Men should be banished from the lingerie department
mid-morning of February 14th, 2006
Here is an article I would love to have your opinions on - It purports that men should be banished from the lingerie departments of stores because women are creeped out at the thought that men might enjoy watching them shop for underwear. I *think* the article started a little tongue-in-cheek, saying they should not be banished completely, but limited to certain shopping days. The author suggests “Men Only Mondays.”
The article goes on with an anecdote of “an old man” watching the author test a bra strap and her being horrified by it as well as another of two freshmen boys giggling while looking at ladies’ underwear.
She further goes on that “There is something wrong with men and boys flouncing around the tiny aisles, brushing against lacy undergarments and fingering the merchandise.” Granted, it is probably not the ideal after-school hangout for teenage boys, but I guarantee there are plenty of teenage girls that giggle over what they see as well.
The comments on the article are interesting too - “I’m only 15, but I’ve noticed similar things in Wal-Mart. Yes, Wal-Mart. Men disgust me…completely disgust me!! Especially men like the one who just posted about touching underwear. Do they not realize what a turn off that is?” My favorite is from a man who essentially says it does not matter if it women are looking at chicken liver in the grocery store, men will check women out regardless.
I find myself wondering what is so wrong about men touching underwear? Most women I know have bought underwear for the express purpose of having a man touch it - why should it be disgusting that a man touch lingerie that is not on a woman? If the men were coming up to women who are shopping and making suggestive remarks then I could see a problem, but in general the women seem to be projecting what they think the men are thinking and finding anger with the imagined perversion.
Is it possible that they are looking and thinking, “Hey, that would look good on my woman - but what is that strappy thing? Let me lean in a get a good close look. Isn’t that lace scratchy in the sensitive parts? (feel feel) Oh, it is amazingly soft. It sure looked uncomfortable. Hmmm, I wonder if my lady would feel sexy in this and then we would go to bed and…” And that is when you catch him “leering” when all the poor thing is doing is having his own private fantasy?
Now don’t get me wrong - it is a fun article, but it got me thinking about my reaction to men in the women’s underwear departments. I really can’t bring myself to get upset over a man looking at me or the underwear I am examining. True, there are those who probably do get a little spark checking out the ladies’ department, but there are just as many (or more) who leer at women on the beach or in a dance club.
I feel like the women who perceive men as being peeping Toms by hanging out in the lingerie department have their own issues. It makes me wonder what issues a 15-year-old who already says “Men disgust me…completely disgust me!!” already has - or what issues female role models in her life have taught her.
So - go read the article and let me know your thoughts. I tend to not be bothered by things outside of myself over which I have no control, but I know some women are. In my never-ending quest to understand life, the Universe and everything, I would like to hear why. I am not here to judge or fight and will moderate comments and not let it turn into a free-for-all. I only edit for spam and downright personal attacks. I want to hear from women and men.
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I am of the opinion that if a woman drags a man into a store and expects him to just stand around while she browses for hours, he should be able to browse as well. On the other hand, if some guy walks into Victoria’s Secret (I still want to know what her secret is) by himself and just stands around gawking, I’m pretty sure that falls into the category of loitering and he should be asked to leave. If he is wandering the aisles and looking at (and even handling) merchandise for more than five minutes and no one approaches him, then the store needs to do something about its customer service. I know if I ever went into a specialty store like that and wandered for five minutes without a salesperson approaching me, I would leave and not bother returning, because it’s obvious they don’t want my business. The salesperson who approaches the “looky-loo” will most certainly scare that person off, while if he is indeed a shopper, the salesperson will make a nice commission and everyone’s happy.
Ron :: 5 hours, 38 minutes after