Black Teenager / Mediawise

Diary Of A Lagos Dad – Banning Short Shorts

Diary of A Lagos Dad – Banning Short Shorts

Following my last entry, I made the call later that evening and spoke to my sister at length about how her daughters were dressed. As their mother I had expected she would do a better job of instilling that sense of pride in woman hood in the girls and not allowing them to go overboard following the crowd. My sister assured me that she had taught her daughters better and was unaware that they even had such clothes.

They went shopping with her most times and definitely did not pick those kinds of clothes when they were with her. We deduced that the kids probably bought the clothes themselves on the internet or through a friend or something. How were we going to talk to these girls and make them understand? My sister felt it would be better if I spoke with the girls. That way, they would not feel like I told on them, and would trust that I had their interest at heart.

So I called up my nieces and informed them that I was so pleased with their baby sitting that I wanted to take them to get new cell phones. I would have enough time to rehearse what I would say by the weekend. This would either steer them in the right direction or drive them over the edge completely. I said a prayer that only the positive would come out of this.

Black TeenagerThe girls were over the moon at the thought of getting new phones; I promptly informed them of my budget and the expectation that they stick to it. They seemed to ponder over the amount for a minute, and commenced chattering after the brief silence. I figured it would be better we talked after I bought them the phones; allow them enjoy the euphoria of their new gadgets.

After we made the purchase, we stopped over to get frozen yoghurt. As the girls filled their cups I rehearsed what I was going to say in my head. Just then, a young girl, much younger than my nieces, walked in wearing the same sort of short shorts. I tapped one of my nieces and asked, “what do you call that outfit that young girl is wearing?” and she responded “booty shorts”. “Booty shorts?” Even the name was inappropriate. I asked the girls if they didn’t think she was showing off too much in those very short, tight shorts.

Then I asked them to take a look at the boys and men in the room, see how they reacted to the girl. I also asked that they look at the reaction of other girls and women. They took it in for a minute and then said; “maybe that isn’t the right outfit for this place”. I then proceeded to ask where is appropriate for such an outfits; reminding them that the glares would be the same, and that the assumptions men would make about a girl dressed as such would be that she doesn’t leave much to the imagination and is desperate for attention.

My words sank in. I could see from their faces that they had not thought about the whole picture – the signals the dress style was sending, the impression that it made. I was relieved I had been able to get the message across without hurting their feelings. They took their yoghurt in silence. In fact, they didn’t say much on the drive home. I hoped they were reflecting on what they had just learnt and that the wisdom they acquired today would guide them to make the right decisions as they grew up.

I prayed for my nieces; Lord knows in this day and age they need it.

Photo Source: www.rollingout.com

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