As A Woman, I Can Wear Whatever I Want To, Get Out Of Here With 'Respectable Bathing Suits'

Your clothes are NOT a representation of who you are. Hello! Welcome to the 21st century. If you want to wear a low cut shirt you can. If you want to wear that miniskirt you can. Regardless of the clothing, you should not be judged. You should not receive any less respect. You should not be called any derogatory terms. Your outfits do not reflect your sexual tendencies. And your outfits most definitely do not determine your worth.

If you wear conservative clothing you are not a prude. If you flaunt what you got you are not a slut.

We live in a day and age where the clothing a female chooses to put on her body leads people into making assumptions. Since when does the length of your shorts correlate with anything? News flash: IT DOESN'T.

If a girl is confident in her own skin, she can wear whatever the hell she wants. Females don't dress for anyone but themselves. If she feels beautiful, if she loves how she looks, if she wants to show off then that's her business and nobody else's.

I come from a household with very old school conservative parents, so this is always an issue for me. Mostly my father as over the years my mother has increased her tolerance towards my fashion decisions. As much as I love my dad, it hurts my heart that he has such a closed mindset. There was one time I was wearing a shirt that showed maybe one millimeter of cleavage and he started lecturing. He even had the audacity to say I looked like a whore.

Imagine your own FATHER uttering those words from his lips. Quite honestly, it's something that I will never forget that he said to me. If we're going out as a family and he doesn't approve of my outfit, I'm forced to change into something else. If I defy him he just takes the family out and leaves me home.

Another instance occurred over the summer. We were going to dinner in the city and I chose to wear ripped jeans and an off the shoulder blouse. He said, "Go put pants without holes in them on and a shirt that actually covers you." My jaw dropped in disbelief. Sorry, my shoulders and knees are too provoking to be in public with you. Over two years ago, I got my belly button pierced, and I didn't tell him. But when he finally found out what he said was, "What did you get that, so you can bounce around the place like a slut in a shirt that doesn't fit you properly?"

Again with the derogatory terms being tossed towards me like I'm a stranger he met on the street. It makes me want to cry. He also makes sure I have "respectable bathing suits" packed when we go on vacation. I'm sorry, please excuse my language, but what the fuck? What about a bikini makes me less respectable? Everyone on Earth has a body. The clothes that I choose to wear shouldn't not be affecting my treatment as a human being.

It makes me want to cry because he thinks I shouldn't be treated the same as a woman in a button up and a blazer. It makes me want to cry when he calls me a slut, whore, etc. That's my dad though. Don't get me wrong, I love him and all, but it really does hurt knowing that he thinks like this.

I know I'm not the only one out there in this situation, but we cannot continue to be judged and lessened based on what we wear. We must take a stand and defend our pride and fashion decisions.