Hi Lyra

Thank you for your comment at Provoketive Magazine (http://provoketive.com). We’re creating a space of rich conversation about life, faith, justice and culture without judgment. Our desire is to provoke the reader’s imagination through conversation and open up spaces of dialogue, learning, and hope.  We want to invite you to come back soon and continue to participate in the conversation. 

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Jonathan Brink
Provoketive Magazine

You posted the following comment:
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Unfortunately, this is part of rape culture. I too grew up required to dress very modestly and for the reasons given in the article and comments. If I had been raped back then, I would have sincerely believed it was my fault. I bought fully into the idea that what I wore was responsible for what the boys thought and how they reacted. 

It never occurred to me back then that boys (and men) were responsible for themselves just as much as I was responsible for myself. (Indeed, I was responsible for myself AND them.)

Also note that it's very hard to learn to respect men when you believe their behavior, thinking, decision-making, etc., are dependent on you and that you have control over those things.

It took me years to get over the whole mindset. Years of feeling naked in knee-length shorts, of feeling terror when I saw a women dressed in sexy (or just well-fitting) clothes because I was certain a rape was imminent, of feeling responsible for whatever the guys around me said or did to me. You can imagine how healthy those early relationships were.

The author's perspective is much more healthy. Dress normally, or very modestly, or whatever you feel comfortable in. And don't teach little girls that they're responsible for the boys. We already have enough of that in our culture -- it's why females have been blamed for rape throughout history and it's why blaming the victim has only recently (historically speaking) been challenged.