ATHENA: Last week the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sort of accidentally on-purpose announced a change to the style of LDS temple garments – the sacred underwear that faithful Mormons are expected to don when they first attend the temple and then continue to wear throughout their lives.
This isn’t the first time the LDS church has changed the garment design. It’s not even the first time in my lifetime such changes have been made. But this change is an even bigger deal than other previous changes have been. In each prior instance, the changes have had the effect of making the garment less obvious, less obtrusive, less inconvenient to wear, relative to earlier versions. They’ve still been obvious, obtrusive, and inconvenient, though, even in their scaled-down iterations. This latest one is the “skimpiest” version yet. It’s – gasp – sleeveless! There’s even a version for women that appears to accommodate going commando in hot climates. (Sorry, fellas, you don’t get the commando option unless you want to wear the women’s “slip” or “slip skirt” version. That’s up to you. Don’t ask, don’t tell.)
The Church’s garment designs no longer affect me personally. I was PIMO (physically in/mentally out) for several years before I stopped wearing garments completely, and that was decades ago. I’m not going back to them now, sleeves or no sleeves. This new change is hitting so many people, especially women, so hard that I can’t help thinking about my own experience with garment-wearing.
Continue reading “Keep Sweet and Wear Your Sleeveless Garments (or Don’t)”
Sisters Quorum 