Inappropriate exposure has seemingly attained normalcy

THE EDITOR, Madam:

This past Saturday I was at Devon House catching up with friends when a woman’s clothing (or lack thereof) grabbed my attention. I gave one of my male friends a surreptitious nod in the woman’s direction and when he looked he was just as dumbstruck as I was. The woman in question was clad in a tube top and jeans shorts more commonly known to Jamaicans as battyriders. Due to her voluptuous figure about half of her buttocks was exposed. She was accompanied by a female friend in a t-shirt and a tutu mini skirt that managed to leave even less to the imagination. As men our first reaction was to admire the women’s figures however I quickly remembered where we were. In a popular public venue, designed to be family-friendly and filled with children.

The women proceeded to conduct an amateur photoshoot of each other, striking multiple seductive poses right outside the ice-cream parlour building in full view of all and sundry including numerous children. By now, unbeknownst to them they had become something of a spectacle for not just my group of friends but several of the patrons present. My female friend commented that maybe Devon House needed a dress code to prevent these situations.

Indecent exposure in public is a criminal offence in Jamaica under the Town and Communities Act however I believe that it should be common sense or just basic decency that someone wouldn’t dress in a way that exposes themselves at a place where children will be. Super short shorts and scanty clothing are okay for clubbing, carnival or an adult party, not a family entertainment spot. We grew up being taught “time and place for everything” apparently that principle has been lost.

Jamaican men are not exempt from the seeming loss of modesty and decency. I remember growing up my mother wouldn’t let me leave the yard in a merino and definitely not totally shirtless. This norm seems to have changed. It has also become commonplace over the last decade to see men sagging their pants and exposing their underpants in public. This too is inappropriate exposure but has somehow seemingly attained normalcy.

We have to consider how our mode of dress represents us to others, and whether it is appropriate for the setting we will be in. Church, work, school, the beach, home, a nightclub, a restaurant are all different and require different standards of dress. Know your time and place.

CONCERNED