Erykah, Put the Phone Down

Posted on by Chantel Carter

Singer Erykah Badu (@fatbellybella) made comments Twitter on April 11, stating that she agreed with a ruling that said that high school girls needed to wear longer skirts.

She then went on to say that she agreed because it’s natural for men to be attracted and aroused by girls of child-bearing age (which can be as early as 11 years old -_-), and that the girls shouldn’t be blamed for being beautiful. Men however should be taught not to prey on young women and called for all of society, including young women, to “play their roles” in protecting women from predatory behavior. Some people agreed with Badu’s logic, implying that young women are responsible for their sexual assaults:

Some believed that her words were misinterpreted for perpetuating mysogyny:

…while most criticized Badu for blaming sexual assault victims for their misfortunes:

Erykah Badu is critically acclaimed neo-soul singer that rose to prominence in the 90s with hit songs such as Tyrone and On & On. She’s recently made music with her latest single being Phone Down.

3 thoughts on “Erykah, Put the Phone Down”

  1. Great find Chantel. I had not heard about this controversy and I myself wonder which side I would take. I can definitely see both points of view. It is moral to dictate what girls can and can’t wear just out of fear.
    I was recently involved in an incident where a friend of mine was assaulted at a party and was then told she was “asking for it” by wearing a “slutty” outfit. I was so angered by this incident because regardless of what she was wearing, a male acted in a harmful manner. Why should she be blamed for what someone else did? The outfit certainly did not alter his brain and turn him into something he was not.
    However, it can be distracting for girls to be wearing short skirts and if it can be prevented, why not? I would like to read more about these different opinions. How many of your comments were males? I’d be curious if men and women (on average) tend to have the same or different viewpoint.

    1. Jessica, I don’t know what the overall average is, but the majority of the male opinions that I’ve seen have agreed with Erykah’s and have also used her words as a way to shame women for dressing in ways that they feel best.

      Some of her points do hold validity — I do agree that women need to be aware of their surroundings and be mindful of how they present themselves in situations that have the potential to be unsavory. I sympathize with Erykah because I remember feeling the exact way that she does.

      However I also remember being in the streets running errands, dressed in no way that would attract any special attention, and still being approached and sometimes harassed by men that did so just because they felt like it. In my opinion and personal experience, what a woman wears is not going to prevent a man from bothering her if his intention is to bother her.

      So yes, it’s important that women take precautions to protect ourselves from potentially dangerous situations, but those precautions will not be all that it takes to deflect the unsavory attention that we get.

  2. I appreciate you doing this. I missed this conversation on Twitter. This is a debate that I know started when I was still in high school and abiding by dress codes. I also agree with you and have experienced men harassing me in the street when I was in business clothes and on my way to work.

    I think there is a bigger problem that needs to be dealt with and I don’t forsee it being solved any time soon.

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