Orthodox woman says gym threatened to arrest her for working out in a skirt

NY Post ^ | 10/2/2015 | Frank Rosario and Bruce Golding

[goodnesswins]

Yes...I have worn a skirt at the gym.. .lifting weights and on elliptical machine...but it was very short and over leggings...crotch covering actually...I try to have one with me so if I decide to run errands I have a little more modest dress...I guess at 64 I’m feeling a little more in need of modesty
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[Heart-Rest]

Well the first time Harry Reid tried to exercise in his tutu skirt on his "exercise equipment", the "exercise equipment" beat the living you- know-what out of Reid.

   

The next time Harry Reid tried to exercise in his hoop skirt on his "exercise equipment", that "exercise equipment" once again beat the living you-know-what out of Reid from his other side.

Maybe that exercise place has a point.

---

On the other hand, the girls basketball teams at some Orthodox Jewish schools wear long skirts when playing their basketball games, and I say God bless them for honoring and staying true to their beliefs with the modesty they display.

 

(Not sure how they do in the win-loss column, or the additional challenges they face when they try to do a basketball maneuver like dribbling between the legs, but it is truly admirable that they are not afraid to stick to their modesty, morality, and decency guns, in spite of all the derisive insults and attacks they most certainly are forced to endure.)

[Arthur McGowan]

I once repeated an old joke to a Baptist minister:

Why do Baptists oppose fornication?

It might lead to dancing and card playing.

And he said, “That’s pretty much true.”

[Arthur McGowan]

I knew some very conservative Catholics, mother and daughters, who wouldn’t join a certain gym (all female) because the women there “dressed immodestly.” (They didn’t spell it out, but I suspected that their notion of “immodesty” was probably pretty unreasonable.)

I had two thoughts, which I didn’t dare voice:

Don’t make other people responsible for YOUR chastity.

Don’t imagine that YOUR body is so spectacular that you have a duty never to wear anything more revealing than a burka.

[Nifster]

If you looked at the pictures in the article I do not see where there is a black skirt. You can call them leggings if you wish. That top is pretty low scooped.

All of which is eather beside the point. If you wish to live by ancient standards then separate yourself completely like the Amish do..The definition of modest dress that some people have is very odd

[Nifster]

But then I think is silly to keep the sexes separated in the manner that some orthodox do.. In many ways these are the same practices that fundamentalist Muslim practise

[al baby]

Well her fit bit device was home made and it looked like a ba no not a ba but a bomb

[Graybeard58]

I watched that girl in the graphic you posted do about 300 of those pull ups.

Amazing stamina!

[HiTech RedNeck]

This is religiosity versus faith talking here. Relaxed sweat pants should be just fine modesty-wise. I have a feeling this is some legalistic minister’s (or in this woman’s case, rabbi’s) dictum.

[Ziva]

Arthur, this is not a matter of preserving her own chastity. It is a matter of not exposing the form of her body to others. Since when has wearing a modest skirt become so objectionable?

Nifster, you are just not familiar with the outfit the woman is wearing. I am very familiar. She is wearing leggings AND a skirt, both black. She has one leg forward so it may look like a pants leg, but I know it is not.

What picture are you looking at that you would say her top is low scooped? The blue long-sleeved top she is wearing is covering her collar bone, and in no way is low.

I am astonished at such indignation at modest, stylish dress on a conservative website. She is not telling you or anyone else what to do. She just wants to wear clothes that respect her modesty, and have been around for decades. She had been wearing them at her gym for several years already.

Do you have a problem with religious Jews? She is not telling you to stop eating pork or honor the Sabbath as she does. I would think that basic tolerance of religious people would be the norm around here.

[HiTech RedNeck]

How do YOU know that something did not percolate down to them from their insurance company? They are between rock and a hard place now. The first one to stop acting like an ass wins. If God is looking out for this special one, then she will have no trouble getting a membership elsewhere, that is if she does not make a public stink with this lawsuit.

[Ziva]

Relaxed sweat pants should be just fine modesty-wise.

This young women along with many other religious women do not wear pants without a skirt. It is not because a rabbi would be angry with her. It is her preferred manner of dress and it infringes on no one else's freedom. Women did not regularly wear pants until a few decades ago. When did this become a compulsory form of attire?

My own daughter has also made the same decision as a young adult. I do wear pants but I totally respect and understand my daughter's choice.

No where has it been implied there was a safety or insurance issue. Remember, the girl wore this attire for years at the gym. I have also been to a variety of gyms which have women wearing skirts over leggins, too.

I really expect more tolerance and respect for a somewhat more conservative lifestyle here.

[NetAddicted]

Orthodox women don’t wear pants.

[NetAddicted]

Nifster, you call her top low-scooped? I take it you approve of burkas.
Ziva, excellent points.

[Salvation]

And it’s named after a woman, go figure that one out!

[PennsylvaniaMom]

When I was in HS (graduated in 78) I played on my all girls Catholic HS team. We had to wear uniforms like number 11 (in blue) is wearing. A white, sleeved tee shirt, under our V neck sleeveless jersey and our shorts HAD to be at knee length.

Funny thing tho, I was 5’3 in HS and the uniforms were purchased for presumed TALL girl basket ball players. My short were waaaay below my knee.

And for the record, I was a point guard (grew up w/mostly boys on my street and shot a lot of hoops).

[Eagles6]

This girl is in shape! I've watched her for 20 mins. and she hasn't broken a sweat!

Just out of exercise curiosity, of course.

[Steve_Seattle]

No one was suggesting she wore nothing under the skirt. My point was that a skirt with leggings might be even more suggestive than the totally a-sexual sweat pants or tights that are normally worn.

[Steve_Seattle]

"If you wish to live by ancient standards then separate yourself completely like the Amish do . . ."

Maybe the Amish are right. You could argue - quite reasonably, I think - that the Christian acceptance of scantily-clad cheerleaders and dancers helped pave the way for gay marriage.

[Steve_Seattle]

“But then I think is silly to keep the sexes separated in the manner that some orthodox do.. In many ways these are the same practices that fundamentalist Muslim practice.”

What do you think that Jesus and St. Paul, or any ancient Rabbi, would think of modern-day cheerleaders - often teens - doing all their scantily-clad, erotic gyrations? Is that really compatible with traditional Christian or Jewish morals? I think not.