I’m So over Dressing for the Male Gaze

image licensed from Adobe Stock

It started early.

I was born into a religious Muslim household. Somewhere along the way, shorts became sinful. Sleeveless shirts mutated into slippery slopes of impropriety.

I was not allowed to wear these things anymore.

I have a vague memory of my bathing suit draped over the silver rod of a bathtub to dry. I think of that moment as our sad…