There is a post going around titled “FYI-If You’re a Teenage Girl” from a mother of teen boys trying to “help out” a family friend (who happens to be a teen girl). As the parent of a daughter and a son I take strong offense to her sexism for both genders.

I don’t buy this load of garbage she wrote. This is slut shaming pure and simple. How can this mom possibly expect her shirtless, tan, and blond sons to constrain themselves from thinking sexual thoughts ALL THE TIME because a teen girl posted a pic of herself with a shirt and no bra underneath? THE SHAME IS ON THIS GIRL for the sexual thoughts her sons will inevitably have, don’t you dare point a finger at her sons!

“Did you know that once a male sees you in a state of undress, he can’t ever un-see it? You don’t want the Hall boys to only think of you in this sexual way, do you?”

So males are only sexual creatures that can’t behave properly after seeing a female in any state of ‘undress’? Are her sons incapable of seeing people as people or only as sexual ‘things’? When does this cross over from seeing a specific female in what you consider a compromising pose to transfer that over to ALL females? Pictures of your boys without shirts on is okay? How do you expect girls not to look at them only sexually again? Years from now will he carry an image of a teeshirt-but-no-bra girl from his youth into the courtroom as an excuse for rape?

I see this as slut shaming in the worst way with blame of things not even done or thought reflected off of this woman’s oh-so-perfect sons onto a girl that she has now turned into an object. This mother also seems to assume that the parent(s) of the teen girl have no clue what their daughter is posting (there is no way to know from the post). Mrs. Hall, your parenting skills must be so far above the other mother’s that you must have to learn to breathe thin air. Not only are you shaming the teen girl, you are shaming her mother.

I have let my 12 year old daughter read the original post. Her question? Why does this blame the boys for the fears the mother has?

I’m curious as well…

EDIT: I also like how my comment posted hours before others, is still waiting in moderation while the author has gone ahead and approved other comments that agree with her.