Jim2 wrote:I just wish people would stop describing the wearing of a skirt as expressing "femininity". The association of a skirt with women was simply a mistake of our culture.
Unfortunately "comments are closed" on the article as I was going to have a bit of a go at some of the author's premises.
She does nail it a bit by stating that femininity has been traditionally viewed as "inferior" in Western Culture, but she fails to recognise the dramatic rise in "masculine behaviour" in women in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries -- to the point where most women are more "masculine" than their male counterparts. This observation has led me to wryly comment more than once that, "It's not so much environmental oestrogens I'm worried about it's an over-abundance of environmental testosterone that concerns me." And it's not just external styles that women have been adopting, either; they've become much more aggressive, much more competitive, and generally more ill-tempered and bad-mannered -- all the
bad things that "testosterone-poisoning" leads to; unfortunately, there hasn't been much of a perceived motion toward the
good things -- the innate desire to get things done, a sense of protectiveness for those close to them (frequently to the point of altruism), and the capacity to buck the herd when the need arises and to be completely independent.
On the use of "clothing to constrict the wearer", with the exception of stupidly high heels I disagree with her premise on all counts. From experience, I have discovered that I can do virtually anything in a long skirt with a petticoat that I can in trousers. This includes basic physical acts like moving at a run, climbing stairs, and other activities -- without much constraint. Her attitude is that of someone who has never tried such things and learnt how they work. The use of steps with a low rise, for instance, is not confined to "Women's buildings" but also has seen application i places like hotels and concert venues (where a sense of gentility is encouraged), and this is in late 20th Century buildings constructed long after the faux-male rebellion began. I still recall with hilarity the stink made by "women" where I used to work when a new building was constructed on campus that is a thoroughly 21st-Century edifice with a positively splendid open atrium with architectural elements like glass risers in the staircase to enhance the sense of airiness -- it was shrill enough to almost break that glass. "That's the last time I wear a skirt at work!" was the mantra of many faux-males there; one of my last acts was a defiant walk on said stairs -- wearing one of my skirts -- just as a social counterpoint.
So, the "gender arguments" break down, and they break down the "farther along" we get societally. Are we headed in the right direction? The problem is, is that men -- for all their braggadocio and swagger -- tend to be a fairly sensitive lot when it comes to peer pressure, and one of the things that they're most sensitive about is being perceived as "less manly" than the rest of the school-yard boys. So we cower out of fear -- not so much because of what Suzy might say, but from what Johnny might do (and we might get beat up over). In this case, if Suzy doesn't like it if I wear a skirt that's her problem and flags her as somebody not worth my time (the "bozo" or "bimbo" effect), and if Johnny has a problem then I'll just have to deal with his issues until ultimately bystanders and/or the State take him down for bad behaviour.
Wearing a skirt in the modern world isn't such a horrible thing in the 21st Century. As has been written before, most folks are so consumed by just trying to survive -- much less prosper -- in their own little worlds that they will have little time nor energy to expend on a free-thinker who dares to dress differently from the herd. Sure, they'll notice, and possibly comment under their breath, but nothing more will come of it, and if one is courteous and engaging one can usually win the day that way and convince folks that
it's not the clothing that matters but rather what's inside that does -- and perhaps, just maybe, another mind gets opened just a little tiny bit. And you've not even once compromised your masculinity -- for yours is the real thing, not an act nor a put-on (which, in the case of women, gets scrapped the instant it might become a problem and being feminine gains her an advantage).