Opus 2023-168: Send a Signal

Maybe it is time to bring back the sumptuary laws.  If you are unfamiliar with the term it was a common part of life in previous centuries and many cultures.  People were expected to dress in such a way that you knew exactly where they fit into the social stairway.  You may remember that only the Roman Emperors were allowed to wear purple garments.  In more recent times the law said what kinds of material you could use, the colors allowed to you and even the cut of your cloak if you could wear one.  In Victorian England the traditions got so strong that you could only wear certain clothes in certain rooms of your house and even at specific times of the day.

One of the topics of discussion in our modern American culture is the issue of date rape and the question of consent.  I am thinking that one way we could cut down on misunderstandings that lead to date rape is for people to dress the part they want to play.  It used to be that you knew a whore by the way she dressed.  I imagine the same applied to the gigolo.  We could bring that back.  An extreme example might be that if a woman was wearing a nun’s habit it signaled she was not interested.  If she was braless in a speedo it would send a different message.  We could pass a law stating what clothing said, “Available” and what said, “Hands off.”  My understanding in some cultures you send the message by which ear you wear your flower.

Men might be required to wear a special hat if they were on the prowl.  Any sexual activity by a hatless male would be subject to legal action.  You would need to make exceptions for Amish men and certain types of Jews.  Perhaps we could have specific colors for yamakas and turbans.

This kind of thing might even come in handy in marriages.

Until then we could just make up little signs to hang around our necks signaling our availability.

homo unius libri