Irish Traveller Children in US

[lilith]

Original post was edited to remove a link to the Facebook page of a minor. Come on guys, let's not slut shame anyone, especially not minors from marginalised communities.

The other Facebook links didn't work for me but they will be removed of they lead to pages belonging to minors.

Lilith

[BlueChair]

Yeah, I can't really get on board slut-shaming children. Even a completely naked child isn't sexual unless the viewer sees them that way. And I don't think that a 12 year-old wearing tight or revealing clothing is something to shame. Her clothes don't indicate her sexuality, but even if they did, having sex isn't shameful. If she's being abused by an older man, her clothes aren't the cause of it and shaming her into a baggy muumuu won't stop the abuser.

Also, reality tv is rarely real and you should be much more careful believing what you see.

As for the young marriage, again, still not a result of the clothes. Making them wear frumpers wouldn't delay their marriage. It's a complete red herring and not the solution to the problem.

Take a step back and think about why you're so horrified at the idea of girls wearing certain clothes. It almost certainly has to do with a an incorrect presumption of sex, coupled with the idea that sex is inherently shameful.

All of this. I'm pretty over slut shaming, no matter which direction it comes from. Also, what we find beautiful, appropriate, gaudy, etc in our dress is a cultural construct. Otherwise there would be little variation between places and cultures. It's slutty because we decide it's slutty, not because of its inherent sluttyness (if that makes sense).

[gingerjo]

I find the 'grabbing' system of 'courtship' to be the most disturbing. I was at a winter festival with booths that Travelers ran, and I walked past a girl who was being held against a wall by a young man and making a huge scene asking to let go. Yet she didn't run into the crowd or physically resist, it seemed to be just for show so that they could kiss without her losing her honor.

[J'ean Skirt]

This is interesting. What were the major inaccuracies?

Quite honestly, I don't remember. I just remember long, angry tweets from the two of them about the show.

[Diana]

they look similar to gypsies, well at least here the gypsie youg girls have a taste for sexy clothes too( i looked for a video in youtube to show you how they dress for party and i found this one

, but they are the most religious people(probably one of the most religious group here in spain since they are mostly evangelical and not catholic), so its like a contradition the girls dress like that but the purity is the most important thing to them and they are very machist.

[Haligh the Liar]

All of this. I'm pretty over slut shaming, no matter which direction it comes from. Also, what we find beautiful, appropriate, gaudy, etc in our dress is a cultural construct. Otherwise there would be little variation between places and cultures. It's slutty because we decide it's slutty, not because of its inherent sluttyness (if that makes sense).

Totally agree. Despite the many issues I have with traveller culture, I am sick to death of the whole "how can the girls claim to be virgins when they dress like sluts/prostitutes/strippers?" For traveller young women, fun and attractive clothing is what is considered overly revealing in mainstream US culture, just like fundies consider normal women's clothing to be scandalous and indicative of poor character. Clothes have little or nothing to do with behavior. The most revealing, provocative clothing I have worn in my life was worn when I had barely even made out with anyone, simply because it matched my taste and the style at the time. This whole conversation seems to be dangerously close to the "what did she expect, look at what she was wearing. She was totally asking for it."

ETA: There is a problem with clothing coded as overtly sexualized if it is used to impute sexuality to young girls, or to communicate to woman that their only value lies in their bodies and sexuality. However, clothing itself doesn't necessarily convey or reveal values.