In a span of a few months time, we have had many unexpected changes announced by the JW organization. Some here have expressed the belief that a great number of Witnesses will leave the religion. I am not so sure about that. In fact, there is a great probability the opposite will be true.
Yeah, ancient hardliners will have a hard time assimilating these changes, but the younger generation will likely welcome these changes. Letś take one issue at hand: Relaxed dress codes.
Dress Codes:
This alone will be a major incentive for some to reconsider going back to the meetings. Most men don´t like to wear ties. I don´t. Women in particular dread the restrictions imposed by the traditionalists. Women like the freedom to choose what to wear, and from what I have seen in the past, they give a lot of thought to it when going to weekly meetings, and in particular, to yearly Conventions.
The addition of slacks to their attire is a big plus. Northern countries are known to be brutally cold, and women wearing pants will keep them more comfortable. Also, many women prefer pants over dresses or skirts any time, so much in fact, that outside of the JW world, some women don´t have dresses or skirts to wear at all.
Another thing, we are talking about the female gender here. Many women like to attract members of the opposite sex, be that openly or quietly. The warning to use office slacks will work with some, maybe with most sisters, but not all. Other younger, bolder ladies will challenge the status quo some, and then some.
I recall an incident some decades ago, where I spoke with a recently married couple at a large Convention, and we went talking about the Convention material that evening. To my surprise, both were candid enough to tell me that they could not focus on the biblical discourse because they had a beautiful woman right before them with thin white pants showing her assets. It seems they both enjoyed the show (She even said so, I was stunned), for they stayed put in the same place for the whole day.
So this allowance of office slacks in meetings will turn to some exciting situations. I have heard from some men that they liked going to the meetings to see beautiful women. And women know that.
Of course, it is not only men, but some women like to meet interesting men at these meetings as well. They will want to look attractive to them. So how long can you keep office slacks as a standard of dressing? Have you looked lately at any social platform to see how far people are willing to go to show their bodies? Not only pants will get bolder, but even skirts and dresses will keep getting shorter. This may help Kingdom Hall attendance indirectly. Who knows for sure?
But, taking sexual attraction motives out of the equation, the fact is that relaxing dress codes may turn out for many to be an incentive to try the meetings again.
What do you think?