Candles in the Wind

It was a hot, sticky day at the Dane County Farmers Market last Saturday, 90 degrees, and people were dressed minimally to beat the heat. Some more than others. I was riding along on my bike, and at one point a pretty young woman was walking across the street. The weather started changing, and a gust of wind blew her dress up to her waist. This is a risk all women face when wearing a dress outside, so I expect they are used to it. The difference in this case was that the woman wasn’t wearing underwear, and her pelvic area was completely exposed. She quickly pulled the dress down, and continued on her way, unperturbed, it seemed.

I didn’t react like I might have when I was younger and filled with lust. I was mildly repulsed, though the woman was well above average in beauty. I saw her posterior as the part of the body that expels waste. I puzzled over this, wondering why I saw her bare bottom this way. I think it is because of the way the brain processes images. If she had been completely without clothing her body would be a continuous whole, where all parts would be seen in relation to each other and to the whole. The dress effectively divided her body into halves, with the upper part partly hidden, the bottom part completely exposed. Visually this took away the allure, leaving a functional expeller of waste, with an anal sphincter lurking only slightly beyond view.

This was a reminder that we are all animals. We all are biological entities, breathing air and ingesting nutrients, digesting them and discarding the remainder through bodily orifices. It is like magic the way our bodies work. As the human species evolved from lower primates, clothing also evolved, partly as protection from the elements and partly for the practical uses of one kind of garment or another. In hunter-gatherer societies clothing differentiated along gender lines, and that is still roughly true. In tropical climates both genders could go around without clothing, but men could likely hunt better with protection for their feet and the sensitive pelvic area.

Dresses for women are universal in almost all cultures, except maybe the Amazon jungles. It makes sense. A dress would be handier to wear during menstruation, would be easier for waste elimination, and could be pulled up easily for childbirth.

Nowadays these reasons still hold, though not as de rigueur as in the past. Modern life gives women a variety of clothing options, and bodily functions are more manageable with medicines, hygiene products, and emergency services for childbirth. Many women still choose to wear a dress, both for comfort and for style. Underwear provides a cushion between articles of clothing, absorbs fluids and solids released from the body, can provide warmth in colder times, and can conceal intimate areas.  On a hot, sweltry day going around without underwear is a smart option for a woman seeking a little relief.

Also, I think the woman I saw was being assertive and independent. She had to know that there was some risk of a gust of wind blowing her dress up, and chose that being cool and comfortable was more important than being covered, and was the better choice. And, as most of us have experienced, underwear can be itchy or painful if the wearer has a rash or irritation in the pelvic area.

Another aspect might be that she was engaging in a form of what prisoners call “getting the man.” Making alcohol in a cell toilet from pilfered food items is a way convicts can have some fun, and if they don’t get caught by the guards, they “get” the man without him knowing it. Another example of this might be of a soldier with 20 grams of freshly-bought hashish in his pocket, who talks to his first sergeant, caressing the potent mind-expander while discussing some meaningless military topic. The “man” in this case was addicted to diet pills, resulting in early retirement. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Still another reason might just be the need to be seen. I don’t look at this as being pathological. It can be freeing. For people suffering from loneliness and depression, or merely a desire to feel connected to others, a walk downtown free of undergarments might be just the thing to pick up one’s mood and feel more alive. It will certainly pick up the moods of passers-by.

Of course, not being a woman, I am just speculating. This woman, and many other women may have been walking around not wearing underwear for many years, for any number of reasons. And, she may not have cared one whit. Walking around naked is against the law, though a few short weeks earlier the World Naked Bike Ride was observed internationally and in Madison, including at the exact same spot where the wind blew so serendipitously. This was even more repellent, for the most part, mostly men, mostly gay, mostly unappealing.

With some pleasant exceptions. Technically the ride is done to promote fossil fuels and bodily pride, and some bodies were appealing. Most weren’t, and their point apparently was that they matter just as much. I would believe it if they weren’t predominantly homosexuals. I don’t mind that people have a variety of sexual inclinations, but using an event as cover for another agenda is a bit off-putting. C’est la vie. It’s only once a year, and it doesn’t do any real harm. Especially when compared with our criminal and treasonous president.

Worthy of note is that exposure of one’s intimate body parts in public, intended or not, would result in stoning or some other lethal penalty in many parts of the planet. Even the dress this woman wore, about 1/3 the way above her knees, would be cause enough for a brutal beating, whipping or execution. It is still difficult to comprehend how the Taliban in Afghanistan would require women to wear a Burqa, covering her entire body. An ironic aspect of this requirement is that a women in a Burqa would be free to walk around with no underwear, because no one but she would know.

Europe is the other extreme. Women sunbathing in public beaches or parks freely change into their bathing suits in front of whoever is nearby. When I was serving in the Army in Germany (1969-71) we used to hang out at a park along the Neckar River in Heidelberg on days off, and it was not uncommon for an attractive woman to pick a spot nearby and discreetly change into her swimsuit. The woman in the picture at right didn’t bother with a swimsuit. She just took off her outer garments and sunbathed in her panties and bra. No more of her body was visible than if she had worn a bikini. Vacation areas are even more free of restrictions, with toplessness commonplace.

It’s all just humans, trying to live happy lives. Our mass industrial society crushes lives in every way possible, and may render our species extinct. Maybe we can save ourselves by being a bit closer to our evolutionary roots. We live in bodies. By being present in them we might be more in touch with our real selves. We are all just candles in the wind.
__________________________________

Here's a song. Gogi Grant. Donovan. Ian and Sylvia. Neil Young. The Kingston Trio. Jimi Hendrix. Fats Domino. Roy Orbison. The Vince Guaraldi Trio. Bette Midler. Ray Charles. Mitch Ryder. The Rolling Stones. Randy Newman. Joe Cocker. The Police. Taylor Swift. Lana Del Ray. Tommy Tucker. Queen. Janis Joplin.

The Subway Scene from the Marilyn Monroe movie The Seven Year Itch was scandalous when the movie was released in 1955. The mores of the time were that a woman enjoying a cool draft of air in her pelvis must be experiencing sexual pleasure, as if all sense enjoyment between the legs can only be erotic. Here's Elton John doing his great song about Marilyn Monroe. I'm sure the pun was unintended.

Here's a history of clothing, also known as dress. This explanation of dress customs for Muslim women is brief but thorough.

Some might agree that it is time to stop having fireworks every time we celebrate something or other.

R.I.P. João Gilberto. I used to own this album. It was one of my favorites.

R.I.P. Art Neville. This is my favorite Neville Brothers song.