I'm up here!

Yesterday, after finishing a hike I was cat called. In Hindi. By a ten year old. Mumtha, after yelling at the little pain in the ass, apologized and explained what he had said. She was as shocked to find out that the same thing happens in the U.S. as I was to see it happen among children in a village so remote it took me 15 hours by plane, 15 hours by car and another 2 on foot to reach it. It got me thinking. Why is it that women are always judged first - apparently everywhere in the whole freaking world- by what they're wearing?

Why is it that we discussed Hilary's pantsuits and the money Palin spent on her wardrobe during the last election but never once debated the color of one of Obama's ties or McCain's taste in jackets? Why do we continue to argue about whether Muslim women should or should not wear veils (or as Obama, being the true revolutionary that he is, recently suggested, whether they should have the freedom to decide for themselves) when women in many countries, both in Middle East and elsewhere are being denied education? Why can't I walk down the street of a crowded city without people sizing me up when a man wearing the same thing (a pair of loose jeans and a t-shirt) wouldn't have been given a second glance.

When I first got here I thought clothes mattered a lot. I wanted to be respectful of culture as much as I wanted to blend in. So for the first few days I tried wearing Indian clothes. But apparently I don't pull off a sari very well because I got disgusted glares from both men and women in Indian clothes too. Finally, I had an epiphany. I am more than what I'm wearing. If people have issues with me wearing clothes I'm comfortable in, that is their problem not mine. And this isn't a gendered issue. The blame falls on us too, girls. We need to stop judging each other by our clothes. If we're going to discuss women's issues they need to not be focused on what women are wearing, but the kind of lives they're living. And most of all, we need to make ourselves comfortable before we worry about what everyone else will be thinking of us. If people want to get to know us they'll get over what we're wearing and come talk to us. If not it's their loss.

And to the creeps out there that insist on making comments- particularly at this moment the ones cluttering up the streets of Manali: close your mouths.