Emma Zang: To some, women wearing pigtails to try to get more tips from men may seem like a silly — even if unsettling — trend, but it perpetuates harm against young women. - NBCNewsTHINK
, too, such as depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders and an inability to develop a healthy and wholesome sexual self-image.TikTok
and Instagram have gathered massive momentum to influence our daily lives, particularly young people. The hypersexualization of young women on social media gives an impetus to the sexism ingrained in our society. It puts women, especially women of color, in a dangerous position, where men, especially male predators, seize the opportunity to lurk around online and target women in different pernicious ways.
It’s not lost on me that the female tipped workers in the TikTok experiment were caught on the horns of a dilemma. It was either they wear pigtails to get more tips to make a living, or they stop wearing them to show their denouncement of the sexualization of young women and girls. However, no woman should be put in this dilemma.
And what happens if wearing pigtails for more tips today isn’t enough to work for tomorrow? For example, if more young women start to wear the hairstyle, the appeal of it could wear off for male customers. Does that mean these women need to do even more to please their male audience for the tips? It is not unrealistic to see how things could escalate.
One of the positive things about this social experiment is that it brings more awareness and acknowledgment to the fact that many women are often faced with an unsettling choice: safety or dehumanization to earn a livable wage. When the pigtails trend ceases to be a topic of discussion, let’s ensure that this disturbing fact doesn’t fade into obscurity.Emma Zang, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Yale University, where she studies family, health and aging, and gender inequality.
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