Thursday, December 8, 2011

Silly season

I case you managed to miss it, there was a particularly rude and offense action take by a BYU-Idaho Testing Center employee Tuesday.. The semester ends in 10 days, lots of students are taking tests and studying for finals.

A young woman completes her studying and heads into the Testing Center for her test. She is told she can't come in. The problem? Her jeans are too tight.

There are women in skinny jeans in sight, taking their tests, why can't she? Jeans too tight.

You see this woman is "curvy", meaning she is blessed with ample hips. Her hips just don't fit the standard pants sizing model. She either buys them the right length and a little tight in the hips or loose in the hips and too long and baggy.

Despite appealing to a Center supervisor (finds her jeans acceptable) she is denied admission.

Next day she goes to explain missing the test to professor, in the same jeans. He finds no problem and gives her permission to test late without penalty.

No problem, right? No there is a problem and its more than a jerk working at the center who is rude and disrespectful. You see, this particular dress code only applies at the Testing Center. Apparently tight jeans are a hazard to test taking. Really? No so in Provo or Laie.

The standard appears to be if you can discern the true shape of the leg, shoulder or torso under the clothes you pose a distraction to the community. And boys will be boys. Every rational thought will fall out of their over heated heads because they finally figured out what a woman looks like. Apparently this happens all the faster with women with Rubenesque figures.

Folks, let this 60 year old tell you a secret. At 18 I already knew. I'd seen Rubens, Titian, Gaugin and Bottecelli nudes in the museum. We don't lock them up. I think that today the vast majority of young men know what a female leg looks like. Likewise a shoulder or belly. Wrapping them in denim and sending them to Idaho is not going bring an epiphany to an 18-22 year old man.

We don't blow circuit at the thought of a feminine thigh. We have a bit more control than that. You sisters are indeed beautiful but (sorry) you're not that devastating.

Let's all be adults shall we. Chose your clothing responsibly. If you dress provocatively to get a man's attention, how long are you going to keep his attention? Try attracting us some other way that is lasting: brains, skills, humor, empathy.

Young men, be adult. That woman who is showing all that eye candy is not terribly selective or subtle, probably emotionally clumsy as well. Not worth your time.

University - we'll be adult if you promise to be adult too. Stop with the silly make a rule game. It's not productive or instructive. The message you send is that we can be childish and stupid as long as we stay in the box. What happens we are out in the real world with no boxes? Let's both grow up.

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