Disclaimer: I am neither an ACLU spokesperson 'wannabe' nor a pro-bono activist for any Feminist Group. Now that we cleared the skies on that note, let me express my discontent for a case of culture’s collision course with commonsense. In ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, where ‘unmarried men and women cannot even be alone in a room together if they are not related’, only men work in lingerie shops. And this is the law. I bet you know where I’m going with this; - in a country where a strange man is not supposed to see a woman's forehead, but it is perfectly fine to sell bras, underwear, and the whole nine to women. Call me loony but there is something "off" on this one. If I ever end up in Saudi Arabia, I will make sure my wife has two suitcases full of just underwear because the very idea of male-only staff in any lingerie shop is a creepy one.
Not too long ago, I stumbled into Victoria Secret in Houston's Galleria(don’t ask me for what purpose), and I was almost blinded by all the vibrant colors and sexy designs, so much that I had to find a chair and look normal. There is nothing more awkward than watching women shopping for underwear, and having to imagine how it fits them. Besides the perfect woman who forced me into the shop, some of the images still haunt me till today. I saw women of all shapes and sizes (literally) grab the same poker-dotted thongs, and on several occasions I wanted to scream for help. But that is what the women sales representative are there for, rescue missions. Trust me on this one; it’s a strange place to be for a 'normal' guy.
When it comes to traditional beliefs, "normal" is a subjective word. I am sure Saudi traditionalists don’t find anything awkward with this experience, but I am not sure how it will sound if a wife came home and said “honey, the man at the lingerie store said my butt is too big for a size 12 thong”. Outside the fact that this law is extremely inconsiderate to women’s feelings, and illogical in all facets of cultural sanctity, the entire premise is self-defeating. I am not anti-culture, but I have a problem with tradition at face value and no-questions-asked policies, where a society fails to question the commonsense aspect of any practice. Even back in the 1500’s when panties were not invented, such laws were still outmoded and contradictory in concept. It is entirely possible that culture permeates into a human psyche to such an extent that at some point logical reasoning flies out of the window, and Saudi Arabia lingerie law is living proof.
This is 2009 people, and I definitely don’t want some creepy dude starring at my wife’s butt in the name of ‘customer service’.
