(Photo: Livepict.com, Creative Commons)
Singer Erykah Badu has expressed her opinion on social media concerning girls’ fashion, saying high school girls should wear longer skirts so that they do not “distract” any male teachers.
The singer wrote on her Twitter account this week that she was simply agreeing with an article she had read stating that high school girls should wear longer skirts so that young boys and male teachers do not become distracted. She added that America is a sex-driven society and that if she were to run a school she would require girls to wear a knee length uniform skirt in order to be fair to everyone.
The singer and mother of two girls, Puma, 11, and Mars, 7, decided to share her opinion on the subject after reading an article about a school in New Zealand that decided to require girls to wear skirts that fall below the knee.
“It is everyone’s, male and female’s responsibility to protect young ladies,” she continued. “One way to protect youth is to remind them we are sexual in nature and as they grow and develop it is natural to attract men.”
She continued to say that it was in men’s nature to become attracted to women once they reach child-bearing age, particularly those women who wear skirts.
However, several tweets later the singer contradicted herself by saying that her own daughters should be able to wear what they want. She then continued on with her previous argument, saying, “We are sexual beings. We should consider everyone. Young girls are attractive. Some males are distracted.” She referred to this backtracking as “seeing both sides.”
Throughout her tweets, her main message appeared to be that although it is only natural to want to protect our young, sometimes people must step in and use their intelligence, reports Melanie Dostis for The Daily News.
Many were unhappy with Badu’s opinions, arguing that her views exacerbated an already-serious problem. One user wrote that while they were a fan of Badu, her view “perpetuates rape culture,” while another noted that her writings were ignorant and were a “sobering reminder that we are all problematic.”
As a result of her Tweets, many users chose to unfollow the singer, while others stated that they were no longer fans of Badu’s music and argued that young girls should not be held accountable for the actions of older men, reports Evan Real for US Weekly.
Badu previously stirred up controversy when hosting BET’s Soul Train Awards in 2015 when she criticized Iggy Azalea by saying that she was not a true rapper. As a result, many of her fans charged her with not supporting women.
