Bent

The time that I grew up in. Wait! I sound old or like my parents saying this. I suppose any time is a different time if it is not the present. Moving on. I was born at the very end 1976. I do not remember much until the 80's. My parents married as virgins, at least my mom did, dad not so sure. I would like to think so considering his preaching on no sex before marriage. Rambling again! Anyway! In my era, my parents did not believe in dating until I was eighteen, or wearing red or pants and sleeveless shirts. Thank god for the boys looking up my oldest sister's skirt in Christain school, or I would have had to wear dresses and skirts forever. The wearing red? I get it now. Although it is just a color, it held more meaning to my dad. Red used to represent wild or slutty. Prostitutes used to turn the red light outside their door when they were "open". I loved red. I guess it made me feel like a girl. I was not allowed to buy red lipstick or red nail color. My dad said it made me look wild. My mom said it was a whore color. No wonder I became a stripper! Well, I always found a way around things, as all children do. I painted my nails with red water color and painted over with clear polish. It worked. I didn't buy it. I used the same color on my lips, topping it off with a gloss. Yep, I improvised. Shorts and tank tops were a big no-no as well. My dad would make us bend over with our jeans to see if he could pinch an inch of the material. If not, we had to go change. I am pretty sure my mom burned some of our clothes. Just saying. Shorts? I would not call them that, they were more like bermuda shorts or gouchos in our house. They could not be above the knee, shorts or skirts.I found a way to wear them shorter. For the record, I started the jean shorts/skirts with tights. Yes I did! See, my parents did not want skin showing, so I did not show it! Some things had to be hidden though. After a while, I simply wore layers and changed once I left the house. It was less of a battle trying to jusify my right to bare/unbare clothes. As for dating, that is another story. Put it this way...I could not date until I was eighteen. I was pregnant and married at sixteen.