Saturday, December 15, 2012

Pants Angst

(Note - this was originally a facebook post, but then it was so long, I thought I might as well get free blog mileage out of it as well.  The movement I mention you can search for on Facebook.  The pants wearing day is tomorrow, December 16.)

Is anyone else have existential angst about pants? Pants pants pants pants? Here's the deal. I love, love, love skirts. I wore a skirt today. When the weather is warm, I wear skirts about 5/7ths of the time. In the cold I wear them less, mostly because I need to up my warm weather skirt and underclothing contingent, but it's still probably around 3/7 of the time. To all the people who say that they feel better wearing pants - that person is not me. I prefer skirts. 

Also, tomorrow is a Wear Pants to Church Day. I am not of one mind on the topic. I suspect that many of the further aims of the All Enlisted group are not my aims, and not subjects I feel strongly about at all, and even some that I outright would disagree with them on (as they have not put more than general aims, I in turn cannot be more specific either). Even with this event, I do not think I really coincide on their point - I do agree that it is a cultural reason alone that women do not wear pants in America. After all Jesus Christ never wore pants in his life. But I also think that for most women in America their nicest clothing probably is a skirt or dress. And in all complete honestly, when women have worn pants to church in the past, I have always felt a little uncomfortable about it - not because I thought that there was a doctrinal reason they shouldn't be at all, but because I after all am American, and grew up in my church where I was, and where I was all women wore skirts. And as I love skirts, this seemed very right and natural to me.

I nothing else, over the last week I have taken a good, long hard look at pants and church and realized that I am the one that needs to change - not that I had ever, ever told someone they shouldn't wear pants. Not that I haven't reached out to them - if anything, I usually have tried to reach out even more, talk to them, introduce myself to them, precisely because I know that I am in the wrong and should get over it. And now I can say that I truly am more comfortable with the limitations of culture, and recognizing them as such.

I also am somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of making a statement at Sacrament meeting. But I know that for many, wearing pants is a sign of support and solidarity, and not a protest. I don't like the tone that much of the movement has - but here is the real crux - I much, much more don't like the tone of some of the people disagreeing with it. Many say things along the lines of what I have said, but there are some who I at least would never repeat, and would never want to think, either. 

Ultimately, I think I would struggle to explain why I'm wearing pants when I don't even like them in the first place. However, after talking to a man in my ward tonight who's wearing purple tomorrow (I'm looking at you Nate), I think I will wear purple tomorrow as well. I do like purple (they are encouraging men to wear purple stuff in support). And I am in support of people, all people, coming to church, regardless of what they wear or don't wear (well, I'm not really seeing a nudist Mormon colony coming in this life...in the next though, I'd expect it. Clothing does not seem to be de rigouer in the eternities.)


2 comments:

  1. So I was completely oblivious to this movement. Apparently it's not moved into my area of Montana much. I read a short article about it. I find it interesting, but I can say that I don't agree with everything they said as being "unequal" in the church. Although I'm sure some areas of the church are different than mine, and not every ward or stake is run the same. Nonetheless, very interesting. I can honestly say I'd never wear pants to church, if not only because I only have jeans and would never feel comfortable wearing jeans to church. I do have a pair of nice maternity slacks that I used to wear in my early pregnancies, only because I didn't have any nice Sunday maternity wear back then. Thanks for opening up an interesting topic for me. I'm sure my husband and I will have an interesting discussion on it tonight. :)

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  2. I did not wear pants because, conflicted though I was, I felt that the whole thing was trivial in comparison to the shooting that occurred later in the week. I wore black instead.

    Still, Alex and I did have an interesting discussion, because like you, I noticed that there was some vehement judging going on of these people who wanted to make a statement. I felt that their statement was more justified by the rotten things other people said and the response the group elicited than by the original points of contention.

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