Marked

“BUT I DON’T WANNA WEAR A DRESS!!” I screamed this to my mom all the way across the house. It was a Christmas party last year and a quite formal one at that. I was forced into a dress that I hated, while my 21-year-old brother got off with a sweatshirt and shorts. I questioned why he could get to wear something so comfortable while I was stuck wearing the most disgusting thing in my closet. My mom just said, “because he’s a boy.” I could see my brother smirking and laughing at me from the living room as I was about to explode. She claimed it was because nobody cared what my brother wore and I had to make a good impression, even though I’ve known these people my whole life and they know I hate this attire. My mother even had THE AUDACITY to ask me to put makeup on. HA! It was bad enough I had to wear that abysmal dress but with makeup? Yeah, right. I could be seen sulking just until I rang the doorbell to enter the party. Upon entering, within three seconds I could already see about seven “marked girls” with off shoulder and bodycon dresses. Not one man was marked. Tannen wrote that “there is no unmarked woman” and even in that small house, I could tell that really was the case. For example, take hypothetical scenarios and imagine what a man would have to wear to them, vs what a woman would. Women have a plethora of choices, resulting in a lot more room for error. Thinking back, all the pain and suffering I went through that night, was just for a simple sweatshirt, and sadly, I would probably do it all over again...