English is a very silly language.
@Styx: often it’s opacity that determines whether a leg covering is pantyhose or tights. Weight of the knit is definitely heavier for tights.
7 Likes
Pantyhose is a really horrible word.
6 Likes
It is very silly. But so is boxer briefs. So I generally go all in and call everything Underroos.
5 Likes
I think It is really difficult to get at because clothing is fraught with ambiguity having been made to serve so many purposes as you mentioned above. It has been used to cover, and also to expose. To create uniforminity and also individuality. And so on.
The “rules” and double standards about what is appropriate seem to only be extensions of the rules applied to people that are based on gender, age, and status. And when they are “enforced” they serve the purpose of pushing people back into old norms. Women hobbled by heels and impracticality. Straight men ridiculed for adorning themselves or wearing anything that might be mistaken for feminine. Since our culture tells us that only youth can be sexy, and that sexy bodies are most desirable to see, older bodies must be covered, and the same has been true for certain sizes and shapes of bodies. Race, too can factor in. Above you mentioned our multicultural society, but “black hair” and headscarves are still contreversial topics.
It is a level of self awareness that few seem to consider in their reactions to someone else’s clothing. People often sexualize clothing and bodies in situations that are decidedly not sexual. Or they are offended by seeing other’s bodies, or that someone is “trying” to look youthful.
I think it must be consensus by default, as few consider or push back against the consensus, instead choosing uncritical acceptance.
3 Likes
I said “culture” and you pointed to a line about ethnicity, which is immaterial as those aren’t the same thing. One of my neighbors is Black, one is Hispanic, and my ancestors were English and German…We are all Americans of many generations born here despite ethnic differences…
I assume the study was recruited from a racially diverse group from the same society and culture and those folks would operate with the same cultural views within their normal range.
2 Likes
To further alleviate/compound confusion, as the case may be:
Tights can refer to dense nylon, such as are popular for dance; but also spandex athletic pants, such as for track and bicycling. In the US at least, nylon of less than 60 denier would be pantyhose, 80 denier or more would be tights, and the 60-80 range could be either.
Leggings are typically more dense and opaque than nylon tights, but there is an overlap which are offered as “footless tights”. Tights may cover the feet or not, but leggings never cover the feet.
Stockings often are longer than socks, going to knee or thigh height. But the distinction often also has to do with how fine they are and the material. For example, cotton athletic socks which go to the thigh are trendy now, but they are still marketed as socks. Whereas the inexplicably named “trouser sock” is often sheer nylon like a stocking, but shorter. Generally, if they are cotton, they are socks. And even if they are nylon or silk, if they are shorter than the knee, they are also socks.
Clear as mud, yes?
3 Likes
Carp it. Everyone gets Tweed, and they better like it.
(Tweed stockings, that is an underserved market)
1 Like
6 Likes
Sounds like it was an employee perk ticket, and there’s apparently a dress code for those:
Not sure what the big deal is, but works out as terrible press for United.
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/03/26/united-leggings-dress-code/
4 Likes
Was just coming here to post that. LOL
Now, I wear some pant-like things that can only be called “jeggings” and I know I would be allowed on that flight because they look like pants, belt and all, but they’re not, they’re “tights”. And this is why I think its stupid. I can wear something that is almost exactly the same as what those girls were wearing and be allowed to board the plane, all because of decorative stitching. So dumb.
10 Likes
I can totally see not allowing leggings on adults, where they’re see-through and flimsy half the time. I cannot agree with banning them on children, though. Leggings worn on prepubescent kids are pants.
5 Likes
They could always just stipulate “no see-through clothes”, and then people with thicker leggings would be fine. But the airline’s main complaint seems to be the whole “form-fitting” issue, which is what I made this topic to try to understand. Either way, I think it’s silly, since I don’t need to stare at people’s clothes in any case.
1 Like
The idea that the number of sperms versus the number of eggs implies that males will try to fecundate anything that stands still and females will be more choosy is disproved by observation of other species, even closely related one (.e.g the bonobo).
5 Likes
Well, I don’t know about you, specifically, but I can insure you that attractive males are hit on more often when they wear revealing clothing. As a photographer, I had contacts with models of both sexes and I can tell you that guys with good looks get hit on more often the more skin they show. They get hit on by other males (gay males, obviously), but not only. And no: the women who approach them are not necessarily 80 years old, ugly or desperate.
The essential difference, I think, is that attractive men do not feel threatened when they are approached. They may feel annoyed by the unwanted attention, but that is a different thing.
4 Likes
Oh yeah, totally agree. Children are children, they wear what they want.
5 Likes
When I’m checkin’ out a butt on someone running in front of me, it’s often hard to tell if said butt is a male butt or a female butt because of the tendency around here for runners of both sexes to wear the same athletic wear. Long ago I realized this didn’t bother me. A nice butt is a nice butt is a nice butt, and biologically speaking they all do the same thing.
4 Likes
1 Like
I mean… where’s the cutoff? Basically most toddler pants are leggings. For any gender. And infant “clothing” and “sleepwear” are interchangeable.
7 Likes
Can I suggest a title?
An Imodest Proposal.
3 Likes
