In its simplicity, the unassuming garter belt is a sensual form of erotica. Why? Its simple.
Men like garter belts on women. I know this from personal experience and from talking to the men in my life. They find them sexy, exciting, and as one man told me, "It's that area of bare thigh between the top of a stocking upward that is just so tantalizing." On this he waxes poetic as do other men. They find garter belts and stocking-ed legs hot and irresistible.
Ah, yes. That's because they've never worn one. Despite the hype and push by Victoria's Secret and the women in the Sex and the City reruns, most women find them uncomfortable.
Still... there's no denying that stockings attached to silky garters which hang down from a belt usually made of lace and satin are a turn-on and look sexy, but they are as uncomfortable as hell to wear. The little buttons or snaps used to secure the stocking to the garter has a nasty habit of pressing into the back of the thigh when a woman sits down causing red marks that are anything but attractive. Not to mention the fact that you have to adjust the garters just right (sometimes several times throughout your day) so your stockings don't bag around your ankles giving a decidedly unsexy, rumpled look. The discomfort of wearing the garter belt easily sways women to do one of two things: not wear stockings at all or switch to pantyhose.
The gods created pantyhose in the 1960s and they instantly gained popularity. That was the era of undergarment freedom what with bra burning and all. Busy working women wanted to be as free of constraint as their male counterparts. To hell with garters and stockings! Pantyhose or pants became a sort of war cry for women of that generation who were in the process of changing the antiquated ideas of femininity. You can be feminine and sexy without pain! I hear it was one hell of a fun time clothing-wise.
Yet the infamous garter belt has survived and is still seen as a sensual form of erotica. Movies where modern women are seen changing their clothes almost always show an actor with stockings and a garter belt. Maybe it is because, as one actor who had to wear the stockings-garter-belt contraption in a play onstage told me,
"Seeing a woman in pantyhose just doesn't have the same effect when it comes to sexiness."
She may be right. There is after all that "area of bare thigh" that excites men's fancies. That just doesn't appear when a woman is standing there encased in nylon and spandex from toe to waist.
Maybe we can make a deal with our men. Let's leave the garter belt, along with the stockings, in the bedroom or at least make it something that is not part of everyday attire. We won't mind wearing this "sexual set-up" out to dinner and sitting on that annoying little button as long as we know that it's only for a few hours and will eventually lead to mutual enjoyment. Okay gentlemen? Deal? Good.
Now if only we can find a way to deal with wearing stiletto heels. It seems our men like this almost as much as the garter belt... especially when we wear them together!
Oh, it is tough to be a "modern" woman.
© 2013 copyright Kristen Houghton all rights reserved
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Kristen Houghton is the author of the hilarious book, No Woman Diets Alone -- There's Always a Man Behind Her Eating a Doughnut in the top 10 hot new releases at Amazon available now on Kindle, Nook, and all e-book venues.
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