Can a Woman Wear a Babydoll Dress in Peace?

A performer faced criticism over a modest, full-coverage stage outfit described as “scandalous” and “childlike.” The outfit included a babydoll-esque dress with matching bloomers worn during a live Spotify event. Online accusations claimed the look fetishized girls and implied pedophilia. In response, the performer said it was disturbing that revealing outfits had been treated as acceptable while a fully covered dress was judged inappropriate. She said the rhetoric taught to girls links men’s sexualization to girls’ clothing choices and places responsibility on them. She also argued the controversy reflects cultural normalization of pedophilia.

"“What’s really disturbing is I have worn outfits that are maybe revealing on stage,” she said. “I've been on stage in a sparkly bra and little shorts, which is my right, that's fun, I felt cool and comfortable in that. And that wasn't inappropriate, but me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be childlike was inappropriate.”"

"“It just shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture,” Rodrigo continued, “And it's also just this rhetoric that we're fed as girls since we were so little, which is, 'don't wear that because then a man is going to sexualize your body and it's your fault.'”"

"Earlier this month, while debuting her new single “Drop Dead” for Spotify's Billions Club live event, Rodrigo wore a babydoll-esque dress with matching bloomers-a style that is, by all means, in vogue in our current trend landscape. I wouldn't have given the outfit a second thought (because I'm normal), but some folks on the internet had more to say (because they're weird)."

"People accused Rodrigo of promoting the fetishization of girls-and, writ large, pedophilia-by “dressing like a baby,” a sentence so backward it makes me want to divorce the internet and move somewhere far off the grid. On Wednesday, in a promo for her interview with The New York Times, Rodrigo spoke about how “disturbing” the whole debate is."

Read at Jezebel