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Last night, after Mitt Romney made a comment about “binders full of women,” social media took the unintentionally hilarious phrase and ran with it – a tumblr has already been created.
ln keeping with Romney’s idea that women are simply stored in paper documents, Brainpickings has posted a list of twelve rules dated 1943 (possibly found in a binder somewhere) that any decent woman should follow.
- Women shall not appear on the streets of this village with dresses that are too tight in those places which provoke the evil passions of men.
- They must never wear dresses that are too short.
- They must be particularly careful not to wear dresses that are low-cut in front.
- It is shameful for women to walk in the streets with short sleeves.
- Every woman who appears in the streets must wear stockings.
- Women must not wear transparent or network cloth over those parts which decency requires to be covered.
- At the age of twelve girls must begin to wear dresses that reach to the knee, and stockings at all times.
- Little boys must not appear in the streets with their upper legs bare.
- Girls must never walk in out-of-the-way places because to do so is both immoral and dangerous.
- No decent woman or girl is ever seen on a bicycle.
- No decent woman is ever seen wearing trousers.
- What they call in the cities ‘modern dancing’ is strictly forbidden.
Some of those don’t sound too different from things women are told today – if you don’t want to be harassed, don’t wear a short dress, don’t walk by yourself late at night, don’t display cleavage if you don’t want people to look at it, etc.
Images via bindersfullofwomen.tumblr.com & nikahayes.blogspot.com
