Heinous or Harmless – Parental Nudity

I received an email from a buddy of mine whose girlfriend, let’s call her Sally, challenged him to survey all of his female friends on this scenario…(I have paraphrased some parts of his email but the content is mostly his)

Sally bought some skin cream [for her daughter] consisting of things like aloe, shea butter, and oatmeal. Well, apparently this stuff is supposed to be fantastic.  Sally was raving about it. Sally was SO taken by it that she went into her younger daughter’s room (all of 10), stripped butt naked in front of her, and started lathering this stuff on herself.

Buddy’s reaction was simple. EWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!! However Sally says this is a mother / daughter bonding thing, and sees nothing wrong with stripping naked in front of her little girl.

What say you, oh loyal and opinionated blog readers?

I don’t have a daughter, and personally, I would never even think of being under-dressed in front of my step daughters. I didn’t grow up in a house where nudity was common in front of anyone. So I am very curious to read your responses.

That’s Life, Gym…. But Not As We Know It.

I am sick and tired of being out of shape. Yeah, we all know I don’t need to lose weight, but I lack definition and tone, and I could really use the extra energy that working out can bring. So I have decided to join a gym. It’s been about 8 years since I last set foot in one. Not sure where or what yet, and it will probably be something like Planet Fitness that has a $10 a month promotion. However, by the first of the year I want to be enrolled somewhere.

So here is the question – if you are an Orthodox woman and you go to a mixed gym – what is appropriate and safe to wear? I have no issue with wearing a bandanna to cover my hair, I wouldn’t want my hair in my face anyway. Wearing a skirt to work out, well, it just doesn’t sit right with me. (Apart from the fact that those ankle length skirts can hamper you when doing the stairmaster and / or get caught up in the machinery). Do you wear skants? (skirt over pants?) If so, does that not lead to overheating? Or do you pay more so that you can go to women only hours at a gym that provides that service? (Not an option for me – I need cheap and functional).

I have friends who say that if guys want to ogle us when we are working out, then it is their sin not ours, and if we just go in and do what we need to do without acting in an attention seeking manner, then who cares what we wear?! The guys shouldn’t be looking anyway, right, if they are so frum?!

What are your thoughts? What works for you?

Wednesday’s Wacky Signs