Thanks for your message! I‘m not sure you actually read my piece carefully. ’I clearly say: “Let me be clear: I support women’s rights to do what they want with their bodies. Women should be allowed to walk around wearing whatever the hell they want without fear of being attacked, molested, physically or verbally abused, etc. by anyone else. She should be able to wear a black lace bustier and a red g-string, write “Come and get it” over her crotch, and saunter down the street at 2 am without being touched without her consent.

But to be offended or outraged if such an outfit is commented on or acknowledged (even crudely by those icky men who catcall on the streets at literally any time of the day) is confusing to me.”

This piece is directed at women who wear lingerie specifically and get upset about men’s verbal comments in the streets. I’m not justifying the men’s reactions. I’m simply stating that wearing an article of clothing in public that has been specifically designed to elicit arousal and then being offended when it actually doesn’t elicit that response doesn’t make sense to me. I’m confused about how, knowing the world you live in, why you would wear a lacy g string, walk by a group of men, and get offended for them noticing your lacy g string.

I do not victim blame. I have been sexually assaulted. Multiple times. I have spent my whole life afraid of men. I would never suggest a woman deserves to be assaulted or raped because of what she’s wearing or where she is. And honestly, the fact that a man read what I wrote and that is his takeaway (as is the case here) is frustrating to me. But thank you for your perspective.

Also, a side note: I hate the word slut. I would never want to reclaim that word. It shouldn’t exist. If I sleep with 100 different men this year, that choice doesn’t necessitate categorizing me as anything aside from a woman with a sexual appetite. I might now write a piece about why I despise that word. And other derogatory words used toward women and people of color.