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This happened to me 4 years ago in my gym class, and I'm pretty sure my ex small town in WI isn't the only place where things like this happen.
It was late spring with only a few weeks left of the school year. Naturally, with global warming, WI tends to get up in the 80s sometimes in late April and May.
My girls' gym class was in our volleyball unit. Instead of playing inside in the gym, there were volleyball sandpits outside by the track, and we loved the "beach" feel to playing volleyball. Felt a lot better than a hard floor.
Our gym teacher was male. There was also a boys' gym class that same period with another male teacher. The boys were in their baseball unit.
As it got hotter out, we'd notice the young men would shuffle out to the baseball diamonds shirtless. They'd walk out of the school and rip off their baseball t's just as fast as they'd put them on. Naturally, we girls decided that since the boys could go around topless, we were NOT going to fry out in the heat with our pants and long sleeve shirts on. We started bringing tanktops to gym class (no spaghetti straps or anything scandalous, and we all wore sports bras, because trust me, being well endowed and playing sports in a normal bra is really uncomfortable). Some girls brought in capri pajama pants or shorts. Again, nothing scandalous, just athletic shorts.
After a few days of us girls in our tanktops and using sunscreen before playing (because God forbid we want to take care of protecting our skin) our teacher put the kabosh on our tanktops and shorts, saying that it was inappropriate, stopping traffic, distracting the boys (who were thousands of feet away), and us putting lotion on made it look like we were beach girls. He claimed he was uncomfortable enough discussing it with us, so he didn't want any questions or any arguments, just NO MORE. That's when we surrounded him and demanded the boys no longer be allowed to go around shirtless if we can't wear tanktops. He claimed he'd try.
Nice try.....the second the boys were let loose on their own at the diamonds, their shirts went right back off. So, naturally, we went outside with our long sleeves on, and the second the boys went shirtless, we stripped down to our tanktops.
Women's cleavage and breasts in general can be distracting and erotic, but so can a man's chest. I am not complaining about this just because I am a red blooded girl extremely turned on by a guy with a gorgeous body...but it can be just as distracting to see a tall, tan guy with enormous pecks and sweat glistening down his chest as seeing a big breasted blonde go running down the track.
The issue was never resolved. I moved away at the end of that school year. I wonder if anything can be done about things like this, because I'm pretty sure sexism like that and double standards are still well alive in schools, gym classes, and in workplaces.
It was late spring with only a few weeks left of the school year. Naturally, with global warming, WI tends to get up in the 80s sometimes in late April and May.
My girls' gym class was in our volleyball unit. Instead of playing inside in the gym, there were volleyball sandpits outside by the track, and we loved the "beach" feel to playing volleyball. Felt a lot better than a hard floor.
Our gym teacher was male. There was also a boys' gym class that same period with another male teacher. The boys were in their baseball unit.
As it got hotter out, we'd notice the young men would shuffle out to the baseball diamonds shirtless. They'd walk out of the school and rip off their baseball t's just as fast as they'd put them on. Naturally, we girls decided that since the boys could go around topless, we were NOT going to fry out in the heat with our pants and long sleeve shirts on. We started bringing tanktops to gym class (no spaghetti straps or anything scandalous, and we all wore sports bras, because trust me, being well endowed and playing sports in a normal bra is really uncomfortable). Some girls brought in capri pajama pants or shorts. Again, nothing scandalous, just athletic shorts.
After a few days of us girls in our tanktops and using sunscreen before playing (because God forbid we want to take care of protecting our skin) our teacher put the kabosh on our tanktops and shorts, saying that it was inappropriate, stopping traffic, distracting the boys (who were thousands of feet away), and us putting lotion on made it look like we were beach girls. He claimed he was uncomfortable enough discussing it with us, so he didn't want any questions or any arguments, just NO MORE. That's when we surrounded him and demanded the boys no longer be allowed to go around shirtless if we can't wear tanktops. He claimed he'd try.
Nice try.....the second the boys were let loose on their own at the diamonds, their shirts went right back off. So, naturally, we went outside with our long sleeves on, and the second the boys went shirtless, we stripped down to our tanktops.
Women's cleavage and breasts in general can be distracting and erotic, but so can a man's chest. I am not complaining about this just because I am a red blooded girl extremely turned on by a guy with a gorgeous body...but it can be just as distracting to see a tall, tan guy with enormous pecks and sweat glistening down his chest as seeing a big breasted blonde go running down the track.
The issue was never resolved. I moved away at the end of that school year. I wonder if anything can be done about things like this, because I'm pretty sure sexism like that and double standards are still well alive in schools, gym classes, and in workplaces.
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