Lifestyle

Hey, David Moore: Yoga Pants Are Not The Problem, Society's Sexism Is

by De Elizabeth
Stocksy

According to Montana State Rep. David Moore, yoga pants are the devil's sweatpants and should be banned from society.

This is not an exaggeration; he thinks yoga pants should be deemed illegal due to their "inappropriate" nature.

His hatred is directed toward yoga pants specifically, due to their form-fitting nature, but Moore is proposing a bill that would address any article of clothing that shows "too much" of a woman's body.

Of course, he has attempted to pretend this bill would apply to both men and women.

The Huffington Post reports that Moore's bill would be tacked onto the state's indecent exposure law, and would focus on clothing that "reveals the nipples -- men's or women's -- or 'gives the appearance or simulates' one's buttocks, genitals or pelvic area."

Let's not beat around the bush here: This law is obviously targeted at women, despite the mention of both genders in the wording.

This can be surmised because Moore went on to explain he believes yoga pants should specifically be banned from public. Of course, yoga pants are immensely popular among females.

For such a comfortable and well-liked article of clothing, yoga pants are getting an awful lot of hate lately, and not just from Moore. Yoga has been all over the news in recent months.

Some schools have decided to ban yoga pants because they are "distracting," and we all remember the controversy surrounding blogger Veronica Partridge's decision to stop wearing yogas in public out of "respect" for her husband.

In Partridge's case, this was her personal decision, and she attempted to make it clear she wasn't telling others what to do.

Still, the message behind her decision was clear: She felt that by wearing yoga pants out in public, she was drawing unwanted attention to herself from men, which might make her husband uncomfortable.

When schools decide yoga pants are no longer appropriate, it is because they are supposedly "distracting" to the boys.

In all of these cases, the idea is the same: Yoga pants are considered indecent because they cause men to have sexual thoughts. Therefore, it becomes the woman's responsibility to help the men avoid those thoughts entirely. Problem solved!

Wait a second. What the actual f*ck?

Why do women have to take on this responsibility? Why aren't men, or young boys, taught to manage their sexual emotions?

Furthermore, why are we assuming men are going to turn into raging hormonal beasts at the sight of form-fitting yoga pants? Don't the guys deserve a little more respect than that, as well?

Instead of making yoga pants the enemy, why not deal with the root of the issue at hand? Sexual thoughts and feelings, especially in young people, shouldn't be considered so "taboo" and wrong. Rather, they should be discussed and addressed.

Boys should be able to figure out how to control and deal with those feelings, especially at a time when their bodies are changing and they are becoming more aware of their own sexuality.

By putting the responsibility on women, we are only perpetuating a problem in our society that plays into more serious issues. Women are made to feel like they shouldn't dress in a certain way, for fear they may get stared at, catcalled or even sexually assaulted.

Women are still being asked, "What were you wearing when you were assaulted?" like that's even a relevant question.

Moore's proposed bill needs to be squashed immediately, and the way we address women's clothing needs a serious overhaul. Instead of making this the woman's obligation, a dialogue should be started with both genders.

The bottom line is clear: Women should be able to dress comfortably in yoga pants, jeans or whatever they wish to wear, without worrying about being a "distraction" to society.