Photo: VCG

Breckyn Willis, a student and a competitive swimmer attending Dimond High School in Alaska grabbed nationwide headlines earlier this month after she was disqualified after winning a race for a "uniform violation."

The National Federation of State High School Associations had issued new uniform guidelines a month earlier that stated for swimmers, "boys shall wear suits which cover the buttocks, and girls shall wear suits which cover the buttocks and breasts." Willis wore the same bathing suit as her teammates, but because of her curvy body the suit looked tight. In the words of the referee, "I could see butt-cheek touching butt-cheek.''

After a coach wrote about the incident in her blog, it attracted wide attention. The referee was blamed for unnecessary enforcement and Willis' win was reinstated.

The reaction from the public was not a surprise, given that this is a time when the US is entering a post-body shame era. The idea that beauty has no singular standard and women should be proud of their bodies whatever shapes they take has finally picked up momentum and gone more mainstream. Fashion shows have started presenting models who don't look like anorexia nervosa patients. Celebrities allow pictures that haven't been touched up to be published and in the process suddenly look more ordinary. 

Last October, plus size model Robyn Lawley launched a petition on change.org, calling for women to boycott the Victoria's Secret fashion show that had been using slim, leggy models clad in lingerie and angel wings for more than two decades. Lawley lamented: "I have spent a lot of my life looking at women in their ads that didn't look like me, didn't walk like me, and didn't make me feel good about myself," and "I want to see women like myself and women I see everyday in magazines, on runways and in bras all over the world."

The show itself disappeared. After a dip in the number of TV viewers from 5 million in 2017 to 3.3 million in 2018, the show was taken off air this year. Meanwhile, a show by Savage x Fenty, a lingerie brand launched by music icon Rihanna in 2014 and boasting models in various sizes, has become the buzz in the fashion world. It only has a handful of stores and a significant online presence but its customers' on average spend double the amount shelled out by people who go to Victoria's Secret.

Clearly in an atmosphere like this, Willis being singled out solely for the shape of her body is hard to swallow for many. 

But what's worth noting is that in the reporting and follow-up commentaries, the media has used all kinds of pictures from groups swimming to empty pools with a diving stand. But pictures of Willis in her bathing suit are nowhere to be seen. Even those that published her pictures chose fully dressed images only showing her upper body. 

The media is clearly restraining itself from giving too much attention to the innocent teenager. Despite the possible confusion this subtle protection may bring to Willis and other women and girls who are told to be proud of their bodies no matter what, this is the right thing to do. The world is still what it is rather than what it should be. Safety has to come first. 

But this is a lesson that has been forgotten too often in today's rights campaigns. Those who dare to tell women to dress conservatively at night or on crowded subways are bashed by feminists for "blaming the victims" for sexual harassment and assaults. Those who dare to tell young black men to avoid wearing hoodies are dubbed racists. Such criticism arises even when the messenger's intention is completely benign, making it feel like anyone other than one's own mother would get into trouble by trying to warn one out of imminent wardrobe danger.

The only silver lining I can see is that every time such controversies are highlighted in the media, they can trigger a new round of discussion about the essential inequalities perceived to be behind them. These are the discussions that lead to progress.   

The author is a New York-based journalist and Alicia Patterson fellow. rong_xiaoqing@hotmail.com