So, I decided to follow Andreas's advice, and not wear shorts and hosiery to the funeral / celebration service. I was actually going to wear jeans, because I thought that we were supposed to dress casual and relaxed, but I saw my relatives wearing a suit, a sports coat, dress pants, and dresses. I went and changed into a dress shirt, pair of dress pants, and a sports coat.
When we arrived, I saw quite a few people wear jeans. I saw many women wear dresses, skirts, and hosiery.
I found the whole situation challenging, because I believe that we should be breaking down these norms, but maybe I am wrong. All norms do not come about just because the majority of people decide that this is how things are going to be. Some of the norms might come about because of that, but a lot of them do come about because we forms opinions in other situations.
We can see this in the way that we perceive turbans and work helmets. Those things have been around for a while, but they will probably never be in the mainstream for formal wear for the majority of western men.
An anonymous reader also chimed in after the funeral, and I felt that he [or she?] made a good point. While reading the response, I was reminded of an acquaintance that dresses really strange, and yet has a difficult time understanding why people look at him. Curiosity is a very natural response to things that are not normal. He should be grateful for the times, when is NOT persecuted. In fact, I do not think that he was ever persecuted for the clothing that he wore.
I look forward to the day, when all men are required to wear hosiery all the time, and when we are encouraged to wear semi-opaques or day-sheer hosiery. After that, I will realize how expensive it will be, and then do a face-palm. ;^P
Thank you for reading!
