# Filming up women's skirts is ruled legal **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 21, 2002, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924 "2002-09-21T03:23:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/21 "2002-09-21T21:32:34Z")
So … um … where can I see these pictures? \ ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/22 "2002-09-21T21:38:32Z")
> [@](#): > > So, if I read this correctly, it’s also ok to stick a fiber optic system down someone’s pants and film away, just as long as they’re in public, right? I think you’d have to manage that without touching the subject. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/23 "2002-09-22T00:07:47Z")
pa is on a different coast than wa, but peeping is peeping. perhaps the difference is pa’s was an installed camera, wa’s was a camera guided by a human who could be in physical danger were he caught by the peep-ee. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/24 "2002-09-22T01:13:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Another good reason to be sure that your skirt isn’t short enough to let such a thing happen. Yeah, women’s hemlines should drag the floor. :rolleyes: I think **samclem** has it right: the WA statute was apparently vaguely worded, and the legislature up there will shortly fix that. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/25 "2002-09-22T02:33:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > > \ > > I think **samclem** has it right: the WA statute was apparently vaguely worded, and the legislature up there will shortly fix that. Wanna bet? Next year’s Legistlature is gonna be so busy a) plugging budget holes created by harebrained initiatives and b) ducking the consequences thereof that they aren’t going to have a lot of time to devote to such mundane items as women’s skirts and cameras. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/26 "2002-09-22T03:12:51Z")
I think, from the article, that it was simply a court debating whether the law, as written, prohibited upskirt photography. They decided that it did not. The article is a bit sensationalized, in that it implies that a court essentially debated whether upskirt photos _should_ be legal, which wasn’t the case. And yeah, I’m betting the law will be reworked very quickly. While it may be technically legal, I also think the cops would hesitate to bring charges on anyone who fought with one of these voyeurs. As well, couldn’t such behavior be considered assault? Aren’t you being subjected to threatening behavior, such that you believe immediate physical harm may occur? While it may not run afoul of the “voyeurism” statutes, it likely would run afoul of something. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/27 "2002-09-22T04:32:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > \*\*Yeah, women’s hemlines should drag the floor. :rolleyes: > > \*\* I love long skirts. Long full floor-length “gypsy” skirts. Fun to swirl around in, and when you sit down, you can pull into a little ball and let your skirt fall all around you. You don’t have to worry about how you sit, getting in and out of cars, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/28 "2002-09-22T10:27:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\* > > Probably not. If he’s not doing anything illegal (per the article) you would be changed with assault, not him, if you interfered with his right to snap away at your crotch and under your skirt, so long as he’s not in your face and not touching you. Creepy isn’t it? \*\* Charged, yes. Convicted? Not so much…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/29 "2002-09-22T16:23:19Z")
Really long skirts rock. Unfortunately, they’re awful on wet or snowy days. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/30 "2002-09-22T23:01:48Z")
As a guy I gotta say I prefer long, swishy skirts (um, on women of course). It’s mezmerizing to the eyes. Sure, a set of tanned smooth legs is nice to look at, but I’ve seen those. No offense, but I’ve probably seen better legs elsewhere. A long skirt to me shows something that is uniquely you. I hope that didn’t come off as wierd or anything. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/31 "2002-09-23T02:37:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > \*\*Yeah, women’s hemlines should drag the floor. :rolleyes: \*\* Did I say that? Nope. But a fitted skirt to the knee is a lot harder to peep up than a loose fitting skirt that ends mid-thigh. There’s also a certain benefit to keeping your legs closed. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924/32 "2002-09-23T05:52:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tlw \* > \*\* > > Did I say that? Nope. But a fitted skirt to the knee is a lot harder to peep up than a loose fitting skirt that ends mid-thigh. \*\* And it’s also much harder to walk in. Your point? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filming-up-womens-skirts-is-ruled-legal/128924.md?page=1)