The invention of table skirts during Victorian times came about because people were afraid that men would get excited by the sight of femininely-shaped legs. Even if they were the legs of a table.
In Japan, women were not supposed to show the inner part of their wrist because it was believed to be incredibly sexually exciting to a man.
Some cultures still cover their women from head-to-toe for fear that their shapely bodies will encourage sexual advances from men.
Nowadays, I can hardly imagine any man getting excited by seeing a woman’s ankle. These days less has most certainly become more.
Whenever we hear about being sexy in society it always has to do with being overt and ascribing to society’s ridiculous standards of perfection.
Every person who is considered sexy in society is a beacon of supposed physical perfection.
Usually in pictures of desirable celebrities, they are portrayed wearing very little clothing, leaving practically nothing to the imagination.
As a result, people come to believe that in order to be considered sexy they have to bear everything all the time.
In addition, whatever flesh is visible must be worked to the height of physical perfection.
This one-sided portrayal of sexiness is the reason why most young girls these days have blouses with more falling out of them than is kept in.
They believe that desirability is about aggression and explicitness and forget about subtlety.
However, I think that by doing this, not only do they lose respect for their bodies, but other people lose respect for the female form as well.
People become incapable of understanding how one could be desirable without having everything on display all the time.
Being desirable has more to do with sensuality and with respecting your body enough to keep the parts that matter to yourself.
In such a fast-paced society no one wants to take the time to truly understand the value of sensuality because it requires too much thought.
Who can be bothered to look at the sensuous beauty of a woman’s legs and feet, when you can just search the internet and see her in the nude?
Defining desirability as being overt, fast-paced and deeply superficial is not only affecting younger teens and children.
Its affecting college students and the sexual and may affect the romantic relationships we have later in life.
Since desirability and sex are categorized as easily obtainable and superficial things that we go after simply for our pleasure, we no longer learn to truly cherish them.
We no longer understand the power of suggestion, and have become immune to the beautiful sensuality of the human body.
Worse yet, we are becoming immune to it due to over-exposure.
I love that winter is nearly upon us. Winter is the season of sensuality.
When women are covered all over for warmth, people truly learn to appreciate the subtle sexuality that women possess.
Its the season to be jolly indeed, for now its the nape of the neck, the crook of a shoulder, the ankles that peek out of the bottom of stockings that will be appreciated again.
Leaving things to the imagination is an important concept because it imbues the human body (especially the female form) with the awe and magic that it deserves.
Finally that sensitivity will return. That reverence is necessary for us to respect the beauty of the human body instead of simply objectifying it.
Remember, it’s the little things that make a woman desirable. Show a wrist for a change, instead of your whole decolletage.
Philippa Hatendi can be reached at phatend@spartans.ut.edu.