Late summer

I just saw the time and was surprised that the day somehow escaped me!   I had a couple of “nuits blanches” lately, and those led to long days, so last night I was out from around 7pm.  I caught up on some sleep last night and again this afternoon when I slept for 3 hours.  I was out with the dictator today in some very lovely summery weather; we actually made it to the dog park (🎉🍾) but had to leave sooner than I wanted because there was another little dog there whose owner was very skittish, so I left before they had a meltdown.  I’m pleased that I was able to cover the distance, and I was able to sit for a few seconds before I took him home.  I was a little unsteady walking back as I think I must have overextended myself.  I had a small supper and am resting.  Don is causing me to worry as he’s started experiencing pain in his leg again (he claims it’s sciatica) and it’s not easing up.  I’m relieved that he feels better overall, but this pain is concerning to me.  It’s now raining, as the promised storm has arrived. 

Someone sent me a meme suggesting that we move to ban the burqini and the burqua because they’re “unCanadaian.”  I’ve got mixed feelings on the subject, really.  My main objection stems from the practice of full facial coverage.  I find it uncomfortable not being able to see someone’s facial and other expressions when I’m talking to them in person (I’m not crazy about phone calls for serious discussions either for the same reason.). My lesser objection is the symbolism of oppression — being told that women must wear this covering.  But that raises the question - by banning this, aren’t we adding a layer of oppression by determining what women must or must not wear?  The other set of my feelings is that “if you want to wear this style, it’s your choice.”  That’s the key, to me — it’s a choice of how to dress in public, in brief.  But it also needs to meet the basic requirements of public society — in this case, being able to see the face of the person wearing the clothing.  The rest of it — conforming to public decency, not being nude in public — is definitely met!  That’s about as far from nude as you can get!  I remember having a discussion with some colleagues about this, and one of them pointed out that forcing a ban on the style could punish women further, as they are likely not to be allowed out in public unless fully covered.  In my opinion, that’s what needs to  change — the feeling that men can and should dictate what a woman wears.  Once that goes, the choice of style is up to the wearer.

Why is it that society feels the burning need to dictate what women can and cannot wear?  I mean, there’s a lot of guff in school and work dress codes, that dictate what women can wear — no bare shoulders, no bare knees, etc with no comparable rules for men.  I think that the closest I’ve ever seen was a suggestion in the office years ago that asked men not to wear t-shirts with stains or logos for any potentially controversial product (sports teams excluded!)   I agree that overly sexualized clothing in an office environment is unacceptable, as would be distressed, stained or obviously dirty items, and feet should be protected — so no flip-flops.  (I also have a personal objection to slides, as I once lost a shoe that just slipped off my foot as I was walking around the office and it almost hit a colleague!  Very embarrassing moment!!!) But once we cover the basics, then I’d think that personal style should be allowed.  

I’d recently found the rules for when I started at secondary school many moons ago, and the uniform regulations.  Among other rules, the skirt was to be not more than 4” above the knee when seated… there were no boys in the school, so it wasn’t to protect their delicate sensibilities, but to help train us in what was considered appropriate dress.  The only real take away that I have from those rules is that I don’t wear white and blue nor do I own white shoes.  I think, maybe, that instead of instilling rules to force women to conform, we should focus on ensuring that men should be taught how to respect women, regardless of bare shoulders, and women should learn to dress to please themselves, and less on trying to fit an artificial and improbable standard of beauty.  It’s something that I honestly think needs addressing… the fashion industry clearly hates women as women, instead seeing us as either malformed men or dolls.  The endless pressure to conform to fashion standards, the vast fortunes spent on cosmetics, throwaway clothes — why should we need a new dress for every party?  What’s wrong with wearing something you’ve been seen in before?  Why is it so dreadful for 2 women to wear the same dress at the same time?  Men, by contrast, could wear the same combination for a month without censure.  I say this as someone who had a large, regularly updated wardrobe… I sometimes had clothes with price tags on that I never wore!  Until we can change that mindset that sends women into acquiring new items every few months, I think that we’ve got enough without banning an item of clothing.  To my friend who sent the picture — No, I won’t join you in a call to ban the burqua, but I will join in a call to improve respect for others.  You in?

Good night all!