Logical fallacy: If women wear pants, men must either be in skirts or naked from the waist down
Jennie recently shared an interview with New York Times columnist Gail Collins, author of When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. The interview is here:
The world has seriously changed since our mother’s generation. Not surprisingly, a lot of these changes involve clothing. There’s always been a tension between feminism and femininity (must we act masculine to have the opportunities men have?) Collins debunks (again) the urban legend of literal “bra-burning” (never happened). And asked whether a “feminist” identity is distasteful to modern young women, Collins says, “even back in the ’20s women were writing that there was something about the word ‘feminism’ that suggested bad shoes.”
Woman doing housework (see apron), 1959
My name is Robin, and I’m a feminist. Who won’t wear bad shoes. Women my age (36 in 2009) know we can aim for pretty and powerful. We’re not shocked when it’s a struggle to have both, but we know we deserve it. If we want, we can run the world in skirts and heels . . . or at least we should be able to. And we’d love to argue about why we’re not.
Just don’t force us into skirts and heels. Because seriously, it was not that long ago that women were supposed to wear dresses all the time. They might wear pants at home, but there aren’t even that many pictures of that before 1960. Because if they were photographed (or depicted in art at home, see left) they would have put a dress on. Does that seem absurd? As Gail describes:
. . . when I went to college we weren’t allowed to wear slacks out of the dormitory, except if you were going bowling. And later on, the younger women had demonstrations and they all went out in slacks and a lot of them had picket signs, and they got rid of the law. But when I was there I just signed out to go bowling every night. I was absolutely not one of the great cultural heroines of my time, I guarantee you.
BOWLING. Seriously. I guess pants were better because they ran and bent over? What was up with this? Mom?
Skirt vs. pants is still a big debate for many working women. Does it sex us up, or reduce us to an gender-specific expectation? And if we play along, is this necessarily a bad thing? At least we have a choice (or do we — when we hear that a Federal Judge might really prefer female attorneys to appear before him only in skirted suits). If we dress like men to be treated as well as them, do we concede that the Masculine is the default, the power ideal? (Because gender is something extra that women “have” and men are “normal?”) More importantly, will it make us look fat and dumpy if we tromp around in heavy, practical shoes? Heels are so slimming.
Anti-suffrage cartoon circa 1910. The man and children are unhappy because the woman is leaving the house to go cast her vote. I don't think this was ironic.
Gail Collins is a little ambivalent about the clothes issue. Which is fine with me, because she’s awesome. But around here, it’s important. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I got some flack for wanting to buy her dresses right away — but it turns out, sturdy cotton knit dresses can be comfy and fun for girls. She’s so cute! Then I’m conflicted when she argues too much about which PRETTY DRESS she’s going to wear in the morning. She is only 2, and there are more important things in life. But it’s GOOD (and I’m getting to this, with Teens and Twilight) that she’s opinionated, self-possessed and determined — even when it comes to flowered pants. Should I worry that she wears too much pink? On the other hand, should I encourage my son to wear dresses (at least just for play?)
Gender-blindness may never happen, and we aren’t even totally “equal” yet. And even for women who aren’t personally interested in equal career opportunity, the world needs it: Opportunity builds confidence, confidence builds esteem. Girls’ self-esteem helps them stand up for themselves. This keeps them safe and free from domestic violence and predation (TWILIGHT ARGH). As adults they’ll be confident enough to demand equal healthcare and equal pay.
We’ve still got a long way to go on this road. Does it slow us down to wear a dress along the way? As Collins says, there are “walls you are never going to climb over, and separating women from really ridiculous but incredibly sexy shoes is one of those.”
. . . Unless you can climb over those walls in heels. I’m not saying you have to try. Just don’t tell yourself you can’t.
Slacks “loose trousers” first recorded 1824, originally military; O.E. slæc “loose, careless” (in ref. to personal conduct), from P.Gmc. *slakas (cf. O.S. slak, O.N. slakr, O.H.G. slah “slack,” M.Du. lac “fault, lack”), from PIE base *(s)leg- “to be slack” (see lax). Sense of “not tight” (in ref. to things) is first recorded c.1300. The verb is attested from 1520; slacken (v.) first recorded 1580.
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