NATURE.. Think.There would be no need for MORAL LAW if we were NATURALLY MORAL in action.— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
W/ that said, the "fighting 4 female sexual equality" vs repairing myths in the nature of human sexuality clash violently in this argument.— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) April 12, 2016
Photo by Paras Griffin/WireImage