I thought the "leggings aren't pants" debate was long over. But apparently, the reign of "real pants" won't go down without a fight.
In 2019, a mom at the University of Notre Dame was on a crusade against what she calls "The Legging Problem." She even published a letter to the editor in the school's newspaper about it.
"I’m not trying to insult anyone or infringe upon anyone’s rights," the woman wrote. "I'm just a Catholic mother of four sons with a problem that only girls can solve: leggings."
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Yes, because we all know that being a mom of four sons makes her uniquely qualified to comment on what young women should wear!
"Leggings are so naked, so form fitting, so exposing," the letter continued. "Could you think of the mothers of sons the next time you go shopping and consider choosing jeans instead?"
Long story short, over 1,000 students at the university organized to wear leggings to class in protest. Because women can wear whatever they want to, and these young people are not accepting otherwise.
Maryann White is a mom of four sons, as she informed everyone immediately in her now-infamous letter to the editor in The Observer, the student newspaper at the University of Notre Dame.
She went on to explain exactly why leggings are such a "problem" for her sons and other men.
"I was at Mass at the Basilica with my family," Maryann wrote. "In front of us was a group of young women, all wearing very snug-fitting leggings and all wearing short-waisted tops (so that the lower body was uncovered except for the leggings). Some of them truly looked as though the leggings had been painted on them."
THE HORROR.
"A world in which women continue to be depicted as 'babes' by movies, video games, music videos, etc. makes it hard on Catholic mothers to teach their sons that women are someone’s daughters and sisters," the letter continued. "That women should be viewed first as people — and all people should be considered with respect."
Her point: Leggings make that very hard because they expose women's "nether regions."
"I was ashamed for the young women at Mass. I thought of all the other men around and behind us who couldn’t help but see their behinds," she wrote. "My sons know better than to ogle a woman’s body — certainly when I’m around (and hopefully, also when I’m not). They didn’t stare, and they didn’t comment afterwards. But you couldn’t help but see those blackly naked rear ends. I didn’t want to see them — but they were unavoidable. How much more difficult for young guys to ignore them."
Side note: Can we talk about the phrase BLACKLY NAKED REAR ENDS?
Maryann continued:
"These are not just my sons — they’re the fathers and brothers of your friends, the male students in your classes, the men of every variety who visit campus. I’m fretting both because of unsavory guys who are looking at you creepily and nice guys who are doing everything to avoid looking at you."
She says Catholic moms simultaneously want to grab a scarf to cover up these "naked" girls and also grab a scarf to cover their sons' eyes to "protect" them from such girls.
In the end, she pleads with Notre Dame girls to please consider "the mothers of sons" the next time they go shopping. Choose jeans instead, she says! (I wonder what her stance on jeggings is…)
"Let Notre Dame girls be the first to turn their backs(ides) on leggings. You have every right to wear them. But you have every right to choose not to," she concluded.
So how did the young women of Notre Dame respond to this plea?
They said (and I'm paraphrasing here): "YOU CAN PRY MY LEGGINGS FROM MY DEAD HANDS."
Over 1,000 students planned to participate in a protest, Leggings Pride Day, in response to the letter, which they say polices women's appearances and unfairly blames women's clothing for men's behavior.
One woman announced the protest on Facebook:
"Hello legging lovers of the Notre Dame Community! Don't leave your leggings behind(s) tomorrow and join in our legging wearing hedonism! (Or not because what you wear is completely your own choice!) Love your leggings, love your body, love yourself!"
And as another student wrote:
"A Catholic mom published an opinion in ND's newspaper that leggings Lead Men Into Sin so we're protesting our right to not be responsible for men and to not be constantly policed by morals of femininity #LeggingsDayND."
Female students weren't the only people upset by the letter.
"I was raised to respect women no matter what they're wearing. So I think women should be able to wear leggings if they want to," one male student told The Observer.
"In my opinion, I would never tell someone else how they can or cannot dress, because that is a personal choice, and it doesn’t affect me,” another said. “So why should I tell other people what to do?"
This certainly isn't the first time that someone has discouraged leggings because of how revealing they can be. Numerous high schools have banned leggings as part of the dress code, sparking similar debates.
Also, many fashionable people abhor the idea of leggings as pants for totally different reasons.
But look, everyone. Women are not going to give up leggings, especially with the jeans situation the way it is (see: uncomfortable, ill-fitting, and expensive). Leggings are usually not for fashion, but for comfort — which yes, is a priority for some people.
And as the students at Notre Dame obviously understand very well, women shouldn't have to give up any part of their wardrobe just to avoid "tempting" men.
They've made their stance very clear. Maryann better break those scarves out.
