They’re stretchy, they’re comfy, and, in case you weren’t aware, somewhat controversial in the eyes of various haters out there. Yes, yoga pants and the right to slip them on, go to the store, and grab diet ginger ale and BabyBel cheeses were the animating causes behind a peaceful, comfortable march in Barrington, Rhode Island over the weekend. Praise.
Sparked off by a letter to the editor in the local Barrington Times, an estimated “hundreds of women” took to the streets and made their feelings known in a procession around the neighborhood of the writer of said letter, Alan Sorrentino.
In the wake of his letter, Mr. Sorrentino claims that he’s been the victim of online harassment, which isn’t funny or acceptable. Then again, nor was his letter in which he said, “Not since the mini-skirt has there been something worn by so many women who should never have it on in the first place.”
As participants in the Facebook-organized demonstration noted, the protest—which involved a number of women’s and outreach groups—wasn’t so much about defending overpriced slip-ons from Lululemon, but rather the idea that men can and should dictate what women wear and control the rationale behind why they should wear it. Said organizer Jaime Burke, “Women are fed up with the notion that we have to dress for people’s visual pleasure.” Indeed, indeed. We call on all our readers to don yoga pants, weathered college sweatshirts, and messy buns in solidarity—make up is entirely optional.