Livre d'Or

Thank you very much for this thinky comment; you've expressed what I was trying to say but more informatively. I really like the framing that clothing of women in particular is seen as symbolic, often of their, their family's, or their society's morals, thank you.

Yes, there are cultural reasons why some body parts can be exposed in some contexts, and the accepted ways to cover up. The Muslims having to express opinions about hijab is a good example. I also think of that meme with a little old white lady (sometimes the Queen) wearing a headscarf and that's unremarkable, whereas a brown-skinned woman wearing hijab means she's a terrorist or oppressed.

Also I thoroughly agree that you don't have to analyse your reasons if you don't want to, and that there is already more pressure than necessary on many women to do that kind of analysis, to the point of always having to second-guess themselves and can never really get it right.

The dressed like a prostitute thing gets into really nasty territory fast. I mean, there's nothing wrong with dressing like a prostitute because there's nothing wrong with being a prostitute, and also there's no standard way that people who have sex for money dress. But being perceived as like a prostitute has massive and unpleasant social consequences. That's the sort of situation where modesty policing can get really toxic.