I Didn’t Dress Up for You
In fact, I don’t do anything for myself with the benefit of others in mind.
I went for a walk in the public gardens this morning.
I decided to put a little more effort into my appearance than usual today, for no reason other than that’s just how I felt today.
I wore a long pink maxi dress, dangly earrings, a teeny bit of makeup and a very subtle lipstick.
Maybe I don’t get out of my house enough — as I work remotely from home — but I have to say I was taken aback by how many men leered at me as I walked down the street.
I can’t be sure whether anyone cat-called me or not because I had my headphones in, listening to some tunes.
The more I walked, the more I realized I was keeping those headphones in because I didn’t want to know if anyone was catcalling me on the streets.
With every man who stared at me while I stood at a crosswalk, and for all the men who gave me a lookup and down and up again, I just found myself walking along with sunglasses down thinking:
“Please stop undressing me with your eyes. I didn’t dress up for you.”
