In the wake of the #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc movements, the mobilization against sexism and harassment is gaining momentum in schools with a lot of hashtags.
In recent days, the word has been released under the hashtags #BalanceTonBahut or # monday14septembre.
The latter, launched on TikTok then on Instagram and Twitter, invites high school girls to come to high school dressed in a "provocative" way to protest against the clothing bans and the remarks made about their outfit.
Indeed, many of them have recently recounted being criticized for wearing a crop-top (cropped top revealing the navel) or shorts within the confines of their establishment.
Pieces often deemed "indecent", prohibited by the internal regulations of certain establishments, and which have sometimes resulted in certain students being refused entry into their enclosure.
In addition to this militant meeting, the hashtags #BalanceTonBahut and #BalanceTonProf bring together, as a backdrop, testimonies from high school girls denouncing situations of harassment, sexist remarks or even sexual assault to which they have suffered, but also the inertia of educational teams against a backdrop of "guilt" on young girls.
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"We would like the CPEs not to have the wrong target"
The movement began to emerge Thursday, September 11 on the Web, after a high school student in Dax rose up against a poster stuck on the gates of her high school.
It mentioned the message "proper dress required" and was accompanied by the photo of a cropped top and a skirt crossed out with a red cross.
The young girl, who wished to remain anonymous, immediately created an Instagram account (borda_révolte, named after her establishment, the Borda high school) in order to denounce these dress restrictions which only concern girls.
Barely four days later, the account already has nearly 2,000 subscribers, including many high school girls who share their own testimonies on remarks made by their establishment on their clothing.
Monday morning, many photos were swarming on social networks.
Mid-thigh skirts, shorts, tops revealing a few centimeters of belly… The # monday14septembre movement is supported by several feminist associations.
"We support young girls who remind us that it is not the girls' outfit that is a problem", expresses CĂ©line Piques, spokesperson for the association Osez le feminisme!, Contacted by France 24. "We would like them to CPE [principal education advisers, editor's note], do not get the wrong target and change their minds and sanction the boys ".
And we will continue to dress in an "indecent" way :) # Monday14September pic.twitter.com/NUozhwLM4N
- Chloë 🌻 (@ChloRvt) September 14, 2020
not bad to be fired because my tank top and too "cleavage" and too "thin" # Lundi14Septembre pic.twitter.com/1YisNc7pDR
- lovacouler (@lovarsx) September 14, 2020
Indeed, according to the spokesperson for the feminist association, no call to order, or even to the law, is carried out in the establishments, while sexual assaults are widespread in the corridors of colleges and high schools under the pretext short outfits or deemed provocative.
"We must go to the end of the initiative 'shame must change sides' and require educational teams to sensitize students to sexual harassment and sexual assault to stop the unacceptable behavior of some boys," said Celine Piques.
As a spokesperson for the association, the latter said to have intervened many times in schools and was able to observe the latent presence of a certain "culture of rape" through games and challenges set between boys, consisting of example of touching the buttocks of girls on the stairs.
"Remarks had burst forth when I denounced what is sexual assault, remarks of the type: 'ah well at the same time, she should not dress like that!'", Continues CĂ©line Piques.
Sunday, the collective "#NousToutes" also showed its commitment and support to the movement # Monday14 September.
"Our outfits are not the problem. The problem is harassment, assault and rape. Support all those who refuse to make women feel guilty."
Our outfits are not the problem.
The problem is harassment, assaults and rapes.
Support for all those who refuse to make women feel guilty.
# Monday14September
- #NousToutes (@NousToutesOrg) September 13, 2020
Sexualization and guilt
"Today # Monday14september young girls spontaneously decided everywhere in France to wear skirts, necklines, crop-top, or make-up to assert their freedom in the face of sexist judgments and acts. As a mother, I support them with sorority & admiration ", reacted Monday on Twitter, the Minister Delegate for Citizenship, and former Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Marlène Schiappa.
Today # monday14septembre, young girls spontaneously decided all over France to wear low-cut crop top skirts or make-up to assert their freedom in the face of sexist judgments and acts.
As a mother, I support them with sorority & admiration 💪🏾💄 pic.twitter.com/rSh6HnAJmK
- 🇫🇷 MarleneSchiappa (@MarleneSchiappa) September 14, 2020
The latter is at the initiative, with the Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, of the creation of "equality referents" which the establishments must have since the start of the 2018 school year, in order to make students aware of equality. between girls and boys.
A tie that does not yet seem fashionable, deplores CĂ©line Piques.
"The rules should be the same for girls and boys. As long as there are boys who still come in high school in shorts, it's impossible to prevent girls from wearing skirts as short as shorts. , it's a matter of equality, ”she says.
She deplores that the constraints present in the internal regulations only concern girls, and according to her, such measures cannot be motivated by the notion of "respect".
"It is not a question of 'respect', otherwise we would not speak of 'indecency'", explains to France 24 the spokesperson of Dare feminism.
"It is indeed a question of 'decency' of the outfit, therefore the fact that it is sexualized. A girl who comes in mini-shorts or a short skirt, we will perceive her as being sexualized, and therefore necessarily responsible for the gender-based violence she could suffer because of this outfit, but the prohibitions do not apply to boys: decency only applies to girls and that is the problem ".
From this arises a certain guilt, denounced in numerous testimonies.
"In 6th grade, I wore a playsuit with tights and my CPE told me 'Watch out, you're going to catch the eye of bad boys', so I was sent home," Leila said on Twitter for example.
#BalanceTonBahut In 6th grade I wore a short jumpsuit with tights and my CPE told me "Watch out, you're going to catch the eye of bad boys" so I was sent home.
The problem at hand should be the eye of these bad boys, not what attracts them.
Review your priorities
- Leila (@Leilawho) September 12, 2020
"There is a total inversion", denounces CĂ©line Piques.
"These standards only apply to girls' bodies, only because there is sexism in our society and there is gender and sexual violence committed by boys."
Also, the spokesperson for Dare feminism reminds us: it is necessary, according to her, to remove the clothing recommendations intended for girls and to put in place a certain number of sanctions when there is sexist behavior on the part of boys, "so that the girls can finally come in a skirt to school, but above all to come in a skirt in peace ... And that is not yet won".
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