Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Dressing for Safety

In the long ugly debate of blaming the victim for many crimes, clothing often comes into question, and the general agreement is that clothes don't cause crimes, criminals cause crimes.

However, there is one clothing change that is very old, and if you can make it work, then it reduces certain types of crime by quite a lot -- crossdressing.  You have to be good enough to PASS or it just makes you more of a target.  But if men are looking for a woman to rape, and they think you're a man, they'll ignore you.  If they're looking for a man to murder, and they think you're a woman, they'll ignore you.

Right now, being a black man makes you look like murder bait to some people who are considered free to murder anyone they want with little chance of reprisal.  So I figured that I would point out this historic solution.  It's not ideal, but it might keep people breathing long enough to effect a longer-term solution. 
Tags: activism, gender studies, networking
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  • 21 comments
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ysabetwordsmith

Re: Well...

ysabetwordsmith

December 7 2014, 11:22:56 UTC 6 years ago

I agree. Mixed-race would work too: especially with Draco's snitty "mudblood" remarks.

My interpretation of him? He's all one white spot. Which if you know anything about white-spotting genes and domestication, explains one hell of a lot.
fayanora

Re: Well...

fayanora

December 7 2014, 11:25:54 UTC 6 years ago

White spot? Please explain.
siege

Re: Well...

siege

December 7 2014, 19:18:03 UTC 6 years ago Edited:  December 7 2014, 19:19:04 UTC

This link is an explanation of dog genetics -- apparently a "white spot" is a dog's coat having a region of white in it. And an ALL white coat is potentially bad (it's albinism), often leading to problems like deafness because some of the relevant pigments are normally active in the inner ear.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Well...

ysabetwordsmith

December 7 2014, 19:51:50 UTC 6 years ago

Actually there's a difference between the genetics of a solid white coat over pigmented skin, which can have side effects like deafness; an albino; and white spotting so complete that it covers the whole body. One comparison appears in cat genetics:
http://messybeast.com/whitecat.htm
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Well...

ysabetwordsmith

December 7 2014, 19:58:28 UTC 6 years ago

During the process of domestication, humans select animals with desirable traits, usually beginning with friendliness/docility. Even when selecting only for temperament, other changes soon begin to appear including coloration and morphology. The white spotting is one of the more striking changes in coloration and appears across most or all domestic animals. Because it's a disadvantage in the wild, it's a pretty clear marker of animals that have been bred to be pleasing at the cost of their independent survival potential.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/taming-wild-animals/ratliff-text/2
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140714100122.htm

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