My Short Skirt

I wore this on Saturday, just because I wanted to. I was not going anywhere that really warranted a bedazzled skirt, but it was warm and I was feeling frisky, so there you have it. This skirt is short. I mean... not obnoxiously, or uncomfortably so, but there is no denying that it is short. Funny how a short skirt can make you feel all sorts of different things, right? Sexy? Self-Conscious? Empowered? Nervous? Judged? I always feel FORTUNATE when I wear a short skirt. Is that a strange thing to feel? Fortunate. I don't think so. I feel fortunate that I can wear it; that I don't live in a country that makes me cover up the fact that I am a woman. Fortunate that I am old enough and confident enough to wear it without worrying about what other women will say... or men will assume I am saying. Fortunate that I have free time that allows me to dress frivolously. Fortunate that I bought it with money that I earned, and that I have control over. Fortunate that I am partnered with a man who encourages me to do, wear, say, feel, and speak about whatever I want... including this short skirt. Fortunate that I am now strong enough to refuse to be with a man who is any other way. Fortunate that I have embraced my scars (and cellulite) enough not to give a damn if they are visible or not. Fortunate.

This post makes me think about a monologue from The Vagina Monologues, written by Eve Ensler. If you take the time to read this, really take it in. It's so powerful. 

My Short Skirt

From The Vagina Monologues

By Eve Ensler

My short skirt is not an invitation
a provocation
an indication
that I want it
or give it
or that I hook.
 
My short skirt
is not begging for it
it does not want you
to rip it off me
or pull it down.
 
My short skirt
is not a legal reason
for raping me
although it has been before
it will not hold up
in the new court.
 
My short skirt, believe it or not
has nothing to do with you.
 
My short skirt
is about discovering
the power of my lower calves
about cool autumn air traveling
up my inner thighs
about allowing everything I see
or pass or feel to live inside.
 
My short skirt is not proof
that I am stupid
or undecided
or a malleable little girl.
 
My short skirt is my defiance
I will not let you make me afraid
My short skirt is not showing off
this is who I am
before you made me cover it
or tone it down.
Get used to it.
 
My short skirt is happiness
I can feel myself on the ground.
I am here. I am hot.
 
My short skirt is a liberation
flag in the women's army
I declare these streets, any streets
my vagina's country.
 
My short skirt
is turquoise water
with swimming colored fish
a summer festival
in the starry dark
a bird calling
a train arriving in a foreign town
my short skirt is a wild spin
a full breath
a tango dip
my short skirt is
initiation
appreciation
excitation.
 
But mainly my short skirt
and everything under it
is Mine.
Mine.

Mine.