Yoga pants are an increasingly popular clothing item among women, irrespective of whether they practice yoga. Soft, comfortable and stretchy, they are also form-fitting, which is what Moore to exception to. The increase in “exposure” prompted the lawmaker to introduce a bill to strengthen the state’s indecent exposure laws.
According to The Atlantic, the law would “expand indecent exposure law to include any nipple exposure, including men’s, and any garment that ‘gives the appearance or simulates’ a person’s buttocks, genitals, pelvic area or female nipple.” After the hearing, Moore said, “Yoga pants should be illegal in public anyway.”
However, the Judiciary Committee quickly shot down the proposal, seeing it as a humorous gag. Moore said that while he wasn’t against provocative clothing as such, he did have issues with yoga pants. Moore was in the news last year too, when he and a retired professor, Walt Hill, introduced a bill to ban the yearly “Bare as you Dare” bicycling event in Missoula, when people ride bicycles in the nude. A three time conviction for indecent exposure in Montana can lead to a life sentence and a fine of up to $10,000.
“I want Montana to be known as a decent state where people can live within the security of laws and protect their children and associates from degrading and indecent practices,” Hill had said. “I believe this bill is written preserving that reputation.”
Yoga pants are only one of many kinds of yoga wear, but they are also part of the new “athleisure” fad spreading among women, who prefer comfortable leggings to jeans. 2014 saw denim sales drop by six percent. Over 2700 kinds of yoga pants are said to be available in the market. Several US schools have already banned yoga pants in their dress code, saying they tend to distract male students.
There is a good deal of criticism over such actions. Blogger Ashley Crtalic, writing about the school ban on the leggings said, “I think it’s safe to say if you find a woman sexy in yoga pants, you probably will find her sexy in other items of clothing as well. I don’t think yoga pants are working some kind of voodoo magic on otherwise strong and secure bystanders.”
