I'm roughly 180cm tall. My eyes rest about 170cm from the ground. My skirt, which generally lies between my knee and waist, 40cm and 85cm from the ground, respectively, is almost a full meter from my eyes - that is, from the light-sensing, image-forming organs which allow me to perceive the world visually.
So why do people seem to think that my skirt is a blindfold?
I noticed it almost immediately when I started wearing skirts. Whenever I wore a skirt, people stared at me for longer, with more hatred, for almost no reason. I couldn't explain it. They stopped whenever I went back to pants, and then started up again as soon as I switched back.
People would stare at me for ordering some hot chips, as if it's a crime for me to crave grease and salt. They'd stare at me getting on the bus, for holding up their journey, I guess? They'd glare if I was ahead of them in line, or texting in public. I don't even know what I did for a lot of them.
What I didn't understand was why these things never warranted such looks before. I've eaten literally tonnes of chips in my life, caught hundreds of buses, been served before thousands of people, and sent at least a dozen text messages while out and about.
Before long, I realised it was the skirt. I was taught not to stare at people, because when they notice, it makes them uncomfortable. So, I can come to no other conclusion than that they think my skirt is somehow inhibiting my ability to notice. I can think of no explanation other than that they think my skirt is actually a blindfold.
After all, what else had I done to draw such hatred?
