Prude, w****, skank. Why should I be ashamed of my nakedness? Why is my body sexualized in society? Why can a man walk in public shirtless, but a woman is punished if she does the same?

In school I wear a shirt that exposes my shoulders. Just by looking at my shoulders, all of the boys get “excited”. I get in trouble. A classmate wears a dress that is shorter than regulations. All of the boys get “excited” by seeing her legs. She gets in trouble. A girl wears a Hijab and covers her body, the girls and boys make fun of her conservative look. She feels embarrassed.

In school, at home, at work, they teach women about self-respect. They teach us that our clothes cannot be a distraction. If I wear a garment that isn’t seen as respectable to others, why does that have to mean I don’t respect myself? It was my choice to wear this, and only I need to approve, because it is me who is wearing the clothes. It is I who knows my self-expression. It is the others who need to learn to respect the idea that what I wear does not define my self-respect. You decide for yourself. If one wanted to wear a Hijab or a Burqa or wanted to cover their body, they should be able to do so without ridicule. Likewise, if a woman wanted show more of her body, she should be able to do so without negative implications. We should neither shield nor show any part of our bodies because society says so.  It’s our choice. It’s our idea of our own self-respect. Both men and women need to question why they judge a man or woman for how much or how little they wear.

The definition of self-respect is “pride and confidence in oneself; a feeling that one is behaving with honor and dignity.” Why should we let others decide what is honorable and dignifying? We should be the ones who decide what makes us feel honored and dignified. Men and women need to be able to self-express themselves without fear of judgment and emotional persecution from societal norms. It’s our choice.