A “concerned” mother wrote an op-ed on why girls in leggings are dangerous to men, and how is this 2019?

It’s 2019, but shaming women for their (100% natural and normal) bodies is still seemingly an every day occurrence. Case in point: On Monday, March 25th, the University of Notre Dame’s student newspaper The Observer published a letter to the editor from a woman named Maryann White, who implored female students to stop wearing leggings. White began her letter by writing, “I’m just a Catholic mother of four sons with a problem that only girls can solve: leggings.”

White explained that she had recently seen a group of young women wearing leggings to mass and “felt ashamed” for them because of how form-fitting their outfits were. She argued that wearing leggings was disrespectful to the men who “must” look at women’s bodies.

"We don’t go naked because we respect the other people who must see us [...]." White wrote. "These are not just my sons—they’re the fathers and brothers of your friends, the male students in your classes, the men of every variety who visit campus. I’m fretting both because of unsavory guys who are looking at you creepily and nice guys who are doing everything to avoid looking at you."

She added, “For the Catholic mothers who want to find a blanket to lovingly cover your nakedness and protect you — and to find scarves to tie over the eyes of their sons to protect them from you!” (Does anyone else feel as tired as we do?)

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The self-described Catholic mother concluded her op-ed with: “Could you think of the mothers of sons the next time you go shopping and consider choosing jeans instead?” Naturally, Notre Dame students were not here for White’s body-shaming. According to The Observer, students wore leggings in protest of the letter on March 26th and 27th.

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At the end of the day, everyone deserves to dress in a way that makes them feel comfortable. Women are not responsible for men’s behavior, and perpetuating that notion is not only regressive—it’s dangerous.