Defending your 'appalling' vulgar dress

-Priyanka Udasi

My tiger stripes,oh, I mean the stretch marks and the bruised knees, My breasts that are victim of either gravity or life, legs that have had to run from people, hands that have to hold themselves, the scars that are glossy like lipstick are holy and I will rebel against every soul who tells me it is wrong to face the mirror and say, “Damn! I really look sexy today.” People need to understand how the 'obscene' and 'acceptability' works. Whichever absurd person decided that it was okay for a man to roam around in boxers, but not a girl in bra has done a hell lot of damage to our society. Do you know there are still people out there saying that a visible bra strap elicits their wild reckless behavior? Like, for real, A BRA STRAP? You’ll never meet these people in a different area, they’re around us, walking normal until they see your bra shape/color visible or maybe that strap that provoked them to tell you that you’re losing your ‘respect & dignity’ this way. I’m writing this for them. It’s weird that somehow the mini skirt manages to label one’s character. They have the audacity to tell you, that what you’re wearing in the room makes them feel uncomfortable. I am so done with the idea of defending one’s persona, why do we have to? Nudity might empower some, might not empower others, it works differently for everyone. If a man with penis is allowed to have body hair, I think a female needs not to be criticised if she has any. You don't tell me you sexualise her because she wants to become astronaut or engineer, but because she has breast & vagina. I’ve seen women who dare to speak even when she is told her murmurs are a disturbance, women who walk like they own the place, I’ve seen women who bash the barriers, break the ceilings to vent their rage out but then I even remember my female teacher asking me to call home for some pants because the boys in my class were too distracted by my skirt, I remember my female friend asking me to be quiet after a high school party where a boy tried to keep his hands on me because of my indecent dress. I have covered my legs in pants so long that one can barely see something, and I still see them watching me top to bottom as I walk by. I’ve worn Turtle neck, and they still look at my breasts. They can’t see them but they know I have them so they’ll definitely make me feel uncomfortable for that. I won’t defend a ‘VULGAR’ dress, because I don’t want to. You can’t make another queen walking by your side feel less than you just because you think she’s showing much skin than you prefer? You can’t call her a slut each time she gets a dirty joke faster than you, or her nudity makes you feel uneasy. Bralette, leather jacket, shorts, knee socks, bold lips, hoop earrings. I find it sexy personally, but I’ll tell you something more, she was the same girl at bus stop who didn’t look up from the phone, girl who did not fake a smile, same girl who walks with keys in between her knuckles, one who fakes a phone call so she looks unapproachable, and still the one who looks dangerous but is still scared. You can be the one night stand in a cheap motel and still not be vulgar, you can plung your claws in your lover who tries to touch you without your consent just because your neckline is lower than usual and still not be vulgar, you can wear a t shirt without a bra and still not be vulgar, you can not shave your private parts and wear your favourite lingerie and still not be vulgar. Vulgar are the men who think women are objects, they’re not, breasts are, breasts who are strong enough to tear apart the soul of any men who tries to violent them.