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Do you cross your legs?
By Meg | November 15, 2007
I don’t know how, but somewhere along the line, some women have gotten the notion that crossing their legs at the knee is the lady-like thing to do. In fact, a survey in 1999 revealed that 44% of women thought it was the polite thing to do! If you’re one of them, please read on.
First off, let me go ahead and confess that I am a habitual leg crosser. It’s something that I’m working on, but I know that it is a bad habit. The family matriarchs have made sure that I know this, and I agree with them. But if I see someone crossing their legs, I’m not going to come up to them and chastise them for it. I’m writing this because bothers me is that some women don’t even know that it’s distasteful and unhealthy.
Revealing a bit too much?
Take the 23 year-old woman that was scolded by South West Airlines for her short skirt. While the news focused on her super short skirt, what I thought was particularly funny was that she bragged on how she crossed her legs like a lady. Well, of course her butt is going to hang out of that short skirt if she crosses her legs! Even in longer skirts, I have a hard time making sure that I don’t give anyone a view when I cross my legs.
The correct way to sit
The correct way to sit like a lady is with one’s knees together, uncrossed. You may either keep your ankles together or cross them — so long as you still keep your knees together.
A few more reasons to sit properly
Now, if that’s enough to persuade you to re-examine your sitting posture, consider the possible health effects. Crossing your legs is bad for your circulation. Crossing one’s legs is often mentioned as a factor in varicose veins and cellulite. Actual evidence of that seems to be very sketchy at best, but since poor circulation is involved in both, I’d rather be safe than sorry. It definitely can cause back and hip problems, though, since it puts strain on your hips and can leave you sitting with your back crooked.
So, do yourself a favor and break the habit.
Tags: Body, Etiquette, Modesty
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December 8th, 2007 at 5:17 am
This is going to be a hard one for me! I like the way it makes my legs seem more slender than they really are (or maybe it draws attention to how slender they really are, hmmm), but I do recognize the problem for circulation. There have been countless times that I tried to get up after sitting with my legs crossed, and my leg was asleep! Talk about awkward (just imagine that on a date O_O ). I did not know that it is improper; though I did know the correct way to sit.
I question the validity of the proper position. It is meant to be more of a passive/subservient position, and that does not match modern women! In the age of feminism, women should not be expected to sit as they have for centuries (though if it is the only way to keep from revealing personal spaces, then by all means . . . ).
December 8th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Well, what is “proper” is always relative, I suppose. I would say that it is at least considered more proper, or at least, more conservative (which is often the same thing among the etiquette warriors).
Personally, I think crossing one’s legs makes the thighs look thicker.