By squeakyrobot
For Russian women, there is no such thing as bare legs in public. They simply don't do it. Given that gender roles in Russian society are still traditional and still relatively conservative, it is unusual and wholly frowned-upon for a woman to walk the streets with bare legs without stockings. “Exposed” women will be mistaken for prostitutes.
Which explains the looks. I was going out with some friends one night. The weather was warm and agreeable in September as the winter winds and ice hadn’t arrived yet. I was wearing a normal dress, but I decided to go without stockings because I considered them terribly uncomfortable. I left my apartment to meet them in the center of city. Business as usual. And then I stepped on my bus. The bus conductor – normally an older woman – eyed me up and down suspiciously. She squinted her eyes as I handed her the rubles for my ticket. I waived this off.
When I continued down the aisle to find a seat, all the older women on the bus had the same reaction. Only when an older man gave me a creepy smile did I understand that it was my lack of stockings that was causing the commotion. What you wear in Russia is everyone’s business.
Then I became very self-conscious. Girls my age were judging me and whispering to themselves; guys my age were getting the wrong message. Old women shook their heads in disgust, and old men were getting the wrong message as well, but they were more vocal about it.
It got to the point where taking on Petersburg nightlife with bare legs was beginning to feel irresponsible and dangerous, given that alcohol was involved. I returned home early, and I never went out without stockings again.
Overall, this has been the only major mishap/faux pas I’ve experienced. If I’ve experienced any “culture shock”, this would be the prime and only example. And even then, I wasn’t really affected. I simply learned to wear stockings. The majority of individuals on the street didn’t seem to notice or care that my legs were bare. Society in general seems more progressive than it was even five years ago, but those traditional viewpoints on women in particular are deeply engrained within the Russian psyche. Russia will not be Sweden anytime soon.