"As your dad, I hate it because you look too grown up. Not being your dad for a moment, you look amazing!! That being said, wear it because my dad feelings are mine to deal with, not yours."

G’s response to what my daughter wore to prom last weekend.

And honestly, the response was perfect. The 18-year-old had picked a jumpsuit that had a deep v-neck. And it looked amazing on her. She has the right body type for it. She was worried about the cleavage – not because she is shy about the fact she has boobs, but because she wanted to wear some sort of bra but didn’t know which would work well. After some back and forth, she got a bra that showed but not in a distracting way. It was a risk but one she was comfortable with – and honestly, she looked great when it was all pulled together.

Saturday night, I found myself waffling about posting photos of her outfit. I did not want for anyone to say anything but "she looks amazing", and there was a risk of someone saying something shaming her for showing too much skin. And being able to see her bra? Yeah, I knew that would go over like a lead balloon for some.

In the end, I posted it because she looked good – and it was a moment worth sharing – her senior prom. Others were gong to have to shut the fuck up if they didn’t like it. And if they said something, they would be called out for it. I mean, there are bikinis that are more revealing, but more importantly, if she feels good in her skin, I refuse to let other shame her for it. I think many women in particular can talk about how they struggled at certain ages to be comfortable in their skin – comfortable enough to show skin without it being weird. A few years ago, that is where she was at – she felt weird even in a bathing suit because she wasn’t comfortable in her skin. The fact she has gotten to that point makes me happy because that isn’t easy to get to that point. The last thing I want to have happen is for her to be shamed back into not feeling good about her body.

So far, people are liking it – and commenting on her beauty and her maturity. I have been happy about that – but I still wait. I know something will be said. We shall see if they know their audience and either not post their thoughts – or step in it by posting something negative allowing me to bitch slap them via social media. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but God help them if they do.

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