A Viral Facebook Post Explores Who Decides What A Teacher Should Wear Or Not

Recently a Professor’s certain appearance on her social media offended a student and his family which resulted in her having to resign. Ranjini Maitra, a media professional discusses her candid but impactful insights on the incident

The constant reinforcement of clothing and character as synonymous is so ingrained in our minds from a very early age that it ultimately results in making value judgments about people, especially women, who refuse to dress up according to the general societal norms. Clothes ultimately began to symbolize values—women who wore miniskirts were assumed to be ‘easy’, while those who wore low cut tops were ‘attention seeking’ and so on. 

Recently a Professor’s certain appearance on her social media offended a student and his family which resulted in her having to resign. This is as absurd as it sounds! And regarding this irrational incident,  a Facebook post by Ranjini Maitra went viral.

Here’s Ranjini’s take on the incident:

Assuming that college-goers are adults, here’s how to save yourself from getting offended the next time. 

1) Your Professor gets paid to impart his/her knowledge to you: Consume as much knowledge as you can. Learn. Grow. They don’t exist to live up to YOUR idea of how an ideal Professor should act/dress/talk. 

2)  Do not be a lowlife: Do not intrude into your Professor’s personal space, including their social media, unless they have consented to it. Outside the school/college, they are individuals with unabridged control over their own lives, and you are not a part of it. You get to have zero opinions. 

3) Don’t raise crappy arguments: Don’t raise such arguments that follow the lines of “but teachers are idols for students”. You indulge in a thousand bad habits that your teacher didn’t give you lessons on. 

4) Your teachers/ Professors didn’t ask to be on the pedestal:They are human beings and they are entitled to live how they wish to, irrespective of what you see fit for them. 

5) Grow a spine: If your parents have tried “shielding” you from such “gross indecency”, I hope you get equally appalled at the sexism and objectification that our popular culture has normalized, that you do not use any slangs whatsoever that are derogatory to women, and you always raise your voice against the casual misogyny floating all around. 

If you are a parent who has raised a son who gets offended to see a grown-up woman in an attire of her choice, please consider yourself a miserable failure.  You’ve failed to teach your son the true meanings of boundary, free will, and body ownership. 

And of course, basic decency.