Post by Nikkol on Sept 17, 2007 11:23:30 GMT -5
A Trend So Ill It Should Be Illegal. Oh Wait - It Is.
By Eva Kokopeli August 31, 2007 | 9:20:32 PM
It’s a trying time for baggy pants: over the past two weeks, Atlanta, Dallas, Shreveport, and other pro-mom-jeans cities pushed for laws banning boxer-baring via pants-sagging. Officials offered numerous reasons for legislating tighter belts, all of them priceless in their banality.
Shreveport Councilwoman Joyce Bowman said that she was “…tired (of) looking at behinds," while Atlanta police officer R.E. Williams claimed that, “the lower the pants are, the lower the self-esteem.” Fellow Atlantan and sponsor of that city’s anti-sagging ordinance, Councilman C.T. Martin, said the style was an “epidemic.” Martin also made clear that he doesn’t “want young people thinking that half-dressing is the way to go.”
The irony really hit the fan in Dallas, when the local NBC station posted an article on pants legislation. Dallas school board trustee Ron Price is quoted as saying that there’s “something wrong when we say it's OK for people to walk around our city with their underwear showing" - right above a link to an article on cheerleader try-outs.
While the cheerleader above may still be free to wear her uniform in Dallas, people who publicly expose their bra in Atlanta would not be so lucky. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
“Under the proposed ordinance, women also couldn't reveal the strap of a thong beneath their pants. Nor could they wear jogging bras in public or show off even a wisp of a bra strap, said Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.”
The various stories picked up enough steam to nab a mention in the NYT (an article that then entered the top ten), which provided some context. Of particular note: the recent bans are not all that original. In 2004, Virginia and Louisiana tried, and failed, to pass similar laws. And long before that, the government attempted to outlaw zoot suits, high-waisted, tightly cuffed pants paired with long jackets (a look that is, interestingly, the exact opposite of the one now in question).
Charges of racial profiling and discrimination surfaced in the zoot suit debates, as they have recently in regards to pants-sagging. CNN notes: “A similar proposal in Stratford, Connecticut, was soundly rejected this week after critics argued it would be unconstitutional and unfairly target minorities." Some of the proponents acknowledge human rights dilemmas themselves. As Atlanta Councilman C.T. Martin admitted, “We know there are First Amendment issues…”
There are those human rights issues, yes, but I'd also like call attention to the everyday repercussions of such bans. Because before you can say "leggings, please!" the streets would be covered with Labyrinth-era Bowies. And we don't want that, do we?
By Eva Kokopeli August 31, 2007 | 9:20:32 PM
It’s a trying time for baggy pants: over the past two weeks, Atlanta, Dallas, Shreveport, and other pro-mom-jeans cities pushed for laws banning boxer-baring via pants-sagging. Officials offered numerous reasons for legislating tighter belts, all of them priceless in their banality.
Shreveport Councilwoman Joyce Bowman said that she was “…tired (of) looking at behinds," while Atlanta police officer R.E. Williams claimed that, “the lower the pants are, the lower the self-esteem.” Fellow Atlantan and sponsor of that city’s anti-sagging ordinance, Councilman C.T. Martin, said the style was an “epidemic.” Martin also made clear that he doesn’t “want young people thinking that half-dressing is the way to go.”
The irony really hit the fan in Dallas, when the local NBC station posted an article on pants legislation. Dallas school board trustee Ron Price is quoted as saying that there’s “something wrong when we say it's OK for people to walk around our city with their underwear showing" - right above a link to an article on cheerleader try-outs.
While the cheerleader above may still be free to wear her uniform in Dallas, people who publicly expose their bra in Atlanta would not be so lucky. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
“Under the proposed ordinance, women also couldn't reveal the strap of a thong beneath their pants. Nor could they wear jogging bras in public or show off even a wisp of a bra strap, said Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.”
The various stories picked up enough steam to nab a mention in the NYT (an article that then entered the top ten), which provided some context. Of particular note: the recent bans are not all that original. In 2004, Virginia and Louisiana tried, and failed, to pass similar laws. And long before that, the government attempted to outlaw zoot suits, high-waisted, tightly cuffed pants paired with long jackets (a look that is, interestingly, the exact opposite of the one now in question).
Charges of racial profiling and discrimination surfaced in the zoot suit debates, as they have recently in regards to pants-sagging. CNN notes: “A similar proposal in Stratford, Connecticut, was soundly rejected this week after critics argued it would be unconstitutional and unfairly target minorities." Some of the proponents acknowledge human rights dilemmas themselves. As Atlanta Councilman C.T. Martin admitted, “We know there are First Amendment issues…”
There are those human rights issues, yes, but I'd also like call attention to the everyday repercussions of such bans. Because before you can say "leggings, please!" the streets would be covered with Labyrinth-era Bowies. And we don't want that, do we?
My brother is 30 and he forgot his belt, my Mom told him he better find a string or something to hold his pants up!!! 
