I see London, I see France I see your underpants.

Let them show, let them show, let them show!

By Punk Pink

It seems the Grannies and Grandpa’s of Stratford are up in arms and complaining to their city council. Guess the old folks do not find the style of sagging pants and exposed underwear to be at all aesthetically pleasing and downright indecent. According to the old folks there are far too many young people parading around town showing off their skivvies that they have petitioned council member Alvin O’Neal to come up with a plan to put and end to this unsightliness. Mr. O’ Neal is proposing to institute an ordinance modeled after a law in Louisiana. (of all places) This ordinance if passed could send these young men and women to jail or fine them up to $250.00. Mr. O’Neal said that his motivation is not to restrict freedom but to serve his constituents and open a public discussion. The Hartford Courant in an article on Monday August 27 said that Mr.O’Neal is African American and has stated that this is about public decency not race. The ordinance as written is as follows: “It shall be unlawful for any person in any public place or in view of the public to be found in a state of nudity or partial nudity or in dress not becoming to his or her sex or in any indecent exposure of his or her undergarments or to be guilty of any indecent or lewd behavior.” Oh come on Mr. O’Neal, Grannie and Grandpa go get a life! Punk Pink has this to say. I have always loved what each generation has come up with. Fly me back to my hippie days. Now I knew about style. One of my favorite outfits was a large straw hat,(Hepburn style) with a long silk scarf tied around the brim, women’s Crissy cross cut overalls, and my clogs. “Oh, See the way she walks down the street!” I did get a few wolf whistles. Or in the winter months how I loved my biting minks thrown around my shoulders to dress up my long brown coat. Those were the minks with the little feet, tails and heads with mouths that bite onto another mink. (this was before any of us thought about how outrageous wearing animals was), how about the church hats? Can’t forget those. Or our outlandish robes, how the queer hippies loved their robes. What bothers me most about Mr. O’ Neal and the others is the signaling out of people because of the way they dress. To pass an ordinance to force people to conform to what a few think is proper and decent is just plain indecent and wrong. As Queers we can just take a look at one line in this ordinance and come out fighting mad. The line states, “dress that is not becoming to his or her sex.” Want to fight? Just a few little Queer stories to remember. In the 1950s Jose Sarria was hired at the Black Cat a bar in San Francisco. Sarria began subbing for his lover as a waiter but soon landed on the stage because of his beautiful singing voice. It was on that stage were he began to develop his signature impersonation roles. At that time men who dressed as women were committing a crime and were arrested, jailed and more times than not lost their jobs. Sarria tried to beat this law by handing out labels that stated, “I am a Boy” so no one would be accused by the police of “female impersonating.” Through out the 1960s it was common practice all over the United States for the police to make periodic raids on our bars to harass and arrest the patrons. One of the primary laws used to justify these raids besides the liquor licence bit (bars could not serve homosexuals) was an edict that required every person to be wearing three pieces of “gender appropriate” clothing in public. This law was used to arrest many of the patrons at Stonewall in 1969. As late as 1975 in Hartford Ct. a state law barring female impersonators was resurrected to close Ivan Valentin’s, “Leading Ladies of New York” a drag show. I would have to wonder if the passing of this ordinance would once again give the cops permission to harass our butch lesbians, Trans folk and drag sisters? As we look at history we do see how such laws have opened doors to ridiculous and sometime deadly restrictions that are used at the whim of law enforcement. Queers have a real stake in this and must stand up and oppose any ordinances that restrict freedom of dress. So yeah young men, I want to see your underwear, your pants hanging low. I want to see your style. For in the otherwise dull sheep-hood where most dwell you stand out. You give me just a bit more art to look at while walking down the street. 

Bans on “sagging” are in place in cities in Georgia, Virgina, Louisiana, Texas and Florida.

Note: On Tuesday August 28 I talked to the clerk of the council, city of Stratford who told me that the ordinance was killed in committee due to protests by the people of Stratford. Way to Go People! She also claimed that all those who spoke out missed the point. I will submit this as a Be Careful and be on watch for more of these types of ordinances.

Referances:

1.”The Empress is a Man:Stories from the Life of Jose Sarria.” Michael Robert Gorman, Haworth Press, 1998.

2. “An Imitation of Images” Eric Gordon, Hartford Advocate, Oct. 27, 1976.

3. “Lawmakers Lower the Boom on Sagging Pants.” Jesse Leavenworth. Hartford Courant August 27, 2007.

4. “Challenging and Changing America: The Struggle For LGBT Civil Rights 1900-1999.” Exhibition notes. R. Nelson.