NIFT professor terms the call for banning the garment an attack on freedom of choice
Figure-hugging leggings, a garment many say is the "most comfortable for women on the go", finds itself in the middle of a controversy in the city.
Chennai: Figure-hugging leggings, a garment many say is the “most comfortable for women on the go”, finds itself in the middle of a controversy in the city. News of a city college advising its students not to wear leggings and questions being raised in the public domain on whether the spandex garment looks “obscene” has triggered a social media debate. From designers to students, everyone has a take on leggings and how the dress should be worn.
While a NIFT professor terms the call for banning the garment an attack on freedom of choice, others argue that not every body type can look elegant in it. But everyone agrees that banning a piece of clothing is not acceptable.
“If obscenity is an issue then the sari and lungi must be banned first because they show much more body than other clothes,” argues NIFT Professor Kaustav Sengupta.
Students, among the largest patrons of the leggings, are taking to Facebook and Twitter to express their dismay and anger at the controversy surrounding their choice to wear leggings instead of jeans, salwars or pants.
Ban on leggings annoys students
A recent ban on leggings in some of the Tamil Nadu colleges has drawn sharp criticism from students in the city. This move is a reflection of a patriarchal mindset, they said. Not just men, the broader community needs to change its mindset, students said.
It is up to each individual to decide on wearing leggings. “If she feels comfortable in them others have no right to comment or stare,” said Sheril N. Mathew, an Msc Physics student from Madras Christian College. “Leggings is the most comfortable wear. What else should girls wear?” she questioned.
Tomy Alexander doing his M. Phil in public administration from the same college said students should have the freedom to wear whatever they feel comfortable in.
“I don’t know if anyone has the right to stop that. The colleges can frame rules but they should be beneficial to students, and not something like this,” he said.
Leggings is not akin to mini-skirts or hot pants. Earlier, it was a cotton pant and now it has transformed to leggings. The only difference is material, he said. Not only men dictate but women at the helm of affairs also do the same, he said. “We are doing what our ancestors believed in, that women should be submissive,” he said adding that what a woman wears should not bother anyone.
Jhilik Mukherjee from Madras University said imposing a ban on leggings is nothing but patriarchal domination. “Earlier, churidar (cotton form of leggings) was an object of scrutiny and many find it uncomfortable. In the one of the colleges, the list of banned clothing also include Patiala pants. So what are these authorities trying to convey!!” she exclaimed.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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