Dear Slut-Shamers,

Stop trying to tell me what I should and shouldn't do with my body. Don't try to define for me what respect is or how to have respect for myself because that is for me determine. My body is mine and I will decide how it is used, how it is viewed, and what goes onto and into it. Self respect isn't the same for every human being. One person may respect their body by covering themselves completely head to toe, others may be more comfortable with less clothing; neither decision is yours to judge or try and "correct." You like to excuse your crude and harmful comments with "well if you put some clothes on," or "maybe if you actually respected yourself," as if the worst thing a person could do is wear short shorts and a low-cut tank top. Your requests for me to put on more clothing fall on deaf ears because quite frankly, I don't care that my body makes you uncomfortable; I'm not here for you to gawk at or make judgments about. I understand that you're going to make judgments anyway because we are only human after all and judging other people seems to be a very prominent way in how we entertain ourselves and (somehow) make ourselves feel better, or less insecure. I'm not exactly sure where this concept of "tear others down in order to build yourself up" came from but I don't think it's working very well because by tearing someone else down all you're really doing is bringing negativity into your life and making someone else feel poorly about themselves—karma does come back around, you know.

There are morals and values instilled within each one of us that usually tell us that showing skin is wrong, disgusting, and...slutty, but we need to stop using that word, and stop harassing others for having different values. We need to stop attempting to diminish another person's self-worth based on their attire or their lifestyle. What someone does with their body is none of your business, and things as natural as the human body and sexual activity should not be seen as vile, disturbing, or wrong. Belittling someone because you don't agree with them embracing their existence is such a low and petty act; that is truly disturbing, vile, and wrong.

So to you, slut-shamers, I ask that you not look upon my body with hatred and disgust but you instead just stop looking at it altogether. I am proud of who I am. My clothing, confidence level, definition of self-respect, and sexual life are not for you to comment on because it really isn't any of your business in the first place (although, apparently, you weren't aware of that).

And although I can sit here and type this letter to you without a care in the world what you think of me or how I act, dress, or present myself, not everyone has the same confidence and you never know how terribly you could be hurting someone with the things you say. While you sit behind your computer or phone screen, or even face to face, and tell someone they should have more respect for themselves because of their clothing (or lack thereof), you've kind of contradicted yourself. You can't tell someone to respect themselves while simultaneously disrespecting them and yourself in the same breath. People are allowed to express themselves in whatever way makes them comfortable and confident and it is not your place to tell someone they are wrong for being comfortable in their own skin. I don't care if their way of presenting themselves isn't how you would present yourself, I don't care if you're more confident with your clothes on rather than off, and I really do not care that you think I should hide my body away. I show my confidence in a different way than you may show yours and that is okay. Stop shaming me for not being like you.

Sincerely,

Confident, sexually liberated, so-called 'sluts'