NOVEMBER 23, 2006

THE CADRE @ 9

OPINIONS

Panty Raid - Do you color code your underwear?

Alison Jenkins Contributor

It has recently come to my attention »

that some women coordinate their bras and panties. And they don’t just match colours, they buy the sets together. One of my friends won’t buy the bra if there is not a matching panty available. I was shocked. Speechless, even. I may not be dressed to kill very often, but I clean up good. And I like to get dressed up. But I have never, ever thought of buying a matching set of underwear. Ever. I just wear whatever is clean and doesn’t show through my shirt. And I avoid visible panty lines, when possible.

Am I odd? Tomboyish? Prudish maybe? I didn’t used to think so. I have a half a dozen bottles of shampoo, over eight kinds of scented lotion leftover from gifts and AVON catalogues, pockets full of lip gloss, I wear skirts on occasion — I have a girly streak. But my feminine confidence was shaken by my friend’s revelation. I began to be shy of my underwear at the gym and pool. What if the other girls match and I’m in the corner: the tall awkward one with cotton panties and a bra that doesn’t match? Does anyone notice? Maybe everyone notices! How did I not notice them noticing?!

How well do you know

Andie Bulman Assignment Editor

To allay my fears, I began an informal, non-scientific, non-random survey of friends, acquaintances and, well, really whoever I could find, male and female. It was my preoccupation for a week. So here it is. The results section of my experimental write up: To my relief, a few people are like me and had never thought of matching as at all important. The majority however, take matching seriously and that while it needn’t be a priority, coordinating underwear is nice for special occasions. All the girls were clear that ‘special occasion’ is just as often exclusively for the wearer as it is for significant others. Some women mentioned that they like to match their underwear to their outfit (Ohmigosh! Really?) Yes really, but not all the time. However, one woman does coordinate everything all the time. Bra-panties- outfit, every day. I encountered a full spectrum of underwear coordination values.

At first I was amused by the apparent triviality of matching something that is hardly seen. It seems like a lot of effort to keep it all organized. And really, what if I find a

bra that I love and that does wonders

What Color Panties do you Like

Photo: Google Photo Search

for my favourite sweater. I don’t want to have to feel obligated to hunt down and buy the appropriate panty. And I hate spandex on my bum. But the more I thought about it, and the more women I spoke to, the more I realised that I had been naive before. I began to see that coordinating lingerie has

very little to do with having your underwear seen by anyone, it’s related to self-esteem. Underwear is a bit like make-up, or perfume —some women are really into it, some women aren’t, and as long as she feels good about herself, she is beautiful. cotton bikinis.

Even in

your professors?

Dr. Michael Arfken, one of the newest and youngest professors on UPEI’s campus, he’s only thirty, has proven So popular with his psychology undergrad students, that many have taken to referring to him as Mr.Humanistic. Arfken discussed some of the differences between the deep south, where he received his degrees, and PE.I., his unique career path and the uniqueness of the classes he teaches.

“T did my undergrad in the deep south, bible country. I didn’t vote Bush and had leopard print hair. Needless to say, I stuck out a little, where here in Canada all that stuff is OK. I’m also

in disbelief about how cold it “supposedly” gets, I feel like people are exaggerating a little, Arfken said. Interestingly, Arften skipped his Masters degree and instead took several years off between his undergrad and PhD programs.

“After I graduated from my undergrad degree, I worked at a box plant, which was no fun at all. Then I was a character in an online computer game, which was kind of weird. Later I operated a ski lift at a resort and went to Europe for a glorious month.”

Arfken’s decision to postpone grad school wasn’t entirely voluntary. “J would have went back to school

much sooner except I broke my leg the night before the graduate record examination test in a very intense snowball fight. That set me back an

entire year. Dr.Arfken teaches several humanistic psychology classes

including Social, Personal Growth and Holistic Psychology which he believes provides students with new insights.

“My courses should be taken by students hoping to gain new insight and a unique viewpoint of psychology, it’s something that I think students need. Psychology should be about critical thinking and examining issues in a new light.”

Photo: UPEI Website Michael Arfken