Vanilla Haze

poppygallico:

efinatalie:

poppygallico:

tiaramerchgirl:

I see people say “Tights are not pants” all the time and it makes me sad because I sense a degree of body shame every time it is uttered (or typed). People seem to get angry at other people for wearing a simple item of clothing. Why? Why the need to take up this rallying cry so fervently? I don’t really think anyone who is brave enough to switch tights for pants cares, so at the end of the day all this chant does is reinforce negative body messages in the brain of the protester!

I may not wear tights as pants because I have a body that is typically seen as unattractive by society and I feel the oppression of that shame daily, no matter what I wear. (Don’t you feel it too?!) One day though might I want to put my balls on the line, nay the seam, and wear tights as pants because I feel they are a powerful symbolism of body love and acceptance. When I’m out and about and I see a person taking risks in personal styling by maybe wearing only a t-shirt and tights, I applaud loudly inside my heart and declare them my Personal Hero of the Day. What a terribly boring world we’d live in if we all dressed conservatively!

That aside, the more important point is that bodies are not enemies. There are a lot of reasons why we wear clothes but I think the most telling reason is to cover up our Terribly Rude Bits in some attempt to distance ourselves from animals. I really don’t think it has anything to do with morals – it’s more to do with shame. Maybe nudists have got it right, you could call them Kings and Queens of body acceptance! Certainly then those who wear tights as pants are the Prime Ministers of the turbulent state of Body Love.

HELL YES THANK YOU. I get so annoyed whenever I hear that “tights are not pants!” cry, as though there’s some great arbitrator of how to wear stuff. It’s not like there’s some Greater Meaning attached to tights. Whenever I hear that I think “Well, neither are skirts, but you don’t see anyone complaining.”

Actually this goes for any sort of “fashion tip” thing too - don’t wear this with that, this flatters X shape, etc. It all just goes back to reinforcing a certain shape and look as “ideal”, and trying to fix other bodies to fit that ideal. So what if I have muffin tops or I look short & squat? Doesn’t make me any less a person.

O.P. this rant is not directed at you, only at the original author of the piece!

I get her point.  I thought about the reason why I hate tights worn as pants, and I have come to the conclusion that it is not based on who “should” or “shouldn’t” wear them - I am actually an equal-opportunist tights-hater.  I understand that indeed, for women who may have a body shape that is outside the industry standard, tights can be comfortable, fit well, and be affordable.

Full disclosure:  No, I don’t think they are flattering on ANYONE, from MKA to Beth Ditto, but I wear stuff that is not flattering all the time and I don’t think there should be “rules” for what people wear based on their shape/weight/height etc., so when critically examining my dislike of tights I attempt to exclude this factor.  I don’t believe tights are not “conservative”, they may be one of the most conservative items of clothing I know of, in that most of the women I actually see wearing tights as pants are harrassed mothers wearing their t-shirts backwards running around after three toddlers. 

(I’m not going to criticise the “body love” part, because she clearly states that this is her opinion, which IS awesome.  I think what she means is that, when she feels comfortable enough in her own body, she will have the confidence to wear tights, which is how I feel about white singlets.  No beef with that point, even thought the symbolism is not there for me!)

I just totally disagree that wearing tights as pants is a brave move, a “risk in personal styling” or even a consciously-chosen statement of Body Love.  It may be for the author, but I would be willing to bet that 99% of women who wear tights as pants don’t even think of this.  I also disagree that if you hate tights as pants, you automatically hate ‘imperfect’ body shapes, which is a point that comes through strongly in this piece, however inadvertently.  I do agree that a lot of anti-tights as pants vitriole is predicated on anti-“fat” sentiments, but not all the time.  Sometimes, you just don’t like a fashion, and that’s all there is to it.

My gripe with this whole piece is that she states that she is not interested in the “tights are not pants” defence, because, she is implying, if you do not like tights you are inherently subscribing to socially restrictive body ideals.  I feel I cannot go in there and say how I feel, as I would be running the risk of being accused of being anti “positive body”, of disliking tights as pants because it is “shameful”, of getting “angry” at women for daring to wear pants.  NO,  I JUST REALLY DON’T LIKE THEM.

And her last sentence is so fucken condescending.

