Ladies, when you dress in the morning, are you considering the weakest among you? Are you deliberately provoking men by the way you dress? One woman made a radical wardrobe change in order to protect men from themselves. But did she go far enough?
Christian blogger Veronica Partridge made waves when she wrote a post about her decision to stop wearing leggings and yoga pants outside the home. It was something she'd been thinking about for a while. But after a frank discussion with her husband, Dale, she became even more convinced that she needed to make this change.
If it is difficult for my husband who loves, honors, and respects me to keep his eyes focused ahead, then how much more difficult could it be for a man that may not have the same self-control? Sure, if a man wants to look, they are going to look, but why entice them? Is it possible that the thin, form-fitting yoga pants or leggings could make a married (or single) man look at a woman in a way he should only look at his wife?
Okay … I get it. Why go out of your way to tempt the men around you? I respect Partridge's intentions to live a godly life, cloaked through a humble brag about her hotness while wearing leggings.
But for the past several years, I, too, have been having a conviction weighing heavy on my heart: Why the hell is it women's job to keep men's libidos in check?!?
It's a slippery slope. Human beings will find anything erotic, given the right context. We're clever that way. We want that distraction. So you can stop wearing leggings, but where does it end, really?
I'll tell you where: A burqa that covers our entire bodies, with only a screen in front of our eyes so we can see. Acid thrown in our faces if we dare wear anything else.
I'm being dramatic, I know. But scroll through the photos of Partridge on her blog, especially that coy, back-lit profile image. She doesn't appear particularly shy about sharing her considerable beauty. And while some men might get turned on by leggings, for other men, just that alluring head shot is going to get them fantasizing all day. And you know some weird, repressed guy is doing just that right now.
Not to mention, women wear leggings and yoga pants for a whole range of reasons. They're comfortable, for one thing. We're constantly squeezing into constricting clothing and shoes. Wearing your Lululemon while running errands lets you focus on your tasks, not on chafing or tripping over your pioneer-woman-length skirt. Some of us feel like superheroes in yoga pants because we can take off running or do some intense stretch if we need to. Wearing leisurewear in public liberates us.
One thing Partridge says does resonate with me. She talks about the example she's setting for her daughter. "I want her to know, her value is not in the way her body looks or how she dresses, but in the character and personality God has given her." We all want girls to grow up being valued for who they are, on the inside — and not evaluated on superficial terms.
It's a thin line we women walk. We want to be understood as whole people, not seen as simply sexual objects. Every time we get dressed, we are making a decision about how we want the world — including men — to see us. For some, that awareness leads to increased modesty. For others, that awareness leads to a flamboyant celebration of curves.
Either way, I'm glad it's still up to us. I'm grateful that we live in a culture where Natalie Partridge gets to decide for herself how she'll dress — and Rihanna gets to decide for herself how she'll dress — and both have the right to move about in public as they choose. Because for women to be valued as multidimensional individuals, we need to see a whole range of women expressing themselves in a whole range of ways.
What do you think of Partridge's decision to stop wearing yoga pants?
Image via Nickolya/Shutterstock