Veronica Partridge, the Christian blogger who resolved to give up leggings in order to avoid attracting lustful thoughts from men generated some strong criticism on the internet, with people slamming her as a hypocrite and calling her opinions ridiculous.
Partridge earlier wrote in her self-named blog that her husband Dale admitted to her that it was hard for him to keep his eyes from wandering when women wear leggings or yoga pants.
This made Partridge decide to give up leggings, or only wear them with long tops or tunics that cover her bottom. Little did she know that her new-found convictions would lead to such a backlash among other women.
"Do you also blame women when they are raped because of what they wear? And men go shirtless all the time and that causes women to look, should they be forced to swim in shirts? Slut shaming at its finest!" someone commented.
"I think it silly to make women responsible for men's lustful glares. Leggings or not men will look. It is up to those...men to control themselves. I think this kind of thinking is a bit backwards. It is like blaming a woman's outfit for her being violated. Men are responsible for their own behaviour," another woman posted on her Facebook page.
For her part, Partridge defended her post, saying that her decision to not wear leggings is personal, and she is in no way telling others what not to wear. She lamented that the disclaimer, which she started her blog with, was completely ignored.
"If I would have known ahead of time that is was going to reach as many people as it has, I wouldn't have posted it!" Partridge said. "I honestly thought that maybe 10 of my friends would read it," she told The Blaze.
She added that leggings are really popular now and this is probably why some women do not like her reason to give them up, but she clarified that she does not think any differently of women who persist in wearing them.
"Every Christian has different convictions. I just listened to one of mine. What may convict me may not convict you," she said.
And despite the backlash, there were many others who supported Partridge and her decision.
"I think that it takes an incredibly strong woman to speak out against something that has so blindly become an acceptable norm in society. I am sorry that so many have decided to make this an argument about being 'told what not to wear'; having entirely missed your point. You have made an admirable decision for you and your family and I hope that many more will follow your lead," a male reader said.
Others thanked her for promoting modesty, while others considered her a good example to other young women.
Partridge is thankful to her supporters, but admitted that the negativity can get overwhelming. "I get that people aren't going to agree with me and that's perfectly okay, but some of the strong words people are using over something as simple as leggings is just crazy to me," she said.
But Partridge took all the negative comments in her stride, saying that she just laughed through "a ton of crazy comments."
