Vive la Différence.

An article on CatholicHerald.co.uk [In 1960 Cardinal Siri urged women not to wear trousers. I think he may have had a point] does not seem to have sit well with "Puff the Magic Dragon" from over at Puff's Blog About Stuff ....... One might even go so far as to say she has her knickers in a twist over the article.

I can't say I blame her.

In the CatholicHerald piece, writer Francis Phillips makes reference to a document written in 1960 by the late Cardinal Giuseppe Siri of Genoa entitled “Notification Concerning Men’s Dress Worn by Women” wherein the Cardinal condemned the "wearing of men's dress by women". Cardinal Siri put forward a number of arguments, but he considered the gravest of all to be that "male dress changes the psychology of women". When women wear trousers, he argued, it "flattens out the natural distinction between the sexes".

My comment on Puff's blog was, "The Cardinal may have had a point in the 1960's but the idea that 'women wearing trousers flattens the difference between men and women' in this day and age is ridiculous."

After leaving that comment, it struck me that I may have given the Cardinal too much benefit of the doubt. His document was dated June 12, 1960; looking at a photo of 1960's movie star, Bridgett Bardot, it's difficult to put forth the argument that Bardot was flattening the natural distinction between the sexes by wearing slacks.