A woman named Veronica Partridge wrote an article telling everyone why she was planning to stop wearing yoga pants and leggings in public. She said that she was doing this because they cause men to look at women in a way that should be reserved for their wives, and causes them to commit the sin of lust. According to her, women have a responsibility to dress so that men do not lust after them.
The post was controversial because it places the blame for men’s lustful thoughts squarely on women. One woman, a year before, wrote an article that spotlights the double standard of this situation. She asks if men have any understanding of how their clothing affects her. She issues a plea to men for an understanding of what their clothing, dress, and grooming are doing to her. She says that they are extending an invitation for her to lust after them.
While Veronica correctly states that men are more visually stimulated than women, men can dress in a way that is very distracting to women. L.P.’s article is a perfect counter to a rape culture that accuses women of contributing to men’s actions when they act on their sexual urges.