(And to be incredibly petty, since when does a woman need the “balls” to do something?  Get some ovaries, woman.)

Some points on your rebuttal, poppygallico.

a) FLATTERING. You say this isn’t about bodies or body image, but FLATTERING is about body image. It’s about a body ideal that most people don’t fit into so they must “flatter” their way to that ideal. 

b) How are mothers conservative? Motherhood is not an automatic ticket to dressing conservatively. It’s quite offensive and it doesn’t support your point at all. 

c) Again, this is about body image even if you try not to make it so. Why don’t you like this garment? Because it doesn’t mask the thighs, the bum, the vagina? Because it is form fitting? How can a garment that does not disguise anything be unflattering unless you’ve got something against the body IN that garment. 

d) I note your defensiveness and think it adds weight to my argument. Why the strenuous opposition? Why invest that much grief in something you don’t care that much for?

e) The last two points are your opinion, fair enough. 

My problem with your piece is that you make the dislike of tights as pants ENTIRELY about body image.

I don’t like them.  I don’t have to give a reason why, I just don’t like them.  Before you tell me what I really think or don’t think (and my opinion is yes, that you are being incredibly condescending by doing so) please review my statement regarding whether tights are flattering or unflattering.

I state that, in the interests of full disclosure, I don’t think they are flattering.  I could have chosen not to say this at all.  I chose to because I want to make it clear that, while I hold this opinion, I believe that it separated from my dislike of tights. 

Please, also review my following statment.  Here, I will quote it for you:  but I wear stuff that is not flattering all the time and I don’t think there should be “rules” for what people wear based on their shape/weight/height. so when critically examining my dislike of tights I attempt to exclude this factor.

Perhaps my meaning wasn’t clear enough for you.  In fact, given your incredible misinterpretiation of my critique, I would almost blame myself for not making my point clear enough, were it not for the fact that you selectively quoted me in order to make me seem like a mindless thin is in zombie.

To get back to the quote:  I wear clothes that would be considered by many to be unflattering.  I don’t believe in should or should-nots in regards to fashion.  I am NOT judging people who chose to wear leggings as pants based on the fact that they are unflattering.  I JUST DON’T LIKE TIGHTS.

In regards to motherhood.  Please re-read what I wrote. I don’t believe tights are not “conservative”, they may be one of the most conservative items of clothing I know of, in that most of the women I actually see wearing tights as pants are harrassed mothers wearing their t-shirts backwards running around after three toddlers.

Did I say ALL mothers wear tights?  No.  Did I say ALL mothers are conservative?  No.  I said that most of the women I see wearing tights are mothers who appear to be too busy with other things to really care whether they are pushing fashion boundaries.  In that way, I would see wearing tights as being conservative.  In your spirit of gentle advice-sharing, maybe YOU should reconsider what it means to you to be “conservative”, and whether it is inherently a bad thing.

You seem to be far too caught up in my “flattering” statement.  If I hadn’t said that, what would your views be on my critique?

You say that my issue with tights MUST BE because they are form-fitting, and therefore I don’t like the body inside.  By your logic, the fact that I really dislike baseball caps, which are form-fitting, must be because I don’t like hair.  I dislike gladiator sandals - I’m must dislike glimpses of ankle!

And this is what my original critique is entirely about, and which you have proven so eloquently.  Your original post heavily implies that ALL people who dislike tights OBVIOUSLY dislike bodies.  Please note what I said: I do agree that a lot of anti-tights as pants vitriole is predicated on anti-“fat” sentiments, but not all the time.

Yes, I partly agree with you.  I also partly disagree, and my “defensiveness” is because I don’t like being made to feel like I am a naughty little anti-feminist girl for happening to dislike an article of clothing, not because your wise and oh-so-carefully thought out arguments convinced me to the absolute truth and logic of your point of view, and I am uncomfortable in facing these hard truths about myself.  I particularly don’t like being told what I think and feel.  The media and the patriarchy and all the things you seem to rail against do that enough, I don’t need another person I should be allied with doing the same.

While I love Definatalie a LOT. I have to wholeheartedly agree with Poppy on this issue. I don’t like the way tights look when they’re worn as pants. On any body.

I also don’t like harem pants, teeny tiny denim cut offs, crocs, boob tubes, or the general boho style.