It happened. At long last.

And it was the women of Norway and Germany we have to thank for it.

These women braved fines and censure to say no, we are not going to wear what you are telling us to wear because first it is uncomfortable and second it sends the wrong message.

Amen and amen.

It had to come from the women themselves.

If someone outside their organization had said it, many would have taken offense.

But yea for the women who say they are not objects for others to ogle. They are athletes. And they want to be able to share their talent without pulling and tugging and without exposing.

There has been a double standard not only in athletics but in fashion for too long.

Men continue to wear comfortable clothes that adequately cover. Women have followed fashion from low-cut to halter top to midriff to mini-skirt to plunging to slits to tight yoga pants to thongs to bustiers to sheer and lacey. 

Not only have we been led to believe our clothes have to be revealing to be beautiful, we’ve been led to follow styles that maybe aren’t all that practical or all that flattering.

Bell bottoms? Yes. (Men got that one too!) Torn jeans? Sure. Wedge shoes? Why not? Form-fitting skin-tight maternity clothes? OK. Shoulder cutouts? Fine. Puffy marshmallow jackets. If you insist.

If someone says it’s the style, we are way too willing to swing what we buy and what we wear to someone else’s ends.

I’ve fallen for a less-than-stellar fashion or two, having served stints in bell bottoms and having staggered down a sidewalk in wedge shoes. And my high school years included a mini-skirt or four.

But having lived through a few fashion cycles now, I’ve seen some good styles and some bad, and take particular offense when, for women only, the fashion includes some form of unnecessary exposure. 

The swimsuit thong with a very little fabric in not the necessary places and the sheer with barely-placed-lace wedding dress that shouldn’t really be worn in public have without doubt taken us beyond where we wanted to go, trading class for crass.

Are they comfortable? No. Do they earn us respect? Are you kidding?

I know. I’m frumpy. But self-respect alone demands we take more control of the styles we accept and embrace. 

What you wear sends a message.

If it’s a hoodie and pajama bottoms, we know you are off duty. 

If it’s a suit and tie, we know you’re on your way somewhere.

If it’s all black and includes fingerless gloves, we know you are making a statement.

If it’s revealing, we know …

We know you are following and not leading.

My fellow women (fellow women?):  

Do we want just to be looked at? Or listened to.

Do we want just to be objects? Or equals.

Our answer comes in the way we dress.

Like it came from the women of Germany and Norway.