0340 - Zero distractions. - 2024.04.08 |
||
Comment: Much is made of students wearing "distracting" or "offensive" clothing, an accusation often targeted at girls in "too sexy" outfits or at racial minorities with "unprofessional" hairstyles. It is, all too often, a way for Institutions to punish women, brown people, LGBTQ+ folks, and free-thinkers of all sorts (often at the case-by-case discretion of a single teacher). I recall seeing, not too long ago, someone posting a photo of a particularly curvaceous teacher with the caption "Do you think this is appropriate for a classroom?", with the snappy retort being "What's she supposed to do? Leave her ass at home?". But, of course, Zoa can leave its tits at home. It could have refilled them to their normal size, or simply left them drained and found another way to prevent nipslipping out of the rhombus. There is little doubt that walking into class with boobs the size of medicine balls is distracting, particularly when they're attached to a tool that has no recognized right to bodily autonomy or self-expression. In this era of free cosmetic alteration, of course, any of the students could choose to come to class with Z-cups, or with brightly coloured skin, or with hair that literally glows and waves itself around. They could wear clothing that displays a rotating sequence of offensive or intentionally agitating slogans and statements. They could have wings or tentacles or a tail or hovering microdrones or their own emotional support aid that has all of the above. Where should Rosenthal draw the line? How much discretion should Orb have? In a shared space, what impositions on personal expression can the collective impose on the individual in the name of focused learning? |
||
Transcript: --------------------------------------------------------------- |
||