When temps were near freezing, and even people bundled in thick clothing were shivering, there were some women who were going about in miniskirts - I mean, really short skirts - who seemed totally unaffected by the cold. And some didn’t seem visibly affected by the cold at all, didn’t look like they were suffering. Wonder what it is about them that makes them exempt from the laws of thermodynamics? (and no, not because ‘they’re hot’ or something to that effect)…
Women have learned to suffer be for the sake of looking good since the beginning of time.
There’s tweezing, plucking, waxing, high heels…
Hell, mini skirts in winter is a walk in the park.
How old? If they’re under, say, 25 I could see it being a combination of being used to it and not wanting others to know how cold they are (putting them at risk to be ridiculed for not dressing warmer).
Also, how long were they outside for. There’s a difference between being outside for a half hour shoveling and just going from your house to your car or running from the parking lot to wherever they are.
I don’t have the data handy, but I remember reading about how women in general are less susceptible to feeling cold in our extremities, which helps us get away with such things. I also see women compensating with thicker tops, boots, hats, etc. I don’t wear miniskirts, but I have noticed it’s easier for me to ignore having cold legs than anything else.
Possibly younger than 25, yes. And this was a short walk from car to the store - although I think I have seen other instances where women in miniskirts went for significantly longer amounts of time walking outdoors in brrrrr temps and didn’t seem to show visible or ill effects from the cold.
Now, I had a roommate in college from Alaska who liked to strut about in shorts and T-shirt in winter time to show Southerners what he was made of, but that was a different thing.
I see this fairly regularly at the Walmart three blocks from my house. Young women and teenage girls in very short shorts or short dresses or skirts striding in and out during weather that has everyone else all covered up and to all appearances totally unaffected by it. It’s Walmart, for cryin’ out loud, there’s no reason to look hot (unless of course you’re a refugee from a strip club or something, but most of the ones I’ve seen don’t look all that stripperey. It’s more like this is their regular attire and they just couldn’t be arsed to cover up for the cold when going out).
Consider the fact that your jacket is a half-inch thick of insulation that you throw on over your other clothes during the winter, but your pants are just the same from summer to winter and you don’t (usually) add anything above nor under them.
Also consider the fact that Scotland is not a toasty locale and yet the people ran about half-naked in that region for most of history.
Pants aren’t that necessary for warmth.
I see a lot of young men going around in shorts and a hoodie. They don’t seem to be suffering, either.
I dunno Sage Rat, when I’ve had to spend prolonged periods in winter in NE New England I’ve added layers to the lower limbs for sure. Because it’s freezing, dammit.
Dude, it’s Walmart. Be thankful most people *are *dressed.
They probably were cold. But for whatever reason they decided to wear short skirts. Shrug.
My students, both male and female, often wear shorts even in freezing weather. And then there’s the phenomenon that parents of teenagers are often familiar with: the refusal to wear a coat no matter the temperature. So I think it may be related more to age than any other factor; for some in their teens-early 20s appearance is more important than comfort.
I normally run pretty hot. The cold doesn’t effect me for at least a little while and then I’m damn cold. You are just talking about from a building to the car. I routinely walk into and out of the gym in shorts and a t-shirt even when it’s really cold. It has to be well below freezing for me to bundle up. I don’t see what you are describing as being that unusual.
I could go barefoot on the ice when I was twenty-one. As long as my body core was warm, (coat, and enough food for the day), my circulation was good enough to keep my extremities warm.
My kid is like that too: I saw him sleeping yesterday with a blanket over his head and torso: his bare legs and feet completely exposed.
How about a four-minute figure skating routine?
A two-minute musical illustration: The Sexy Getting Ready Song (click in the spoiler box. Contains some people in underwear and a couple of naughty words.)
Have you considered how warm their panties are?
Skirt-wearing male person here.
It’s a whole lot warmer if you have tights — might any of these young women have been wearing tights or even hose at the time? It makes a significant difference (the tights more than hose but either are an improvement over bare legs).
In really bitter biting cold weather, there’s no way a short skirt isn’t going to make you wish you had on pants instead. But if you’ve got some insulated layers on on your upper torso, well, your legs aren’t going to get cold the way your hands get cold. Feet are another story though.
I, too, have heard that women’s extra subcutaneous fat gives them an advantage.
From Crazy Ex Girlfriend which has songs of this calibre (plus or minus, mostly minus I guess since this is a really good one) at the rate of approx 3 per episode
Because, A) they are all from Minnesota and think it is a heat wave. B) they keep moving so they don’t feel the cold as much as they would if standing still. C) Related to A: Your body adjusts to the the temperatures around it. Depending on the local, in the fall, freezing feels cold, by late winter it’s no big deal because your body has adjusted.
<sidenote>Interesting that it seems to be the lower part of the body that is uncovered or minimally covered. But the upper part has added coverage with a jacket or hoodie.
And the most vital parts of the human body (heart, lungs, intestines, brain) are also all in the upper part of the body. Other than the legs, the only vital system in the lower part of the body is the genitals; they are kept covered (and for males, reproduce better when parts are cooled).
Perhaps this is a survival instinct response – the upper part of the body is the most vital to keep warm? (Though I hesitate to apply ‘survival instinct’ to anything about the way young girls and teenage boys dress in the winter.)
Cooled, not frozen. But that does bring up an interesting question: Does the vagina/vulva perform more optimally in cold weather?