"Don't you contradict me!" Mrs. Dubose bawled. "And you-" she pointed an arthritic finger at me- "what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You'll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn't change your ways- a Finch waiting on tables at the O.K. Cafe- hah!"
I was terrified. The O.K. cafe was a dim organization on the north side of the square. I grabbed Jem's hand but he shook me loose. pg. 135

Jem and Scout were walking back from the store on a Saturday and Mrs. Dubose  started a conversation with them, asking whether or not they were 'playing hooky'. Afterwards, Jem got so angry at her for calling their father a 'n***** lover,' that he took Scout's new baton and ran and cut the tops off if all of her camellia bushes.

Mrs. Dubose's statement that Scout should not be wearing pants, but instead "more ladylike clothing," is coherent with the time period it was said, but still not okay. She's trying to enforce the idea that a female, regardless of what she likes, should only wear clothes to eventually get her a husband and clothes that enable her to do a very restricted list of things. From the book, we know that Scout loves running and playing outdoors which would not be very easy to do in a dress like Mrs. Dubose thinks she should wear.

This also hit personally for me because I hate the idea that women have such a specific, demanding stereotype. If a girl likes to wear a suit- great. If they like to wear lots of makeup- great. If they like to have tons of piercings- great. Short hair, short shorts, long shorts, whatever they want. A person should be able to wear or look however they like as long as it's not hurting anyone else. If someone feels confident or comfortable in something I can't think of any reason that someone should tell them to do differently. The idea that women have to be fit, pretty, girly and sweet to make boys like them is ridiculous because people who don't fit that stereotype are totally excluded simply because of what they feel confident or good about themselves in. Now I'm not saying that anyone who fits some of those characteristics should feel bad, they should be embraced as themselves just as much as everyone else, but anyone who doesn't should never be put down or isolated because of their preferences in their personal appearance.