I was amused and surprised by an article I read in Thursday's Los Angeles Times: "In 1938, Woman Was Jailed Over Slacks." Since slacks and jeans are widely worn by most women nowadays, it's hard to imagine a time when a judge would say to a witness, "The court hereby orders and directs you to return tomorrow in accepted dress." He claimed her slacks outfit distracted from the "legal business at hand." When Helen Hulick showed up in slacks the next day, she was sent to jail with a five day sentence! In her defense, she said she had worn slacks "since I was 15" and hoped that her going to jail would "help to free women forever of anti-slackism."
Hulick seems like a smart and brave woman to me--maybe not Rosa Parks brave--but she showed an impressive amount of courage to stand up to the judge.
No comments:
Post a Comment