Thursday, November 17, 2011

Mormon Ladies Discuss the Utah Undie Run and Gay Rights

Nov. 5, 2011. It was a tea party.

It was not the Tea Party, but a tea party.  We were 6 Mormon ladies sitting around a table in a living room in Orem, Utah. Mormons follow a code of health that allows for herbal tea, although not regular tea, but our host served hot cocoa instead. She told us she was holding the event because she had attended a quilting club meeting about the courses and customs that go into a traditional English tea. The hostess, and three guests (including myself) were of British heritage--the other two were Brazilian.

Our discussion of culture led naturally to a recent eye-widening cultural phenomenon. I paraphrase our host: "It was on our way to the General Relief Society meeting. There we were, a bunch of church ladies, just a few blocks away from the (LDS) Conference Center, we looked out the window and saw a huge group of men--they were practically naked!" She laughed as she told the story. What they had seen was the Utah Undie Run (Sept. 24-25.) According to the event website, the official purpose was to "protest against Utah being so uptight."

The Undie Run

2,270 runners participated, says the Salt Lake Tribune. The protest planners asked participants to