School Bans Leggings and Yoga Pants – Too Distracting For Boys

http://evanston.patch.com/groups/trending-in-america/p/school-bans-leggings-and-yoga-pants--too-distracting-for-boys?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058& ^

[MNDude]

Let’s talk about leggings, shall we? They’re a controversial topic all across America.

Now the debate’s landed in Evanston, Illinois, at Haven Middle School.

I think I’ve heard most arguments about leggings: They’re too distracting to the boys. Inappropriate. Unbecoming. They create a lustful atmosphere infecting society and are, in some countries, considered illegal.

And while I particularly love this Utah mom’s approach to lighten the mood, I doubt this writer smiled as she wrote about the controversy.

Earlier this week, I learned that Haven Middle School students are planning a protest against a ban on leggings. A Haven parent forwarded this email, sent to Haven Middle School principal Kathy Roberson on Tuesday, March 11th:

Personally, I think this ban is ridiculous. It’s obnoxious. It’s insulting. It’s lazy and it’s offensive.

I have a middle school daughter. She and her friends wear leggings. And yoga pants. And clothes that don’t always please me. Am I a bad mother for letting my daughter out of the house wearing a shirt that doesn’t cover her bottom? Possibly. Does it confound me when young men walk around wearing pants around their knees or when a therapist wears a purple streak in her hair or when a teacher wears a diamond stud in her nose? It does, but only because those aren’t my styles and it’s my issue, not theirs.

What kind of confusing message are we sending to girls – especially young girls who see public figures (including the First Lady) wearing leggings and yoga pants and whose parents are usually the ones purchasing the clothes and whose male counterparts aren’t told how to dress their bodies but only what not to wear on them? Give me a break.

[linn37]

The article is about kids wearing them to school. I’m not on here to discuss whether adults should wear them or not.

[Vaquero]

I do believe in dress codes in school. This of course will only keep the boys from immediate prurient interest related to clothes. Believe me when I say that, it is not a game stopper. Teenage boys (and admittedly males in general) have vivid imaginations and generally the girls play the game right along with them.

[linn37]

I understand that.

[Yardstick]

That really was a bad era for pants.