Why Do Women Wear T-Shirts Over Their Outfits? Avoiding The Male Gaze

The male gaze cannot be avoided no matter where you go. People tell women that they attract the male gaze because of their inappropriate clothing so to tackle the discomfort of creepy stares of men in public, women in New York are switching to 'subway t-shirts' to cover themselves.

The safety of women in the New York subway has been a major concern for quite some time now. Women have reported many incidents of being creeped out by constant staring and being sexually harassed by men.

The New York subway is a popular means of transportation for people, but women in general have to be considerate about the clothes they are wearing before entering the subway.

Since they cannot, and should not, stop wearing the clothes they like, they have started to carry a baggy t-shirt with them which they can wear over their clothes if their clothing is considered "too short" or "attention-seeking".

Suggested Reading: 'She's Overthinking It': Why Does Society Dismiss Women's Sexual Harassment Allegations?

Women Wear T-Shirts Over Outfits

A Reddit thread talked about the 'subway t-shirt' trend in New York and it was troubling to see how many women resonated with it in the comment section. The trend of wearing baggy or oversized t-shirts over dresses or shorts to cover their body well so that they don't attract the uncomfortable stares of men in public is not new to women.

All over the world, women have, at some point in their life, have put on some extra articles of clothing while going through public transport like metros and subways to avoid the male gaze. Women use it to cover their bodies because while nobody questions the men for their harassment, women are often blamed for their clothing.

Avoiding The Male Gaze

The attempt is to cover up their outfit so that it doesn't grab attention. Even in India, we can witness many women wearing a coat or a shawl over party outfits to avoid attention.

Unfortunately, some men will stare at women no matter what she is wearing or who she is with. And instead of fixing the problematic thinking and intentions of such creepy men, we have to resort to schooling women on their clothes. It is sad to see such a picture in the 21st century.

It's unfortunate that the only way women can feel safe while travelling on public transport is when they have covered themselves with extra clothing, which may not even save them from harassment and only sometimes prevents uncomfortable male stares. It is sad that our modern society cannot even provide its women the freedom to travel comfortably and we are still stuck asking 'what she wore' instead of asking 'why can't he control himself'.

The trend might have gone viral recently but it is actually a common habit for women who travel in public transport and this needs to change. We have to make sure that women are able to wear whatever they want without worrying about being ogled at. We have to teach men that harassing women is not a privilege or an act that they can get away with. We have to be more strict with how we approach the issue of women's safety in public spaces.

Views expressed are the author's own.