changed? Or is any true education of children imaginable, which is so delicate in its procedure, so woven of imponderable factors in which the mother’s intuition and instinct play the decisive part in those tender years? What will these women be able to give their children when they will so long have worn trousers that their self-esteem is determined more by their competing with the men than by their functioning as women?… To sum up, wherever women wear men’s dress, it is to be considered a factor, over the long term, in disintegrating human order”. One of the gravest effects of “disintegrating human order” that is before us today is gender confusion. With the loss of feminine dignity and the effect of this loss on the heart and emotions of those under her care, one can only wonder whether the unisex forms of dress that have become common are not part of the problem. Actually, this is something that has been suggested by professional psychologists. Dutch Catholic psychologist Gerard van den Aardweg, who had decades of successful therapeutic experience with persons experiencing samesex attraction (SSA), notes that in cultures (even the most primitive and pagan) where the clear distinction is made between boys and girls, homosexuality is very rare, if not non-existent. As part of his therapy in treating such individuals, this orthodox Catholic psychologist advised women affected by SSA to make an effort to dress in as feminine a way as possible with a nice gown or other typical women’s dress. He also stated that “the ideology that obliterates sex roles is so unnatural that future generations will undoubtedly see it as a perversion of a decadent culture”.40 Those are some very sobering remarks from someone who has such long experience in this domain. Our world urgently needs to take them to heart. Clearly, SSA and gender confusion are very complex issues, the causes of which are multifactorial. Dr Aardweg is well aware of them, but his remarks on the specific area of dress are certainly worth considering. His experience as a psychologist showed him that there are many differences in the way that boys and girls are brought up. If these are not respected, the door is open to SSA and gender confusion. Furthermore, Dr Aardweg noticed positive changes in women struggling with SSA when they did start dressing in a feminine manner. Exceptions After all this, you might be wondering if there are ever any circumstances in which trousers are acceptable. Well, as you know, in some work contexts 80
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