Recently, I read a letter written by a Catholic mother of four sons published in the Notre Dame student newspaper, The Observer, about the apparent atrocity that is, leggings. In this letter, she writes about how she has hated leggings from the beginning, but it wasn't until she saw a group of girls wearing leggings during mass that she decided to write a letter. She goes on in the letter about how women wearing leggings is essentially just walking around naked. Her main problem with leggings throughout the piece seems to be about protecting other people.
Let's get one thing straight, leggings are just pants!
She states that we "don't go around naked because we respect ourselves" and she "thought of all the other men around and behind us who couldn't help but see their (the girls in mass) behinds," that to me is just ridiculous. I personally, and I'm sure I speak for a lot of women, do not wear leggings to gain the attention of men. I wear them because I think they're cute and comfortable. If a guy happens to look at me while I'm wearing them, do I care? Not really, as long as he does not disrespect me verbally or physically. If that makes you uncomfortable when someone is "checking you out," say something! Or maybe just start looking them up and down, perhaps it'll make them just as uncomfortable as you are.
Sure, there's going to be clothing that isn't your style, or that you would never dream of putting on your own body, but the problem exists when you feel you should be able to dictate what others are wearing. It is in no way your business to decide what complete strangers are putting on their bodies. People are allowed to wear whatever they want, whenever they want unless there is a specific dress code.
Leggings may accentuate a woman's body, but why is that so wrong?
Have you ever seen a guy walking around in a skin-tight shirt in which you could see all his muscles through it? Surely. Did you look at him in disgust? Did you feel inclined to write a letter to encourage men to stop wearing these shirts? Most definitely not.
The fact is, leggings are tight pants. Yes, they do tightly outline a woman's curves, and yes, people do wear them with short shirts. All of this considered, it is only up to that person to decide what they do or do not put on their body. I can think of a lot of other fashion fads I would want to end before leggings do. In fact, I hope leggings are being worn for years to come.
She ends the letter by saying it is a person's choice whether or not they want to wear leggings, but she hopes that people will stop wearing them. To me, this invalidates her entire letter. People already know they have the choice to wear or not wear something, so writing a letter giving the reasons you personally don't want people to wear leggings just seems unnecessary.
