"Wear Pants to Church Day"

The Mormon Feminists/ non-Feminists internet sphere in America is up in arms over the "Mormon Feminists Wear Pants to Church Day" that is going to occur this Sunday (December 16). THIS is a pretty good article about it. And before you go, "They can't wear pants!" you might be interested to know that these women did do their research, and found out that no leader has actually explicitly forbidden the wearing of pants to Church. Interesting.

Mormon Feminists- a very sensitive topic. So just before we start debating whether Mormon women should wear pants or not, let's clear something up first. 

When most people think of feminists, they think of this:

Women who are hot-tempered, burn bras, and hate men.

The truth is, feminists are more like this: 

Some are more conservative (e.g. Sarah Palin), some are moderate, while others are more radical.

Mormon feminists also range across this entire spectrum. There are more conservative Mormon feminists, and there are others who are more liberal. Most of the Mormon feminists bloggers that I've come across tend to be more liberal. I like to believe I'm moderate, leaning conservative feminist (depending on who you ask). Yes, I am a proud Mormon feminists. How I came to be- that's for another post. But for now all I going to say is I love being a woman and I love my faith. 

So before you lump all Mormon feminists together, make sure you know where they stand on the spectrum first before you argue with them. When it comes to feminists issues, there is NO ONE STANDARD opinion of Mormon feminists.

And I think this is important to realize because my opinion on this topic (for whatever it is worth to my like, 5 readers) is going to puzzle some of my friends who can't reconcile these 2 sides of me.

• I am a proud Mormon feminist. 
• I think the whole "Wear Pants to Church Day" is highly inappropriate. 

 I have 2 main objections to this.

1) Method: I am a feminists but I love wearing skirts and feeling feminine. This is not to say I can't feel feminine wearing jeans/ pants, but hey, wearing a skirt/ dress does make me feel more feminine! And I love feeling feminine because this is part of the unique experience of being a woman.

Liberal-radical feminists say wearing skirts is gendered, and is therefore discriminatory. I don't agree. Just because something is gendered doesn't mean it's discriminatory. As my desk partner commented when I told him about this issue, (paraphrasing him) "Just because you have feet doesn't mean your hand is not important" (quoting Paul).

Perhaps less people would feel intimidated by the thought "feminism" if we sought ways to show people that feminism can also mean celebrating being a woman, and that includes being able to dress appropriately to show off our feminism.

And as another feminist put it: women can wear both pants and skirts, men can only wear pants (except for Polynesian men to wear the lava-lava). How does being able to wear more type of clothing than men make women inferior?

2) Appropriateness: Sabbath Day is about worshiping God, and dressing appropriately shows respect for God. Making a statement protesting against Church norms is NOT an appropriate Sabbath Day activity. Intentionally taking the focus off Christ and onto what you are wearing is not hurting anyone but your own spirit of worship.

Furthermore, men are encouraged to wear ties, and women, to wear skirts, not because we want to accentuate our gender, but because it's considered "Sunday best." Church leaders don't define what is "Sunday best" because it's different in every culture (again, think of the lava-lava).

Then how come women can't wear pants as part of "Sunday best?"

Because our society has defined wearing a skirt for women as "Sunday best." It's not a Mormon thing. Think of how women scramble to find the best gowns/ dresses for special occasions. Pick up any celebrity tabloid magazine, and flip to the "Awards Ceremony" section- most of the women wear gowns. Or think weddings. Wearing a skirt is how society considers a woman to be wearing her "best." And there is nothing wrong with that. See my first point.

So for me, as a Mormon feminist, I'm won't be taking part in this Sunday's so-called "Mormon Feminists movement."