We’re really done with men telling women how they should and shouldn’t dress.

It’s 2019, but somehow some men still believe they have the right to dictate what’s “appropriate” and what’s not when it comes to women’s bodies – and it’s really rather tiring.

But thanks to the likes of CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry, those types of people are being firmly put in their place.

The singer took to social media last night (12 August) to respond to critics who called one of her recent gig outfits “too revealing” – and remind her female fans that they could dress however they felt like.

“To the people saying that my gig outfits are too revealing/I shouldn’t dress like that if I don’t want men to comment on it: I disagree,” Mayberry writes.

“This argument assumes women only dress for the attention of men,” she continues. “When I dress for shows, I want to own my gender and my femininity. I want my performance image to be inherently feminine and tough as fuck because that is how I want to pretend to be – to myself, and to the women and young girls who come to our gigs.”

Mayberry then went on to explain that her fashion choices are part of how she expresses herself creatively, adding that she doesn’t need to pretend to be “one of the lads” and sacrifice her feminimity – because she isn’t one.

“People have tried to weaponise my gender against me since the start of my career as a musician,” she adds. “It happens now but it also happened when I was wearing baggy flannel shirts and jeans, because it’s not really about what a woman is wearing. It never is. It’s about claiming ownership of women’s bodies and women’s narratives. So I will continue dressing like a gothic Power Puff Girl with Big Witch Energy and I hope that you’ll all do whatever your version of that is too. Everyone else will just have to deal with it. My body, my life, my choice.”

Mayberry’s statement is one hell of a message for the sexists who believe it’s their right to shame her for expressing herself, and people on Twitter were very happy with her response.

“They want you to feel like you cannot win either way (flannels or the amazing outfit you wore last night) but newsflash YOU CAN! AND YOU ARE!” read one response.

“Thank you for standing up and being confident in your presence,” began another. “You inspire me to be the best version of myself there is and I know a lot of people appreciate you for doing the same for them.”

Maybe the critics should think twice next time before they decide publicly attempting to police a woman’s body is a good idea – after all, she’s too busy touring the world right now to listen to all that negativity. And she looks incredible doing it. 

Images: Getty