Crop tops are seen as pieces of clothing that only dim witted and unintelligent girls wear. They are seen as a thing that an intellectual and modest girl, from a good family, who gets good grades, would never wear. This interpretation and assumptions made of crop tops is frankly, and absurdly sexist. It is a bias many men (especially in the older generations) have. It is a bias that exists because these men have no understanding of why females choose to wear crop tops.
Crop tops are teenage girls’ battle weapons. They are our swords and knives. They are the way we fight. Males are constantly telling women what to do with their bodies and how to feel about them. Crop tops are not a simple fashion trend or piece of clothing. They are our way of rebelling. Rebelling against male parents who say we look like tramps in them. Rebelling against teachers who tell us to put on jackets and go change. Rebelling against sports coaches who stare at our behinds when we walk away from them. Crop tops are a way to express yourself and show your beautiful femininity.
Girls are angry. Angry that they have to grow up in a sexist world and angry that no one is fighting for them. The voice of the “fairer gender” is hardly heard in society. Young girls are constantly overlooked and ignored. The only way to bring attention to ourselves is in the form of a shirt in which our fathers ask before we leave the house “where is the other half of it” or “did you get that shirt 50% off?”
Crop tops are the battle cry of many girls who are judged because of their weight. Too skinny. Too muscular. Too fat. Too tall. Too small. When you are constantly judged in your own skin, often you choose to hide. Hide under baggy jeans and big sweatshirts. Hide under extra large t-shirts and sweatpants. Crops tops are a way of fighting the judgement and telling society we don’t care what they tell us we will still be proud in our own bodies.
There is something so satisfying about wearing a baggy sweatshirt over a cute crop top and taking off the sweatshirt once you’re at school; even more so when the crop top is higher than any teacher deems appropriate and they all stare at you. Part of you is screaming in self consciousness but the other part of you is on fire. It feels good to say no. No, I will not dress the way you want to make you happy. No, I will not play the part you want to make you happy. No, I will not stop wearing crop tops because men judge me for them. Their judgment does not matter.
Crop tops are not for dim witted girls and dumb-blonde types. They are for the smartest and fiercest of girls. They are for the feminists and the girls who want equal rights. Crop tops are for the girls who are fighters. The ones who will not settle for less than equal pay or judgment for males. They are for the ones who stand up for themselves and fight back when someone insults them. Crop tops are a movement of young girls taking back their equality from the older generations. It’s time we acknowledge them for what they are and move the judgment and criticism off of girls wearing them and onto the older males criticizing young girls for wearing them.
Eve Kaplan
Eve Kaplan is a writer based in Los Angeles, California and is one of the managing editors for GirlTalk Magazine. In her free time she loves to play beach volleyball, read and run a non profit.
