"decency" of dress

[Kalia]

Never. No one deserves that.

Yes, I'd say that there is for both men and women. However it depends largely on the situation, and to be honest I've never looked down on people I'd consider indecently dressed. Its just that I'd be more likely to be suprised.


Sadly I suspect the answer is yes, not even necessarily for violent rape but also potentially for date rape. This does not mean I'd say that women should wear 'safer' clothing, but they should be aware of the risks and possibly take more steps than usual to avoid them if they're dressed in a 'slutty' manner.


Evidently you've not met my grandparents.


I'm not a lady, but I wanted to answer these anyway. The judgments I'd tend to make depending on someone's clothing tend to be more personality based than judgments about moral character. If someone's wearing a belt-skirt and bra-top I'd assume they're more confident, at least about their body (though there are exceptions), and I 'd also assume they'd judge other people more on appearance. Style of dress is one of the few things that you can choose about your appearance, so to a degree at least it inevitably reflects personailty, mood and so on.



So long as they're not putting themselves at risk of hypothermia or hyperthermia, yes.

[ultimatesexgodess]

The socially acceptable answer of course is that anyone should be able to wear whatever they want...but society says one thing and thinks another.

It's not just about personal choice and freedom of expression, because what we do has an impact on everyone around us, including how we dress.

There are lines of decency and most of us would be lying if we said we didn't judge people that crossed those lines.

I don't want to go off topic, but some people dress in order to be deliberately provocative - example - kids that wear t-shirts with expletives on them - they wear them to try and instill a reaction in other people, be that "oh, cool!", or "hmmph..youth of today..grrr" - it's "look at me, aren't I contraversial in a conforming to youth tribe rules kind of way".

The same is true of certain standards of dress. We dress to invoke a reaction and must be prepared for that reaction, positive, or negative. There is a part of society that will interpret certain dress as an invitation, especially after a few beers. It's not right that it should be that way, but it's a fact and burying one's head in the sand and going on about personal choice isn't going to change that.

Would you gou out and about in your Gi? No, because you'd invite ridicule or confrontation. Would go go out scantily clad - maybe, but you can be sure to attract attention - both wanted and unwanted. Fact. And there's the risk. Sad but true.

I guess a test would be for anyone that might be "pro-choice" in this argument, imagine (if you don't have) you had a daughter - what would you be happy for her to go out wearing and not worry for her safety - there's your answer.

[SashaC]

Its not about worrying about safety.... I would educate my daughter in the safety issues ... its about blaming them for their dress.

[joy0117s]

That's what I meant with that question really. "Do you think you can judge a person's personality based on their clothes?"

I didn't intend this to be a thread about "moral fibre" as that implies that there's a "correct answer". I'd be more interested in people own opinions, in their own culture and own city.

[Yessica]

I'm sure it does. Are you saying this poll is ethnocentric? Do you feel unable to express your opinion on what people wear because you're American and this poll was posted from a computer in England?

Which particular ethnicities do you believe cannot respond to this poll?

[DaisyDUke22]

Women shouldn't just be allowed to wear nothing, they should be encouraged.

Honestly though, why is nudity such a bad thing? People should be able to wear whatever the hell they like, I mean for Gods sake why is it actually offensive to be naked in public? Because people can see your genitalia? God forbid! Whats so terrible about them?

[goleafst]

public nudity is forbidden for the protection of children ... same as technically it is illegal for manequins to be nude in shop windows if they have sex identifiers.

Obviously city centre at 01:00 on a saturday isnt a favourite location for children, but laws arent time set.

[Capone]

I agree with Victoria in a way, women dressed provocatively and drunk make easier targets for abuse of any kind, but I don't think it's the main cause.
If a rapist is after someone in particular, they'll go straight for them. If they're an opportunist, they'll target the most vulnerable, no matter what they're wearing. It just so happens that a lot of these girls/women are putting themselves in a vulnerable situation. I believe they should be protected, but they do have themselves to blame if they are so drunk they can't stand.
There's a risk however you dress, and you can't tell how someone will be able to defend themselves based on that. I'm sure there's a lot of "feminine" ladies here who will go out fairly well-dressed and still kick serious butt. It just seems to me the majority of women who are scantily clad cannot defend themselves and rely on their mates to help. Who's to say they won't scarper?
In my opinion, anyone is free to go out how they want, nude or whatever, but there's twisted people about...

[theprophetforany]

Because your going to arrest the child for being naked or because the paedophile is going to be incapable of removing the clothing he is, by law, forced to wear (What with him having more in common, genetically speaking, with a crab than with a human being).

[pianolovermegan1632]

This is the way I see it:

During summer time, the only reason I even bother to wear shorts is because I don't own a loincloth.
If I held women to any higher quota of "decency" than I hold myself, it would be a double standard, wouldn't it?