Pretty Is What Pretty Does

Something has been bugging me.  I mean, like, I can't sleep.
Why do young girls (and grown up girls who never grew up)  feel it is okay to dress provocatively? 

Yes, if you are 20 and older, the answer is simple.

We all know why...it's for attention.  Attention from cute guys or attention from their friends...young girls for the last bazillion years have attached the way they dress to their worth.  But!  It's not that easy! 
From what I know about teenage girls is they will deny the actual reason until they are blue in the face.

In fact, they get fighting mad!

You can not talk to a girl who has worn her shorts too short or her shirt too low and have a reasonable conversation.  They feel attacked! 

I can understand that.  I was a teenager once. For goodness sake- I wore a cheerleading skirt for 5 years!! I know the kind of looks you get from boys and I also know the kind of looks you get from those boy's mothers.

I think I was born a prude. It's true!
 
Maybe it is because I matured earlier than most girls my age and went from the girl's "pretty plus" department, straight to wearing my mom's clothes all before I left elementary school. I never wore juniors or a woman's size under 10.  To this day, I love almost every blouse at Cracker Barrel and wish all pants were elastic band with an high waist. In high school, I wore Whinnie the Pooh sweatshirts, sundresses, overalls, sweater vests and control top underwear under my cheerleading uniform. 

With that said, I remember the day I was called down to my High School's office because someone had turned me in for wearing my shorts too short.

ME?  The one who buys clothes from Cracker Barrel!??!?!  I was offended!  I was not the kind of girl that wore short shorts-and felt shamed as I walked with my tail between my legs down the hall way like a scolded puppy.

I wish there was a way it could be done without shaming them.  These girls may think they have life all figured out but the truth is- they are infants in grown up bodies! It's our job to guide them not destroy them.

I was always taught that we should dress modestly for a few reasons:

1. Our actions speak louder than words.  If we dress like a duck, walk like a duck, act like a duck..then chances are we are ducks.  If we say we are good girls then we should act like it-that includes how we dress and how we present ourselves.
2. That you are less respected if you dress trashy.

I don't know if those are valid reasons-but I also can not think of one good reason for anyone to wear clothing that shows off some of their most private body parts.

Think about it. Really.

Why dress trashy?

Yes this is a free country and you should be able to dress how you want to dress... but at what cost?

When you pick out a pair of shorts-ask yourself this:  Would my mom wear these? Would I want to see my mom in a pair of these?

If the answer is no (and it will be!)
Ask yourself why-why is it okay for YOU to wear but not for  your mom or any other adult?

Too old?  Too old for what?  Showing too much?
Too fat? Too fat for what? Showing too much?

SHOWING.TOO.MUCH.


Fine. Take my cool card.

Sign me up for water aerobics and a roller set hair appointment because I am officially in the elderly season of life.  I am irrelevant and have lost touch with reality and what the kids these days are doing.

I freely admit it.  Fine.

If you are a teenage girl, I am sure your eye lid has started twitching and your blood is boiling with anger at me right about now, and I am okay with that.

Girls, I don't care if you think I am a prude and are mad at me for calling you out but if you are honest, the reason you are so angry with me is because you know I am right.  It's easier to try to make me look like an uptight prude than admit that you are dressing in a way to get attention from guys.

How do I know? Because I was a teenager once and I know.

Some things don't change.

If you measure your self worth and beauty by whether or not a boy is looking at your butt, then, my sweet young friend, you have missed the point.

You need a different yard stick.

Your worth is based on WHO you are not on WHAT you wear.

....and parents, stop buying your daughters this stuff. It's YOUR money. It's YOUR home.  It's YOUR car. It's YOUR cell phone.  YOU ARE IN CHARGE.

Let's just all decide that we are going to raise the kind of adults that have integrity and self respect for themselves and for those around them. And let's teach our daughters that beauty has nothing to do with their appearance or what they are wearing.

..and if that doesn't work, then RUN-don't walk to their bedrooms and put on a pair of their shorts and insist on them going with you in public with them on.

That should do it.

You guys, it's just time.  Let's go

Currently Listening to "Beautiful Disaster" by Jon Mclaughlin











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