When I was 11, I remember answering a call during dinner. It began innocently enough; the voice on the line asked to speak with my dad but I immediately noticed something off about the exchange. First, it was a young female voice and second, the voice sounded familiar but no one came to mind. After I handed the phone over to my dad, I ran into my room and listened in on the call out of curiosity. When he answered, the familiar voice all of a sudden became three voices shouting in unison: “We are the Fashion Police and you should be ashamed of yourself for letting your daughter come to school dressed like that! Do her a favor and get her some new clothes and a haircut!” Two of them couldn’t hold back their laughter long enough to finish, but my dad hung up before they could go on. Up until that night, I remember being really happy about the start of the school year and was looking forward to meeting new friends. At least it was a Friday night. Not knowing that I was as listening on the call, my dad took me to the mall the next day and told me that he wanted to take me shopping “just because.” All I could see was a look of pity on his face as I went through the motions of picking out clothes.
Unfortunately, the incident above was just one of many, and the bullying was not limited to how I dressed but eventually focused on my weight, skin color, and height as I got older. I wish that I can say I no longer encounter bullying in my adult life but what I can say is that it no longer impacts me the way it used to. These days, I feel blessed for what I have in life and find happiness and fulfillment whenever I can make someone else feel positive about themselves.
That’s why Dressing Room 8 is dedicated to joining the efforts to end this destructive behavior.
Every time you make a purchase from Dressing Room 8, you’re not only transforming how you feel through fashion, but you’re also contributing to the fight against bullying. Dressing Room 8 will donate a portion of each sale to STOMP Out Bullying™.
To learn more about current state of bullying and join the efforts to stop it:
http://www.stompoutbullying.org/
http://www.endcyberbullying.org
