Berea, Kentucky is a college town in central Kentucky that often struggles with its polarized views. There is a group known around the local community (The Berea Moderates) known to be particularly problematic, as they typically show their dissent with progressive or liberal views loudly and without apology, sometimes going far enough to blatantly insult local officials.
There was a photo circulating on Facebook, the platform of choice in the area, from the Berea City Government depicting a councilwoman and the Mayor showing local schoolchildren around City Hall. Instead of focusing on the good deed and time taken by this councilperson, members of the group made comments regarding her body shape and choice of attire, claiming that leggings were not meant to be worn in front of children, in a professional setting, or publicly by a public official. Comments dissenting against the councilwoman were also liked by a fellow male councilperson, showing their agreement with the body-shaming comments.
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The original “hate post” was seen in the Berea Moderates Facebook group and shared by both the councilwoman and me, and it caught quickly. Before long, local citizens were showing their support for Councilwoman LaDouceur and the use of leggings in professional settings. One community member created a Facebook event to commemorate the 1st Annual “Berea Wears Leggings Day” where women all over the country joined and posted their photos of themselves in leggings in solidarity with the cause. Another created an event organizing citizens to wear their leggings to the local City Council meeting, of which many showed up. I worked to promote these things reinforcing the ideas being circulated by Councilwoman LaDouceur, such as revisiting the city’s need for an ethics committee and social media policy for public officials. Given her quick wit and cheeky posts, the promotion was easy. She is a positive role model, the face of the new Berea woman, and many people were already looking to her for her reaction. These events spurred the hashtag #BereaWearsLeggings, which was used all across America to dispel misogyny, as well as local businesses creating deals and (positive) social posts in reference to the incident.
For the first time, the Mayor made it clear that the Council would only be hearing issues specifically on the agenda during the “Public Comment” portion of the Council meeting, thwarting any attempts by those of us in attendance who’d planned to deliver speeches. For this reason, I worked to promote the story using network connections. Emily made national headlines. Some unexpected support, such as that of George Takei, really resonated within the community.