What Was She Wearing?

Is this too much?
Is this not enough?
If I don't cover up
Does that make it my fault?
You have painted me
So the clothes I am wearing
Speak louder than
The things I am saying

The only thing I can be
Is a prude or a whore
Seeking attention
And nothing more

Showing flesh
Showing flesh
Does not remove dignity
Showing flesh
Showing flesh
Does not invalidate me

Why are we still being punished
Just for having a body?
Why are we still being judged
Solely on our clothing?

Showing flesh does not deserve shaming
Showing flesh does not warrant blaming

Why the hell must you ask
What the victim was wearing?
Why are our bodies seen as a bad thing?
To be locked away in a misconception of purity
To be hidden like a guilty secret
To be hidden like a guilty secret

This is my skin
This is the vessel I exist in
It is not a sin
My body is not a sin