I hate pants. I hate wearing them, I hate shopping for them, and I just absolutely cannot stand them. Luckily, because I live in the beautiful America, I don’t have to wear them. Hell, if I wanted to, I could walk around in just a bra and panties, but let’s not get carried away. One of the most awesome things about America is that, besides covering your nether regions, there is no dress code for our country.
People in other countries and cultures don’t have the luxury of being able to roll out of bed and throw on a tank top and shorts to get their dog washed–which is something I may be doing as I write this article. A new campaign in the country of Qatar, started by a group of Qatari women, was created to ensure that tourists from Western countries (AKA the pants-hating countries of the world) will abide by its strict dress codes and dress moderately.
In brochures the group will soon hand out to tourists, they provide examples of improper dress. My personal favorite is the second one from the right–I think they’re trying to convey they don’t want to see midriff, but it looks like it’s saying no to the muffin top. I’m down to ban the muffin top, too, Qatar. Here are some other “helpful tips” outlined in the brochure:
Failure to comply may result in imprisonment for up to six months in addition to a fine. Overall, being from America, it’s easy to say, “I can’t believe they’re doing this!” but I don’t hold it against the country. The people of Qatar just want others to respect their culture, just as we would expect from anyone visiting our country. Who can blame them? Actually, the rule on PDA seems like something we should adopt. Don’t we all secretly “strongly discourage” PDA? Let’s just put that out in the open like Qatar did.
Although the brochure makes some good points, the no alcohol rule is really a deal breaker. Also, not to mention the whole “leggings aren’t pants” thing. I, for one, survive in the winter because of leggings. They ARE pants, and as one famous Founding Father said, “Give me leggings or give me death!” Or was that his second wife? Whatever. The point is, I don’t think I could visit a place that doesn’t consider leggings to be pants. Call me small-minded, I guess.
The most ironic thing about the “Reflect your Respect” campaign is that, although it stresses modest and what we consider old-world thinking, it’s spreading around the world on Twitter and Instagram. The social media accounts feature pictures of foreigners dressed appropriately, and posts reminding people of the rules and what could be possible dress code violations.
All in all, I really don’t have any plans to visit Qatar anytime soon, but I guess I should do it before the maxi skirt fad is over, right?
[via Washington Post]
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Hakuna Moscato
Hakuna Moscato (@HakunaMoscato) is a contributing writer for Total Sorority Move. and Post Grad Problems. A born and raised Maryland girl, she's obsessed with the Baltimore Ravens, Old Bay, and anything that has the Maryland flag pattern on it. She's a newly retired student-athlete and sorority girl, but not quite ready to call herself an adult, especially since she still has to be carried out of bars. With a Long Island in hand, she's ready for whatever life is throwing her way. Maybe.
@HakunaMoscato
