Last evening, Peggy Fletcher Stack of the Salt Lake Tribune gave subscribers a glimpse at a new, sleeveless garment design for women currently available “in hot climates such as Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines and some southern U.S. locations.” Additionally, “there is a light, one-piece ‘shift’ (looks like a slip) option and skirt bottom for women who mostly wear dresses as in Africa.” This is big news for practicing LDS women, and I’m pleased by this change and hope the new styles are offered soon to everyone. I see this as evidence the voices of women who are speaking out are penetrating the Church Office Building. 

Of course, the change is bittersweet when I think of the decades I endured infections and rashes, not to mention the daily misery of wearing another long layer of clothing on hot, humid days in Texas. The physical discomfort was nothing compared to the guilt that drove me to wear the temple garment, regardless of weather. I’m of a generation of women who were instructed that the only “proper” way to wear the top was underneath my bra. I did exactly that until I couldn’t. The rashes I endured made it impossible to wear a bra at all. I either complied with the instruction I received in the temple or sat braless at home for days while the rashes healed. During a temple recommend interview, I nervously explained this to my former bishop, concerned I wouldn’t get the sought-after signature. The embarrassment on his face and the speed with which he moved on signaled I shouldn’t bring it up again to male leaders, so I never did again. My garment decisions became my own, which is exactly what they always should’ve been. Mine, without any threat of judgment hanging over my head.

Continue reading “Reactionary or Revelatory? Thoughts on the New Temple Garment” →