The Debate On Women Wearing Pants Rages On

[Lil Red]

from [url="http://www.bettnet.com/blog/index.php/weblog/women_in_pants_are_the_cause_of_much_evil_in_the_world/"]Bettnet.com[/url]
[b][u]Women in pants are the cause of much evil in the world[/u][/b]

Melanie has been regaling me with quotes from some of the blogs where a debate has been raging over whether good Catholic women should ever wear pants. To read the rhetoric from some of them, women in pants is the greatest obstacle to the spread of the Gospel. Think I’m exaggerating?

Genevieve Kineke started a post by disputing the notion that dresses are a moral necessity for women and her comments eventually turned into, well, [color="blue"][url="http://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2006/09/im_a_heretic.html#comment-22150635"]see for yourself[/url][/color]

[i]BY VIRTUE of how we are wired as men and women, I am convinced that if Christian women return to wearing modest dresses or skirts w/blouse all the time (with an exception to pants for necessity, in cases of extreme weather,certain occupations with heavy machinery ect...)we could weild a powerful force in winning the culture back for JESUS and the salvation of souls.[/i]

Riiight! It’s not modesty as an intention or an act that’s important, but the particular cut of clothing. Because you can’t ever have immodest skirts or modest pants.

This nothing less than an American Puritanism. Go look at photos from 50 or 60 years ago from Italy or France and see how the Catholic women dressed. Not that they wore pants, but that they took pleasure in looking beautiful. And isn’t that what this attitude boils down to? Women shouldn’t look too beautiful as it will lead men into sin. In the same thread as the comment above, someone else wrote that she wears dresses because that’s what the Blessed Mother wore and has worn in all her apparitions since the time of Christ. Um yeah. Jesus always appears wearing robes; are men getting a fashion commandment from that fact?

And how is this attitude--that it’s not the intent or the effect, but the black-and-white material condition that signifies holiness and purity--different from the fundamentalist Muslim proposition that women must veil themselves because the men are not responsible for how they react when overpowered by the irresistible force of their sexuality. I could imagine some Taliban imam preaching: “If only all those women were veiled, those infidels would convert.”

In fact, Genevieve later [color="blue"][url="http://feminine-genius.typepad.com/femininegenius/2006/09/woman_lawyer_sh.html"]picks up on the point,[/url][/color]

[i]I find it shameful that Christian women consider even lightly the idea that dress codes and women staying in the home are part and parcel of our faith. Modesty, dignity and decency must be combined with the God-given gift of free will in order that each person find his or her vocation in the wide constellation of possibilities.[/i]

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be sure to read the comments, they are very interesting. so what do you all think, (again)?

[Era Might]

They should wear kilts.

[XIX]

Skirts (knee length or longer) are very, very, very, very attractive.

In so many ways:

--They are modest
--They are not at all prudish (except by the world's "one piece bathing suits are prudish!!" standards)
--They are feminine in and of themselves
--They can carry some sweet designs, or just be plain jean-skirts
--I have gathered that many Catholic males aggree with me. So if you're hanging out with someone kind cute, then by all means, rock a nice skirt.

I'm not outlawing pants here, as there are some pants that are very feminine. You wouldn't catch me dead wearing a pair of white pants with colorful stripes, for example. And some pants can be attractive, feminine, and modest at the same time.

Catholics should look great without being flashy. Remember, we are witnesses to our faith; we are preaching to a very material world!

That said, we could definitely afford to make a push for more skirts and fewer pants.

[Ash Wednesday]

I'm having a hard time expressing with much charity how stupid and ridiculous I find this debate to be sometimes -- particularly some of people's opinions and reasonings to be on this subject, with the exception of issues concerning genuine threats to dignity and modesty. I'm also mystified by some people's inability to look at the big picture regarding what causes evil in the world.

So, um all I have to say now is that my load of laundry will dry faster this weekend -- don't really need to launder too many pairs of pants. I've spent a lot of the time this week in sweats.

Edited September 8, 2006 by Ash Wednesday

[Jaime]

[quote name='Ash Wednesday' post='1059135' date='Sep 8 2006, 03:04 PM']
I'm having a hard time expressing with much charity how stupid and ridiculous I find this debate to be sometimes -- particularly some of people's opinions and reasonings to be on this subject, with the exception of issues concerning genuine threats to dignity and modesty. I'm also mystified by some people's inability to look at the big picture regarding what causes evil in the world.

So, um all I have to say now is that my load of laundry will dry faster this weekend -- don't really need to launder too many pairs of pants. I've spent a lot of the time this week in sweats.
[/quote]

pantswearer

[Ash Wednesday]

No way, man. I'm in the U.K..... therefore I'm a [b][i]trousers[/i][/b]wearer

:

[CrossCuT]

[size=1]I would LOVE it if women only wore skirts!
Its fun and cute
[/size]

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1059093' date='Sep 8 2006, 03:18 PM']
They should wear kilts.
[/quote]
If ALL the men wore kilts, I would go back to wearing skirts as well.
not til them :

[onlygrace08]

I wear skirts nearly all the time simply by preference. I am 16 years old and some do think me a little odd for hardly ever wearing pants but, I feel better in a skirt. There is a difference in the way I behave even depending on what I wear. I like the way a skirt makes me feel and the state of mind it puts me in. I'm not saying that every girl should wear skirts all the time. I'm saying simply that it is what I perfer. I should mention though, that I try not to wear a skirt that goes above my knees. That is not modest. And, for all of those who think that they could never wear skirts to do their daily activities... you can!! I only wear a pair of jeans when mowing the lawn (don't want my hem to get sucked up and when the laundry dosn't quite get finished.... (oops! )

God Bless

Anna

[IcePrincessKRS]

I wear pants. 'nuff said.

