Clothes Don't

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I like shopping a lot! Jeans, khakis, shorts: booty or not, skirts: long or short. The tops! Shirts V-neck, T, crop top, one shoulder, strapless, just bra, no bra!

The lingerie, the accessories. The bling that make the girls go, “Damn I’d like a piece of that.”

I like clothes, they express who I am, what I’m feeling that day: happy or sad, proud or shy.

But how I dress

does not mean “no”

and does not mean “yes”

Clothes are for expression,

The mouth for affirmation.

The miniskirt doesn’t coo, “Touch Me”

And neither does a woman in only a bra (though that’s ballsy).

Jeans don’t say, “None for you!”

And long sleeved shirts don’t say, “Can’t touch me I’m a shrew.”

Though maybe it’d be better if clothes could talk for survivors like me.

So when, in court, the gavel falls, the word is, “Guilty!”

"No! It’s not THEIR fault!" You cry.

"You were dressed like a whore, you wanted it, all you’ve said is a lie!"

Well come here and listen, and I’ll tell you a FACT.

"I was in jeans and a T-shirt, and she raped me just like that."

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