Girls wear dresses and skirts

This was my first pair of long pants. It was my only pair of long pants until I got to high school, and I was only allowed to wear them when we went fishing or other messy outdoor activities. In 7th grade, we used to sneak our long pants to school in our bags and change there until the principal got wise to us. Because girls wore dresses and skirts. Only dresses and skirts.

When I was 23 and at my first office job, some kind soul slipped a mimeographed copy of a magazine article with this part highlighted: “Women with pale skin should always wear pantyhose.” That was 1981.

We’re not still shaming young women for things like hair and skin color and costuming. Are we? ☮️