[avemaria40]

Pants feel more comfortable, not to mention that it's easier for science labs if you have jeans and sneakers on. I'm taking 2 science classes this year and plan to go into premed in college, which means, lots of labs. I like skirts but I prefer pants for the most part. Besides, I live in an area that can get a lot of wind and well...there can be some accidental immodesty there. Not to mention pants warm you up when it gets cold (and New England gets really cold in the winter )

I have no problem with women staying home w/kids or wearing only skirts and dresses, IF THAT's HER CALLING. However, not all women are called to that. St. Joan of Arc wore men's clothing because she was called to and she also became a soldier, which, as we all know, was VERY unheard of for most devout Catholic women at the time (though there were noble women who went to war w/husbands but that's off topic so I won't go there) Also, St. Gianna Molla was a doctor as well as a wife and mother and she was a very devout Catholic (obviously if she was canonized).

Telling all women they absolutely have to dress a certain way (that's much more rigorous than simply modest, fashionable clothing) because men can't control themselves or that they absolutely have to stay at home with children is not only wrong, but is bordering on what they are doing in Iran. What next, we're going to execute women based on gossip of wrongdoing? I am a huge advocate of modesty (I never wear anything that leaves my shoulders uncovered, and I don't wear ridiculously short shorts) and I think that we need more stay at home parents (I'm glad my mom stayed home with me and my sibs when we were in grade school) but I am not going to completely mask my individuality or give up my dream of becoming a prolife doctor just because people take Bible verses out of context.

[jiyoung]

I love skirts, but I also love a good pair of jeans. Perhaps we should focus on reforming the attitudes of women. There are some guidelines that do need to be followed--modest hemlines, not so tight that you can see what you learned about in anatomy&physiology that day, etc etc. But wearing pants isn't a sin. If a girl wants to wear skirts all the time because she feels it's more modest and she FEELS CALLED TO DO IT...then that's fine. But it's a little excessive to try to require all women to wear skirts. You'd be breaking off a branch, not killing the root of the problem.

[Guest Rick777]

Pants DO incite men to lust.

[homeschoolmom]

This is a debated issue in our homeschool co-op.

[franciscanheart]

i'll have to post my response when i have more time (read: when i'm not at work) but for now it should pretty much give my stance to say i find the following to be true with me. i'll draw conclusions from these statements later.

[quote name='onlygrace08' post='1059203' date='Sep 8 2006, 05:30 PM']
I wear skirts nearly all the time simply by preference. I am 16 years old and some do think me a little odd for hardly ever wearing pants but, I feel better in a skirt. There is a difference in the way I behave even depending on what I wear. I like the way a skirt makes me feel and the state of mind it puts me in. I'm not saying that every girl should wear skirts all the time. I'm saying simply that it is what I perfer. I should mention though, that I try not to wear a skirt that goes above my knees. That is not modest. And, for all of those who think that they could never wear skirts to do their daily activities... you can!! I only wear a pair of jeans when mowing the lawn (don't want my hem to get sucked up and when the laundry dosn't quite get finished.... (oops! )

God Bless

Anna
[/quote]

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

Another note: They made leggings (not the 80's kind, but the underwear kind) that help with modesty... I find a good denim skirt is good for all sorts of wear and tear. I wear pants only when I have to. Long skirts help against Marylin moments, and heavier fabrics too...

I really do feel best in skirts, and I always feel kind weird in pants sometimes... I wear skirts to work all the time and I've had some male coworkers tell me I dress very elegantly even though I'm only wearing a khaki skirt to just above my ankles with a black blouse.

Skirts kinda require a bit of extra layering for modesty's sake, but it is very much worth it...

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Rick777' post='1059336' date='Sep 8 2006, 10:17 PM']
Pants DO incite men to lust.
[/quote]
Anything can incite men to lust.
Learn a little self control, and don't blame us for your moral faillures.

[CrossCuT]

[size=1]Men have identified themselves with pants where women have with skirts.
It has been that way for hundreds of years.
But of course we change things and now women wear them too.
It does not matter so much to me I guess, but if [i]I[/i] were in controle, women would always wear skirts!
I think they reflect the fact that women are special...

Do you ever see MEN wear skirts? Of course not.
But pants can be worn by both.

Skirts are spacific to females and I think they really show the beauty of BEING female.
People have really lost sight of that.
[/size]

Edited September 9, 2006 by CrossCuT

[Era Might]

[quote name='CrossCuT' post='1059466' date='Sep 9 2006, 12:21 AM']
[size=1]Do you ever see MEN wear skirts? Of course not.
But pants can be worn by both.

Skirts are spacific to females and I think they really show the beauty of BEING female.
People have really lost sight of that.
[/size]
[/quote]
Yes, you do.

[img]http://www.luckenbooth.co.uk/images/kilts.jpg[/img]

Edited September 9, 2006 by Era Might

[goldenchild17]

Not that I really feel up to debating it. But I'm gonna say I kind of agree with that lady's article. Not to mention I find skirts way more attractive anyways... My mom has recently decided to wear only skirts/dresses mostly because of this, and so do my sisters.

Edited September 9, 2006 by goldenchild17